The Binghams, old Sedro and their bank

June Burn: Charlie Bingham and old Sedro

This article tries to be a little artsy from time to time, but it's a sometimes-hilarious look at a young man from Iowa undergoing the difficult task of setting up a bank in a frontier town in 1890.

...One of the first things young Bingham did was to make the rounds of the stores and the "joints" to solicit patronage, explain his purpose. He came to a huge gambling tent called Klein's Hall.

"Know who I am?" the proprietor asked the banker, who admitted his ignorance. "Don't know who I am? Why, I'm the toughest guy north of San Francisco. I keep the toughest joint in the county. Name's Klein."...

As it happens, according to this website, the bank not only got established against the odds, but grew to be a strong presence in the Puget Sound area of Washington state.