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Banking Industry Taking On New Dimension
Wichita’s first lender was James R. Mead, when he loaned money for supplies to 1,500 Wichita Indians in the winter of 1863-64. Later, around 1870, W.C. Woodman’s general store became Wichita’s first loan service eventually growing into one of Wichita’s first banks. The Arkansas Valley Bank made Woodman one of Wichita’s richest men in the…