Dexter Horton (1825 – 1904) was the founder of the first

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

in the city of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

. Before his founding of the Bank of Dexter Horton in 1870

financial transaction A financial transaction is an agreement, or communication, between a buyer and seller to exchange goods, services, or assets for payment. Any transaction involves a change in the status of the finances of two or more businesses or individuals. A ...

s were conducted by

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

s. Dexter Horton was born in 1825 in

Seneca Lake, New York Seneca Lake is the largest of the glacial Finger Lakes of the U.S. state of New York, and the deepest glacial lake entirely within the state. It is promoted as being the lake trout capital of the world, and is host of the National Lake Trout Der ...

. He was raised on a farm his family acquired in the state of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. As a young man he traveled to

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

with others who were living in his area. Having lived in Oregon for a time he relocated to Seattle. After working as a mill hand for

Henry Yesler Henry Leiter Yesler (December 2, 1810 – December 16, 1892) was an entrepreneur and a politician, regarded as a founder of the city of Seattle. Yesler served two non-consecutive terms as Mayor of Seattle, and was the city's wealthiest resident ...

he opened a general store. This business succeeded. A part of the business was making loans and accepting deposits from customers. In 1870 Dexter Horton opened up the first business dedicated to serving as a bank. It was one of the corporate ancestors of

Seattle First National Bank Seafirst Corporation was an American bank holding company based in Seattle, Washington. Its banking subsidiary, Seafirst Bank, was the largest bank in Washington, with 235 branches and 497 ATMs across the state. Formed in 1929 via the merger ...

, which eventually merged into the

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank w ...

. According to Seattle lore, decades after the battle 1856 Battle of Seattle, Seattle's future fire chief Gardner Kellogg was excavating his house and found a shell from the USS ''Decatur'' that had buried itself without exploding. He stuck it under a

tree stump After a tree has been cut and felled, the stump or tree stump is usually a small remaining portion of the trunk with the roots still in the ground. Stumps may show the age-defining rings of a tree. The study of these rings is known as dendrochrono ...

that he was trying to burn out and went off to lunch; Dexter Horton stopped by to warm the seat of his pants at the fire, and as it exploded, nearly became the last casualty of the battle of Seattle. Horton was married to Hannah Eliza Shoudy, sister of

John Alden Shoudy John Alden Shoudy was an American businessman and politician, known as an early settler and founder of Ellensburg, Washington. Early life Shoudy was born in Illinois in 1841, the son of Israel and Rebecca Hemstreet Shoudy, both originally from ...

, in 1844, and they had three children but two died early. After her death, he married Caroline E. Parsons (d. 1878) on September 29, 1873, and they had one daughter. He then married Arabella C. Agard (1827-1914) on September 14, 1882.

Notes

References

HistoryLink Essay: Horton, Dexter (1825–1904)

HistoryLink Essay: Dexter Horton opens King County's first bank in March 1870.
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Dexter Horton Building
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horton, Dexter 1825 births 1904 deaths Businesspeople from New York (state) Businesspeople from Seattle American bankers 19th-century American businesspeople