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The Bank of California was opened in San Francisco, California, on July 4, 1864, by William Chapman Ralston and Darius Ogden Mills. It was the first commercial bank in the Western United States, the second-richest bank in the nation, and considered instrumental in developing the
The ancestor of the bank was the banking firm of Garrison, Morgan, Fretz & Ralston, established in San Francisco in January 1856 by a group that included Ralston, Cornelius K. Garrison and R.S. Fretz. Ralston established the Bank of California in 1864 when he sold shares to 22 of the state's leading businessmen for $100 a share. The bank opened on July 4, 1864, with Darius Ogden Mills as president and Ralston as cashier; Louis McLane was on the board of directors. A branch was opened in Gold Hill, Nevada, near Virginia City, on September 4, 1864. William Sharon was long the bank's Nevada agent.
Built of stone quarried on nearby Angel Island in 
The Bank of California financed a number of mining operations of the Comstock Lode, and repossessed some mines when their owners defaulted, and ultimately generated enormous profits as a result. However, Ralston sometimes lent money to mine owners in circumstances that would inevitably lead to default and repossession. At the height of their power, Ralston and his "Ring" (as his associates were known) were able to exert 
At a time of volatile trading of Nevada mining stocks, a run on the Bank of California occurred on Thursday, August 26, 1875. The bank failed, and Ralston was ruined. The next morning he executed a deed of trust, turning over everything he owned to Sharon, and the deed was notarized. Ralston then admitted irregularities in banking practices to the board of directors and was ousted as president. He walked to the North Beach to get away from the angry crowds and went to the Neptune Bath House, where he was accustomed to swim in the ocean on summer days. He swam out as far as he could go, and did not return. When his body was recovered, it was found he had died of a stroke.
The bank reopened on October 2, 1875, with $2 million in gold coin on hand and Mills again president. When the San Francisco clearing house was established in 1876, the city's leading banks, in order of importance, were the Bank of California, the Nevada Bank (opened in 1875 with McLane as president), the Anglo-California Bank, Ltd., and Wells Fargo & Company. During the economic slump of 1878 the bank's capital was reduced by $2 million.
Upon the retirement of Mills in 1878, William Alvord, a prominent merchant, was elected president of the bank. Under his leadership the Bank of California became one of the chief centers of exchange between European money markets and those of
File:Bank of California Building - Portland, Oregon - DSC01676.jpg, Bank of California Building (Portland)
File:Bank of California Building San Francisco wide.jpg, Bank of California Building (San Francisco)
File:Bank of California Building - Seattle (2014).jpg,
American Old West
The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...
.
History
The ancestor of the bank was the banking firm of Garrison, Morgan, Fretz & Ralston, established in San Francisco in January 1856 by a group that included Ralston, Cornelius K. Garrison and R.S. Fretz. Ralston established the Bank of California in 1864 when he sold shares to 22 of the state's leading businessmen for $100 a share. The bank opened on July 4, 1864, with Darius Ogden Mills as president and Ralston as cashier; Louis McLane was on the board of directors. A branch was opened in Gold Hill, Nevada, near Virginia City, on September 4, 1864. William Sharon was long the bank's Nevada agent.
Built of stone quarried on nearby Angel Island in San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland.
San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...
, the Bank of California Building at the northwest corner of California and Sansome streets in San Francisco was said to be "one of the handsomest structures on the coast …"
The Bank of California financed a number of mining operations of the Comstock Lode, and repossessed some mines when their owners defaulted, and ultimately generated enormous profits as a result. However, Ralston sometimes lent money to mine owners in circumstances that would inevitably lead to default and repossession. At the height of their power, Ralston and his "Ring" (as his associates were known) were able to exert monopolistic
A monopoly (from Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situation where a spec ...
influence over sections of commerce and industry in San Francisco and in Virginia City.
In July 1869, Ralston averted a run on the bank by exchanging nearly $1 million worth of gold bars for an equivalent value in gold coin from the United States Sub-Treasury in San Francisco. The transfer was carried out in the middle of the night by two of Ralston's associates, Asbury Harpending and Maurice Dore. When the bank opened in the morning, the sight of tray after tray of gold coin at the tellers' windows quashed any thought by depositors of mounting a run on the bank.
Mills retired as president of the Bank of California in October 1873 and was succeeded by Ralston, who kept Mills on the board of directors for the prestige of his name.
At a time of volatile trading of Nevada mining stocks, a run on the Bank of California occurred on Thursday, August 26, 1875. The bank failed, and Ralston was ruined. The next morning he executed a deed of trust, turning over everything he owned to Sharon, and the deed was notarized. Ralston then admitted irregularities in banking practices to the board of directors and was ousted as president. He walked to the North Beach to get away from the angry crowds and went to the Neptune Bath House, where he was accustomed to swim in the ocean on summer days. He swam out as far as he could go, and did not return. When his body was recovered, it was found he had died of a stroke.
The bank reopened on October 2, 1875, with $2 million in gold coin on hand and Mills again president. When the San Francisco clearing house was established in 1876, the city's leading banks, in order of importance, were the Bank of California, the Nevada Bank (opened in 1875 with McLane as president), the Anglo-California Bank, Ltd., and Wells Fargo & Company. During the economic slump of 1878 the bank's capital was reduced by $2 million.
Upon the retirement of Mills in 1878, William Alvord, a prominent merchant, was elected president of the bank. Under his leadership the Bank of California became one of the chief centers of exchange between European money markets and those of Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
and China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
.
It was Alvord who, in 1887, warned James C. Flood of signs of irregularities at the Nevada Bank, enabling Flood to avert the collapse of the Nevada Bank following the speculation of its cashier in the wheat market.
Alvord was president of the Bank of California until his death in San Francisco on December 21, 1904.''The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography'', op. cit. In January 1905, Homer S. King left Wells Fargo & Company to assume the presidency of the Bank of California.
Merger with Union Bank
On April 1, 1996, the bank merged with Union Bank to form Union Bank of California, becoming the third largest commercial bank in California. In 2008 it became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Japanese Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, and was renamed MUFG Union Bank.Branch buildings
Bank of California Building (Seattle)
The Bank of California Building is a landmark building located at 815 2nd Avenue in Seattle, Washington. It is located mid-block adjoining the Exchange Building. It was built by the Bank of California (predecessor to the Union Bank of California) ...
File:Union Bank of California Tower in Portland from NE in 2016.jpg, Bank of California Tower (Portland)
The Union Bank Tower (stylized as UnionBank Tower), formerly known as the Union Bank of California Tower and originally as the Bank of California building (not to be confused with the older Bank of California Building), is an , 15-story office ...
File:Superior Oil Company Building, Los Angeles.JPG, Bank of California Building (Los Angeles)
See also
*Bank of California Building (disambiguation) Bank of California Building may refer to:
* Bank of California Building (Portland, Oregon)
* Bank of California Building (San Francisco), California
* Bank of California Building (Seattle), Washington
See also
*Union Bank Tower
The Union Bank ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bank Of California 1864 establishments in California 1996 disestablishments in California American companies established in 1864 Banks based in California Banks disestablished in 1996 Banks established in 1864 Companies based in San Francisco Defunct companies based in California History of Nevada History of the San Francisco Bay Area Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group