Dexter Horton
Dexter Horton | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1825 near Seneca Lake, New York, U.S. |
| Died | 1904-07-29 Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Merchant, banker |
| Known for | Founder of Seattle's first bank |
Dexter Horton (1825 – 1904) was among the pioneering settlers of Seattle, a prominent merchant, and the initiator of the city's inaugural bank. Prior to the founding of the Bank of Dexter Horton in 1870, financial transactions were primarily conducted by merchants.
Horton was born in 1825 near Seneca Lake, New York and raised on a farm close to Princeton, Illinois. He moved westward to Oregon, initially settling near Salem before making his way to Seattle in May 1853 alongside distinguished pioneers such as Aaron and Thomas Mercer, Daniel Bagley, John Pike, and William Shoudy. His wife and daughter followed him shortly after. In the early years, he engaged in lumber-related occupations, including employment at Henry Yesler's sawmill in 1854.
Subsequently, Horton formed a business alliance with David Phillips to launch a prosperous general store located on First Avenue South within Seattle's Pioneer Square. They later expanded their enterprise by opening a branch in Olympia, which Phillips managed after their partnership dissolved in 1861. Their commercial activities encompassed lending money and accepting deposits. In 1870, Horton closed his dry goods store and reunited with Phillips to establish Seattle's first dedicated banking institution, Phillips, Horton & Company, capitalized at $50,000. The bank operated from a property owned by Horton at the intersection of First Avenue and Washington Street. Upon Phillips's death in 1872, Arthur A. Denny joined as partner, prompting a renaming to Dexter Horton & Company. After Horton's retirement, the bank expanded into a major financial institution in Seattle that eventually merged with the Seattle First National Bank, which later became part of the Bank of America network.
A local story recounts that many years following the 1856 Battle of Seattle, Gardner Kellogg discovered an unexploded shell from the USS Decatur while digging at his residence. He placed it beneath a burning tree stump; when Dexter Horton stood near the fire for warmth, the shell detonated unexpectedly but narrowly missed him.
In 1844, Horton married Hannah Eliza Shoudy; they had three children, though two passed away in childhood. After her passing, he wed Caroline E. Parsons in 1873 (who died in 1878), with whom he had one daughter. In 1882, he married Arabella C. Agard.
Horton succumbed to heart disease at his home in Seattle on July 29, 1904, at age 78. His remains are interred at Lake View Cemetery.