RALPH VAUGHN, Post Columnist
Posted: Sunday, February 6, 2011 5:34 am

Jack Weatherford while an executive with Murfreesboro Bank & Trust.

Editor’s Note: This is the first of a two part series about banking in Murfreesboro in the 20th century.

Like me, you no doubt have heard the saying “follow the money” to find an interesting story.

While following a particular piece of currency, I discovered what I believe to be a story worth sharing.

I’ll present a snapshot of a depressing time in Murfreesboro’s history.

From there, some interesting stories, in my opinion, will evolve.

As I think about it, everything in life is a story.

One of my friends recently received a gift from a business acquaintance, an astute collector, who purchased on eBay what he believed to be a rare National Currency bill in the amount of $10 drawn on First National Bank in Murfreesboro.

Part of the Blue Seal Series, the date on the face of the bill is Feb. 28, 1909.

I volunteered to help my friend research the origin of the currency and learned that the Blue Seal Series existed from 1902 until 1929, and was secured by United States bonds.

Still considered legal tender today, a National Currency bill can be worth as much as tens of thousands of dollars all the way down to a few dollars over face value to a collector since some bills are rare. Different forms of National Currency bills were first issued in 1863 with the practice continuing through 1935.

My friend’s benefactor reportedly paid $700 for the $10 bill and gave it as a token of their ongoing friendship.

Regardless of the bill’s worth, I wanted to learn a little more about First National Bank in Murfreesboro.

I reached out to a long-time friend and a person whom I consider knowledgeable about banking, Jack Weatherford.

He had a distinguished career in the financial world and even has his name on a Chair of Excellence in Banking at MTSU.

According to Jack, Murfreesboro’s financial district prior to the Great Depression included four banks, including First National Bank, the largest, and Murfreesboro Bank & Trust, the newest at the time. It was typical for banks of that era to use National Currency bills in doing business.

Although his knowledge about First National Bank is limited, he remembered that its demise resulted from The Great Depression. While visiting with Jack, I encouraged him to reminisce. He remembered many stories, including one about Ben Franklin Moore, the first president of Murfreesboro Bank & Trust, which survived the financial storm during the Great Depression. Moore was the maternal grandfather of Mary Weatherford, Jack’s beloved wife of 63 years.

The Great Depression began on Oct. 29, 1929, a day known as Black Tuesday when the stock market crashed and there was a panic.

By 1932, 40 percent of the banks in the United States failed. Unemployment reached its worst in 1933 with a national rate of 25.2 percent who were without jobs.

The Depression gripped the entire world economy through the decade of the 1930s.

During our visit, Jack showed me a book that contained the original minutes for Murfreesboro Bank &Trust.

On Saturday, July 8, 1905, a charter was signed to launch the newest financial institution in downtown.

The signatures included B.F. Moore, W.C. Bilbro, G.S. Harding, H.C. Moore and Leland Jordan.

Then on July 13, 1905, the charter members met in the capacity as the board of directors with Moore as the chairman and Jordan as acting secretary.

The following were added to the board: R.F. Brown, J.M. Overall, C.F. Partee, G.M. Dovrow, Ellis Rickens, R.H. Kittrell. E.P. Leach, G.F. Brown, Albert King, E.D. Leamon and N.D. Overall.

As noted before, First National of Murfreesboro was one of those that collapsed when panicking depositors made a run on it after the stock market crashed.

Murfreesboro Bank & Trust was able to survive thanks to a stroke of genius and a bulging suitcase of luck.

Murfreesboro Bank & Trust was the brainchild of Mary’s grandfather, Benjamin Franklin Moore, a successful businessman, who died in 1925.

His widow later built the home on East Main Street that is currently owned and occupied by Mary and Jack.

During those dark days in local and national history, Mrs. Moore, then a widow, bravely boarded a train in early March 1933 at the depot on West Main Street in Murfreesboro and headed to Nashville seeking the advice and counsel of executives with American National, a correspondent bank.

She had a plan.

American National officials saw the wisdom in that plan, and agreed that it was probably the only hope.

Mrs. Moore was assisted in gathering up a large suitcase of currency which was taken to the train station in Nashville for the return trip home with what appeared to be clothing and some personal belongings in a bulging suitcase.

While not wanting to call any more attention than necessary to herself, she made the trip of some 30 miles by rail without a guard or any obvious security.

After being taken to the bank, the contents were promptly placed in a conspicuous location inside a teller window.

Murfreesboro Bank & Trust officials were ready for what was expected.

Then it happened.

On March 15, 1933, another day when banks were continuing to fail right and left, and business leaders were wringing their hands, some anxious depositors decided to make a rush on Murfreesboro Bank & Trust.

Bank officials assured the frightened depositors that every single one would get what was due them, but it had to be done in a systematic and orderly manner one at a time.

Robert T. Bell, CEO and cashier, while mustering as much confidence as he could, told the crowd, “You can see for yourself. We have money and can back every deposit placed in our trust.”

As Jack told me this story, he admitted to the seriousness and reality of that situation 78 years ago.

“If each depositor had demanded his money back then, there would not have been enough cash to go around,” he said. “But, that show of confidence by Mr. Bell gained their trust. Depositors returned home satisfied that their money was secured and that the bank had enough staying power to weather the storm.”