The City's First Bank

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In 1975, exactly 100 years after it was robbed, the Bank of Huntington
building was jacked up from its foundation, put on wheels and
moved from its original location on 3rd Avenue to the
 nearby Heritage Station historical complex.

Photo courtesy Special Collections, Marshall University Library

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The first bank to open in the new town of Huntington was the Bank of Huntington.
 Chartered in July of 1875, it was housed in a small brick building on the north
 side of 3rd Avenue just east of 12th Street. Peter Cline Buffington, the first
mayor of Huntington, and four other businessmen organized the bank.
 Buffington served as the bank’s first president but was almost
 immediately succeeded as president
by cashier John Hooe Russel.

Russel played an important part in one of the young town’s most
exciting episodes. He was returning from lunch on Sept. 7,
1875, when he saw two armed men rushing from the
bank. They joined two other men and the four
 of them galloped out of town, shouting and
 waving their hats in the air.

Realizing what had happened, Russel rushed into the bank,
grabbed a shotgun and quickly mounted his horse
to give chase to the gang of bandits.

The robbers had made a clean getaway from West Virginia, but
one was later fatally wounded in a shootout with lawmen
 in Kentucky and another was captured in Tennessee.
Tried and convicted, he spent 14 years in the
West Virginia Penitentiary at Moundsville.
 The other two robbers successfully
 eluded capture.

From that time forward, local legend has linked the
Huntington robbery with the “James Gang”
 and/or the “Younger brothers.” Most
western historians, however,
 scoff at that notion.

In 1975, exactly 100 years after it was robbed, the Bank of
Huntington building was jacked up from its foundation,
put on wheels and moved from its original location on
3rd Avenue to the nearby Heritage Station historical
 complex. Still standing, the old building has over
 the years been home to a variety of businesses.

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Note:  This Article and picture appeared in the Herald-Dispatch Newspaper on Mar. 21, 2023.

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