1876-1900: A Bank for Customers on the Move

Horizon-building-1888-300x189Horizon’s original charter institution — The First National Bank, Michigan City — brought the “gold standard” to customer service in banking.

At the turn of the century, local railroad industrialist John H. Barker paid his freight car building employees in gold coins because they didn’t trust paper money. Because of the delicacy and risks involved in making large transactions with gold, the first-ever “drive-up window” was born at The First National Bank.

Once a month, a Haskel & Barker horse-drawn pay wagon, protected by armed police officers, pulled up to the Bank’s back door to load up with $5, $10 and $20 gold pieces for its monthly payroll. A payroll chest was mounted securely onto the back of the pay wagon for added security and guards were instructed to shoot the horses in the event of a holdup to prevent would-be robbers from making off with the gold.

Because local merchants were being paid with the gold coins earned by Haskel & Barker workers, the Bank’s staff would spend the rest of the month periodically visiting all of the local merchants that lined Franklin Street, personally collecting the deposits of gold coins and returning them to the Bank in time to make the next payroll.