Herman Kountze | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1833 -08-21)August 21, 1833 |
| Died | (1906 -11-20)November 20, 1906 Watkins, New York |
| Resting place | Forest Lawn Cemetery |
| Occupation | Banker |
Herman Kountze (August 21, 1833 – November 20, 1906) was a powerful and influential pioneer banker inOmaha,Nebraska, during the late 19th century. After organizing the Kountze Brothers Bank in 1857 as the second bank in Omaha,[1] Herman and his brothersAugustus,Charles andLuther changed the charter in 1863, opening theFirst National Bank of Omaha that year.[2] Kountze was involved in a number of influential ventures around Omaha, including the development of theOmaha Stockyards and theTrans-Mississippi and International Exposition of 1898.[3] Immediately after his death Kountze was regarded as one of Omaha's "old settlers".[4] Today Kountze's First National Bank is the oldest bank west of theMississippi River,[5] and continues as aprivately held company in its sixth generation of family ownership.[6]
Herman Kountze was born August 21, 1833, inOsnaburg, Ohio, one of twelve children born to Christian and Margaret Kountze. After leaving his father's mercantile business at the age of 26, Kountze moved to join his brother Augustus, who was a real estate agent in the newOmaha City, located on the eastern edge of theNebraska Territory. Immediately the brothers organized theKountze Brothers Bank and bought a large amount of land in the river towns along theMissouri River inNebraska, with holdings inBrownville,Nebraska City,Tekamah, andDakota City, and inSioux City, Iowa. Eventually they invested throughout Nebraska, acrossIowa,Minnesota, and the forests and grazing lands of eastTexas, as well as inChicago andDenver. In 1864, Kountze married Elizabeth Davis, the daughter of Thomas Davis, a founding pioneer of Omaha.[7] In 1899, after his first wife died, he was married for a second time to Clara Sara Whitney Cotton.
In 1867, Herman joined his brother in organizing theFirst National Bank of Omaha, with fellow Omaha businessmanEdward Creighton serving as the first president. Herman was the bank's first cashier, and became the second president of the bank after Creighton died in 1873.[8] In 1862 he joined several of his brothers, including Augustus, in founding the Kountze Brothers Bank of Denver, which became theColorado National Bank in 1866.
Herman's brotherLuther went toNew York City and founded the Kountze Brothers Bank there in 1867. Herman joined his brother Augustus as senior partner, and by 1872 Augustus moved permanently from Omaha to New York to manage affairs directly. After Augustus left, Herman took the management of the affairs of the firm in Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota.
Herman Kountze was a prolific investor. Among his holdings were a number of railroads, including theOmaha and Northwestern Railroad, theDenver and South Park Railroad, theSabine and East Texas Railway, theBoston, Hoosac Tunnel and Western Railway, and theTroy and Boston Railroad.
In 1872, while misunderstanding the ideal location he was selling, Kountze sold the land required to developNeligh, Nebraska, which eventually became the county seat ofAntelope County.[9]
In 1883 Kountze was a plaintiff and defendant in a lawsuit and counter-suit with the Omaha Hotel Company owned byJohn J. Reddick. The case pertained to the money owed in a failed real estate investment scheme. Other codefendants in the case included other pioneer investors in Omaha:Jeptha H. Wade, James W. Bosler, Thomas Wardell,Henry W. Yates andJohn A. Creighton. They were represented by pioneer lawyerAndrew J. Poppleton.[10]
In 1895 Kountze helped found theKnights of Ak-Sar-Ben to promote Omaha business interests.[11] Its first meeting place was inNorth Omaha at North 20th and Burdette Streets, located inKountze Place.[12]
Aside from the aforementionedKountze Place, Kountze dealt in a great deal of land throughoutNorth Omaha. He sold an 82-acre (330,000 m2) tract of land four miles (6 km) north of Omaha and 1½ miles south ofFlorence to theU.S. Army in 1868. It becameFort Omaha.[13] In the late 19th century he donated land to theSacred Heart Church at 2206 Binney Street. Kountze donated land toBrownell Hall to relocate from the former town ofSaratoga to South Tenth and Worthington Streets in the late 19th century.[14]
Herman Kountze was the treasurer for theTrans-Mississippi Exposition of 1898. After running into transportation issues with itsfirst land choice for the event, Kountze volunteered to sell part of hisKountze Place development to the city. As part of the real estate transaction, the City used a small parcel to developKountze Park, which still functions as a neighborhood park in that area.[15]
Working withJohn A. Creighton, Herman Kountze was an executor of the will ofMary Lucretia Creighton after her death in 1876. In that capacity he was partly responsible for carrying out the original intentions ofEdward Creighton, Mary's husband, who wanted to found a free university in Omaha. That institution eventually took the shape ofCreighton University.[16]
Kountze was a partner in theSouth Omaha Land Syndicate, theSouth Omaha Land Company, and theUnion Stock Yards Company of Omaha ofSouth Omaha.[17] This company was responsible for building theUnion Stockyards and theLivestock Exchange Building, and ran theSouth Omaha Terminal Railway.
The city ofKountze inHardin County, Texas was named in honor of Herman and Augustus. They were early financial backers of theSabine and East Texas Railroad which established the town as a station on the line.[18] As retail businesses and lumbermen accompanied the railroad, the town of Kountze grew, and in 1886 the town became the county seat.[19]
Herman Kountze died in 1906[20] and was interred in Omaha'sForest Lawn Cemetery,[21] of which he was a founding trustee[22] and in which there is a roadway named for him.
