Las Vegas in San Miguel County, New Mexico — The American Mountains (Southwest)
First National Bank of Las Vegas
1880
Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, October 14, 2023
1. First National Bank of Las Vegas Marker
Frank Martsoff
Erected by Las Vegas Citizens' Committee for Historic Preservation.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Industry & Commerce. In addition, it is included in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1880.
Location. 35° 35.573′ N, 105° 13.558′ W. Marker is in Las Vegas, New Mexico, in San Miguel County. It is at the intersection of Bridge Street and South Gonzales Street, on the left when traveling west on Bridge Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 179 Bridge St, Las Vegas NM 87701, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Northern New Mexico. It is also in the American Southwest, in the Mountain West, and on the Santa Fe Trail Corridor. Globally, it is in North America, the Rocky Mountains, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Marcellino's Music Store (a few steps from this marker); La Plaza Vieja Partnership, Ltd. (within shouting distance of this marker); Romero Block (within shouting distance of this marker); E. Romero Hose & Fire Co. (within shouting distance of this marker); Proclamation of Brigadier General Stephen W. Kearny (within shouting distance of this marker);
this page online
Regarding First National Bank of Las Vegas. Excerpt from "Early Banking in New Mexico from the Civil War to the Roaring Twenties" by Larry Schweikart, which appeared in the New Mexico Historical Review in January, 1998:
At roughly the same time as First National received its depository status, a third bank entered operations in New Mexico. Jefferson, Joshua, and Frederick Raynolds established a private bank in Las Vegas in 1876. In 1879, they received a charter for the First National Bank of Las Vegas, capitalized at $50,000. Jefferson Raynolds had worked his way up from being a clerk at the First National Bank of Canton, Ohio, to bookkeeping at the Colorado National Bank in Pueblo, Colorado. Raynolds was, indeed, a banker at heart, participating in the founding of four other banks, including the Central Bank of Albuquerque (1878), and he assisted in the organization of the First National Bank of Colorado, eventually becoming cashier. Three years afterhe and his brothers founded the First National Bank of Las Vegas, Jefferson and Joshua established the First National Bank of EI Paso. Eventually the Albuquerque bank owned by Raynolds and his brothers merged with the First National Bank of Albuquerque in 1881. In addition to the efforts of Raynolds, banking in this period boomed because the Kansas Pacific Railroad reached Las Vegas that year.Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, October 14, 20232. First National Bank of Las Vegas Marker
Also see . . . Las Vegas Plaza. National Register of Historic Places nomination (PDF) and photographs (separate PDF) submitted for the district, which includes this property and was listed in 1974. (Prepared by Michael P. McCachren, State Records Center and Archives; via National Park Service) (Submitted on November 24, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)
Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, October 14, 2023
3. First National Bank of Las Vegas building
Credits. This page was last revised on November 24, 2023. It was originally submitted on November 24, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 544 times since then and 57 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on November 24, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
