Exchange Bank Urbana
Exchange Bank
Main St., Urbana
Building is no longer standing
The origins of the Exchange Bank in Urbana are unknown. Bowman included some information about its owners and employees in his illustration. The cashier of the bank in 1863 was W. J. Ermentrout, who was a settler in the town. Ermentrout later became the mayor of Urbana from June 20, 1870, to June 12, 1871. The teller at the time of the map creation was O. O. Alexander, the Circuit Clerk from 1864 to 1878.
Sometime between 1863 and 1870, the title “Exchange Bank of Ermentrout & Alexander” became “Exchange Bank of Ermentrout, Harvey & Co.” This was likely due to Alexander’s involvement in the Circuit Court.
“Ermentrout Harvey & Co., successors to Alexander & Ermentrout, are also bankers, deserving the confidence of the public, which they have so liberally received,” (J. S. Lothrop’s Champaign County Directory 1870-1, p. 441).
