Vergennes Historic Walking Tour 2024 - Manual / Resource - Page 17
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VERGENNES FARMERS’ NATIONAL BANK
214 Main Street
This ornate Italianate and Queen Anne-styled building once housed
the Farmers’ National Bank, established by Col. Walter Scranton in
1880 after being denied a loan from the National Bank of
Vergennes. With startup capital of $75,000, Scranton served as
president for several years, then departed to New Jersey, but
remained on the bank’s board of directors. In 1901, Franklin L. Fish,
a federal bank inspector, discovered substantial sums of money
missing which led to the shuttering of the bank. Three men were
indicted and two went to jail. The Cashier, David H. Lewis, a wellknown politician who had run unsuccessfully for state treasurer,
confessed
to fraud. Lt. Gov. Martin Allen, who was vice president of the bank and a director, was
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indicted but the district attorney later declared he didn’t have enough evidence to try Allen. J.W.
Ketchum, clerk to the Cashier Lewis, who was also Vergennes’ representative in the legislature and a
local newspaper publisher, was found guilty of two charges and sentenced to seven years in jail.
William Bixby, library benefactor, lived in an upstairs apartment late in his life. The building currently
supports commercial and residential uses.
20
IRA BINGHAM HOUSE
aka Colby Hall, 224 Main Street
Ira Bingham, a wealthy merchant, built this home for himself in
1870 in the French Second Empire style with a dormered mansard
roof. Sadly, he went bankrupt in 1880 and sold the home to C.T.
and C.O. Stevens, who had run the Stevens House hotel in the
mid-1800s. The large home was later occupied by Eliza Stevens
Colby, daughter of Carlton Tappan (C.T.) Stevens. She is known
as the donor of the gates to Prospect Cemetery, 264-344 W Main
Street, where she is buried. The house was later converted to
apartments.
21
BANK OF VERGENNES
3 North Maple Street
This Greek Revival brick building was constructed in 1842
to house the Bank of Vergennes. The bank had been
established in 1825 and operated first in the William
White building at the corner of Main and Green streets.
In 1865, the bank was rechartered as the National Bank
of Vergennes. The building was also the second home
for the Susan Strong Library. The library began in two
third-floor rooms at the Stevens House in 1876 and
moved to the back of the bank building in 1886. All the
books from this library were transferred to the Bixby
Memorial Free Library when it opened next door in 1912.
The building has continued to operate as a bank, having
become M&T Bank in 2022.
