Parcel Post Bank

September 1886 Samuel R. Bennion was sent here to establish a banking institution called the ‘Ashley Co-op.’ In 1903 the first pioneer bank was opened for business. In 1916 W.H. Coltharp erected this building with Salt Lake City brick. A full car load of brick was used, each wrapped separately and sent Parcel Post U.S. Mail to Watson, Utah by train. From there they were hauled to Vernal by freight wagon and teams. It is known as the ‘Parcel Post Bank of the World,’ with N.J. Meagher, Sr. cashier, this bank has been a great factor in the development of Uintah Basin.

Daughters of Utah Pioneers historic marker #247, located at 3 W Main in Vernal, Utah.

Related:

• Do Religion and Money Mix? A Tale of Two Banks
• D.U.P. Historic Markers
• How Far Would You Carry a Brick for Seven Cents

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The Uintah County Landmark Register plaque on the building says:

The Bank of Vernal was built with bricks shipped from Salt Lake City to Vernal in 1916. Bank officials wanted hard-fired bricks for their enduring building.

Because Vernal was in Salt Lake City’s second postal zone, mailed bricks cost half the amount of freighted bricks. Due to the distance, weight and difficulty of the flood of bricks mailed, postal regulations were changed across the country, and the Bank of Vernal became known as the “Parcel Post Bank.”

The Bank of Vernal is also on the Utah Register of Historic Places.

Two of the stops on Vernal’s Walking History Tour are about this bank:

• “Do Religion and Money Mix? A Tale of Two Banks“
• “How Far Would You Carry a Brick for Seven Cents”