DuPage National Bank
DuPage National Bank
101 Main St, West Chicago, IL
(630) 231-5100


History

In the early days of our community, before West Chicago had a bank, it was customary for the town's merchants to turn over the day's receipts to a trusted townsman who owned a safe or strong box. This was the situation back in 1891, when our bank was first founded on August 29, 1891 as the Bank of Newton and Smiley. The founders, Captain D.C. Newton and C.E. Smiley, both veterans of the Civil War, safeguarded their townsman's money, arranged for the payment of bills and in general, performed the functions of modern day bankers.

In 1903, The Bank of Newton and Smiley was purchased by a partnership consisting of James M. Dayton, Henry J. Stark, both of Sycamore and David A. Syme, who was originally from Scotland. The new institution was known as the Bank of West Chicago and had for its officers Henry J. Stark, President, Grant A. Dayton, Vice President and Cashier and Paul G. Brown, Assistant Cashier. This brought to the banking business in West Chicago the first of the Dayton Family, three generations of which were to play an important part in the affairs of the bank from 1903 to 1967.

In 1908, the banking law of the State of Illinois made it necessary to incorporate, so the State Trust and Savings Bank was incorporated with Capital Stock of $50,000 and a charter was issued to it on April 15, 1908. The bank commenced business with deposits of $200,000. David A. Syme was President, Grant A. Dayton (West Chicago's first mayor), Vice President and Cashier and Paul Brown, Assistant Cashier. Ten years later, in 1918, the bank moved from the "Stone Bank" to the present building and the bank moved in with deposits of $347,000.

The ownership stayed the same until 1962, when Wayland Dayton sold the bank to its present owners, and on December 31, 1962, we became a nationally chartered bank known as The First National Bank of West Chicago.

To facilitate continued growth as a full service bank in West Chicago and its surrounding areas, The First National Bank of West Chicago became DuPage National Bank on January 1, 1982. The doors to our third location in West Chicago opened on December 20th of that same year on the southwest side of our community.

©2008 DuPage National Bank. All rights reserved.
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