Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Finding Aid to the Bullfrog Bank and Trust Company Records, 1905-1913, bulk 1909-1913
BANC MSS P-G 273
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Collection Title: Bullfrog Bank and Trust Company Records
Date (inclusive): 1905-1913,
Date (bulk): bulk 1909-1913
Collection Number: BANC MSS P-G 273
Creators :
Bullfrog Bank and Trust Company, Rhyolite, Nevada
Extent:
Number of containers: 2 boxes
Linear feet: .6
Repository: The Bancroft Library
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California, 94720-6000
Phone: (510) 642-6481
Fax: (510) 642-7589
Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu
URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/
Abstract: While the bulk of the Bullfrog Bank and Trust Co. collection dates range from 1909 - 1913, there are documents from as early
as 1905, when the bank first opened its doors. The majority of the documents are not from the bank's functioning years, but
after the closing. While there are loan documents, mortgage contracts, and deposit slips, to name a few, most of this collection
is made up of correspondence, which is included in Series 1. The correspondence is between, and pertaining to, bank administrators,
attorneys for the bank and clients, the State Bank Examiner, and the bank's former clients. Series 2 holds documents pertaining
to overall holdings at the Bullfrog Bank and Trust. Series 3 includes financial documents from the John S. Cook and Co. Bank,
and Series 4 consists of financial documents pertaining to other banking institutions. For more detailed information, see
the series descriptions. In total, these documents give an overview of the success, decline, and settlement of affairs of
the Bullfrog Bank and Trust Co., as well as the inter-workings of the Bullfrog Mining District's local banking system.
Languages Represented: Collection materials are in English
Physical Location: Many of the Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite and advance notice may be required for use. For current information
on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Collection is open for research.
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Head
of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 94720-6000. Consent is given on behalf of The
Bancroft Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright
owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner. See:
http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html.
Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research
and educational purposes.
[Identification of item], Bullfrog Bank and Trust Company Records, BANC MSS P-G 273, The Bancroft Library, University of California,
Berkeley.
There are no alternate forms of this collection.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Banks and banking--Nevada
Rhyolite (Nev.)--History
Ghost towns--Nevada
Bullfrog Mining District (Nev.)--Maps
Gold mines and mining--Nevada--Bullfrog Mining District
The Bullfrog Bank and Trust Company records: Rhyolite, Nevada, [ca. 1909 - 1913], was purchased by The Bancroft Library in
1957.
No additions are expected.
Arranged to the folder level.
Processed by Crystal Miles in 2012.
The Bullfrog Bank and Trust Co. was incorporated in 1905, in the boom and bust mining town of Rhyolite, Nevada, located in
the heart of the Bullfrog Mining District. Although there were other towns established nearby, including Beatty and Goldfield,
Rhyolite became the main area for financial growth. Rhyolite's population peaked at 10,000 in 1907, with electricity and railroads
connecting the town to Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Las Vegas, enabling the banking systems to connect across state lines.
The Bullfrog Bank and Trust Co. took this opportunity to serve the financial needs of the growing number of residents, becoming
one of the two main banks in Rhyolite, the other being the John S. Cook and Co. Bank. The Bullfrog Bank did have a second
branch in Beatty, Nevada; however, the Rhyolite location grew more quickly and had a larger financial holding.
Although it is not completely clear, there do seem to be connections between the Bullfrog Bank and other financial
institutions, including the John S. Cook and Co. Bank, Pioneer Banking Corp., and the Citizen's National Bank in Los Angeles.
One thing the collection does tell us is that when the Bullfrog Bank first opened its doors in Rhyolite, they did so with
financial collateral provided by the Nevada State Bank and the Citizen's National Bank in Los Angeles. Although they had considerable
support from larger banking institutions, and prospered from local residents' needs, the Bullfrog Bank and Trust closed their
doors on June 29, 1909, and left the Nevada State Bank as their trustee to collect on outstanding loans and administer money
owed to previous clients. Like typical boom and bust mining towns, Rhyolite and the Bullfrog Mining District were quickly
exploited and the location did not have anything else substantial to offer the population. The Bullfrog Mining District, including
Rhyolite, was virtually abandoned and the local banks became obsolete by 1916.
Scope and Content of Collection
While the bulk of the Bullfrog Bank and Trust Co. collection dates range from 1909 - 1913, there are documents from as early
as 1905, when the bank first opened its doors. The majority of the documents are not from the bank's functioning years, but
after the closing. While there are loan documents, mortgage contracts, and deposit slips, to name a few, most of this collection
is made up of correspondence, which is included in Series 1. The correspondence is between, and pertaining to, bank administrators,
attorneys for the bank and clients, the State Bank Examiner, and the bank's former clients. Series 2 holds documents pertaining
to overall holdings at the Bullfrog Bank and Trust. Series 3 includes financial documents from the John S. Cook and Co. Bank,
and Series 4 consists of financial documents pertaining to other banking institutions. For more detailed information, see
the series descriptions. In total, these documents give an overview of the success, decline, and settlement of affairs of
the Bullfrog Bank and Trust Co., as well as the inter-workings of the Bullfrog Mining District's local banking system.