Published on 05/20/07 in the Fostoria Focus
Olmsted made sense and cents as banker to Fostoria

By LEONARD SKONECKI
Focus Correspondent
It’s gratifying to see good deeds recognized. On April 26, 1903, the following item appeared in the Boston Daily Globe: “Charles Olmsted has served the city of Fostoria, O. as treasurer for 30 years without pay, and he could keep the job indefinitely if he wanted it. Being unselfish, he has decided to give some other fellow a chance and has refused to allow his name to be presented again for nomination.
“For many years Mr. Olmsted has been a member of a grain-buying firm, and a bank president. Few men in Ohio are more popular. During all his long service as a public officer he has refused to take one cent in fees. Such an example of patriotism is being held up to the young men of the town.”
Who was this Fostorian that knowledge of his selfless service should be so far flung?
Charles Olmsted was born in Lower Sandusky (Fremont) in 1830. His great-grandfather fought for independence in the Revolutionary War.
Olmsted’s father was a judge in Connecticut and Albany, N.Y., before moving to Lower Sandusky.
At age 26, Olmsted came to Fostoria. He had good reason.
His sister Ann had married Charles Foster. For a time, the Foster Store, established by Foster’s father, Charles Sr., was known as Foster & Olmsted.
Olmsted also operated a grain trading company. Olmsted closed that business when the Harter Mill (Mennel Milling) was established in 1886.
He and Foster were also partners in the Fostoria Gas Light Co., organized in 1878.
But it was in 1891 that Olmsted made his real mark on Fostoria. In that year, he and Foster and two other leading businessmen, Martin Kingseed and John Wilkinson, established the Mechanic’s Bank. Olmsted was its first president. The bank was initially capitalized at $25,000.
Mechanic’s Bank was located at 125 S. Main, the corner now occupied by the old First National Bank building.
The bank was reorganized in 1899 and was capitalized this time at $50,000. By 1907, the Mechanics’ Bank operated a branch in Bradner.
The Mechanic’s Bank was well-received. On June 1, 1893, the Fostoria Review said, “Charles Olmsted enjoys the confidence of the people to a marked degree. The Mechanic’s Bank will soon be one of the wealthiest banks in this section, and it well deserves to be.”
That was a solid endorsement since 1893 saw a “panic” or depression sweep the United States. The Panic of 1893 bankrupted many, including Charles Foster, but the Mechanic’s Bank weathered the storm.
The bank enjoyed such confidence that the city deposited its funds there. The state of Ohio also had deposits with Mechanic’s Bank.
In 1860, Olmsted married Margaret Skinner. Margaret was the daughter of Morris Skinner.
Morris Skinner was the man who donated land in 1856 for the first First Presbyterian Church in Fostoria. The “Al Capone house” now occupies this site.
The Olmsteds lived on West High Street.
In 1870, Charles Olmsted began his tenure as city treasurer. From his first day in office, Olmsted refused to accept payment for his services, instead turning the money back into the city coffers. Over the 30 years he held office, this amounted to a savings of thousands of dollars to the city.
In addition, when the city government encountered tough financial going, Olmsted advanced the city funds from the Mechanic’s Bank so municipal services would not suffer.
He was easily re-elected year after year.
The Seneca County Centennial Biographical History said, “His name is synonymous with integrity in every community where he is known, and over the record of his public career and his private life there falls no shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil.”
Olmsted was also instrumental in the establishment of the Fostoria Academy, Fostoria’s college that was located at the west end of College Avenue.
In July 1876, Olmsted was one of the petitioners who prevailed upon the Findlay Conference of the United Brethren Church to support the Academy.
He also advanced education in Fostoria by serving six years on the Fostoria School Board.
He was a member of the Columbia Club, the Masons and the Elks. Politically, Omsted’s sympathies lay strongly with the Republican Party.
He was also a member of Fostoria’s Norris Post of the Grand Army of the Republic. During the Civil War, Olmsted was a lieutenant with Co. I of the 164th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. During the time he served, the 164th was responsible for the defense of Washington.
In his 70s, Olmsted developed heart trouble. One Sunday in April 1906, he walked uptown to tend to some business at the bank. He went home, had dinner and went to bed as usual.
But around 2 o’clock in the morning, he awoke and called for Lanta Harman, his housekeeper. He realized something was wrong and asked her to call his doctor, C.S. Green.
Olmsted was having a heart attack. By the time Dr. Green arrived, there was nothing he could do, but sit with his patient until he died. Olmsted was just shy of his 76th birthday.
On the day of Charles Olmsted’s funeral, many businesses in the city closed to honor him. Residents recognized Olmsted had contributed to Fostoria’s growth and prosperity for 50 years.
It was good that the Boston Daily Globe noticed, too.