Pike County Democrat, December 20, 1888

When William Ross ventured to Illinois from Massachusetts with his four brothers in 1820, Pike County had yet to be established. Unsettled as the area was, he still chose it as the place to set down his family's roots because of its beauty, fertility and promise of a bright future. He had served in the 21st U.S. Infantry in the War of 1812.

 At that time the land was simply a part of the "Military Tract" between the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers that Congress had deemed as "bounty land" for veterans of the War of 1812. Lack of much civilization gave Ross good reason to create a permanent settlement and thus he established Ross Settlement. One year later, on January 31, 1821, due partly to the impetus of Ross, Pike County was officially formed.

 The part that the young adventurer Ross was to play in the history of Pittsfield and Pike County is an exciting and proud legend.

 As a captain of the "First Rifles" Company, Ross was one of the first to willingly shoulder the responsibility of assembling the required quota of men from Pike County to serve in the Blackhawk War of 1832. Captain Ross proved a sound recruiter and motivator, and was rewarded with the honor of Colonel at the age of 40.

 History states that one day while Colonel Ross was assembling the troops, his attention was captured by a lank, awkward youth. It was written that "Colonel Ross warmed to the boy," and appointed him captain of one of the Sangamon County companies. The boy was Abraham Lincoln.

 After serving in the Blackhawk War, Colonel Ross served in the Illinois State legislature and Senate for several terms.

 However, it was immediately following the Blackhawk War that Colonel Ross perhaps performed his greatest service. The time was 1833 and settlers had been pouring into Pike County. As was common in the days of horse and buggy, the county seat needed to be centrally located to facilitate a short journey from anywhere in the county.

 Settlers in the area were pleased to discover that a central location could be easily obtained for their new county seat on an available tract of land located smack in the middle of Pike County. But at the cost of $1.25 an acre, the county simply couldn't raise the money.

 Such an impasse was completely unacceptable to the determined Colonel Ross and he promptly advanced the sum of $200.00 for the purchase of the land.

 In appreciation for his assistance, he was given the privilege of naming the town. Colonel Ross chose to name it after his old hometown of Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

 History states that Colonel Ross was later repaid the $200.00 loan in full.

 In the years that followed the establishment of Pittsfield, Illinois, there was a period of great growth. By 1865, the area had changed from uninhabited prairie to a prosperous farming community and finally to a bustling, civilized town of about 2,000 people. At the same time, Pike County had also been experiencing a population swell that brought its total number of inhabitants to over 30,000.

 With such unprecedented growth that showed no signs of slowing, the area was clearly in need of a banking institution and Colonel Ross once again stepped in to help. Although political conditions were unstable and banking laws unsound, in 1854 he established Pike County's first real bank in Pittsfield, known as "Ross and Co." It was initially a success, but conditions worsened as threats of Southern secession progressed. With the advent of the Civil War and the accompanying unfavorable banking climate, Ross and Co. closed.

 The time had obviously come for a completely new, comprehensive banking system based on adequate reserves to solve the problems that banks across the country were encountering.

 In February of 1864, Congress had enacted the National Banking Act and President Lincoln, the lanky youth of Colonel Ross' military past, signed the law into effect. Although the law created a Comptroller of the Currency and set very strict reserve requirements for national banks, it did not address the dire situation in which many state banks found themselves.

 Subsequently, the legislature of Illinois took it upon themselves to draw up the Illinois Banking Law which went into effect December 6, 1888. The new law provided that state banks would be under state inspection, required to publish quarterly reports of their financial condition and were to be fully examined by the State Auditor at least once a year.

 Seven days after the new law went into effect, on December 13, 1888, this headline appeared in the Pike County Democrat: "Rumors are Very Rife as to a New Bank."

The article began:

 "Rumors are very rife as to a new bank to be started here under the state banking law by several of our citizens . . . Parties in interest have already been looking for a room on the north side wherein to start, which would indicate that there is something more than wind in the talk."

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