Fontanelle Bank in Bellevue, NE

 Fontanelle Bank is an old wildcat bank in Bellevue.  It existed as a bank for less than a year.  It then became the county courthouse of Sarpy County, and then the town hall for Bellevue.  The building was constructed of bricks in 1856.  The bank closed in 1857.  It served as the county courthouse until 1875 when the county seat moved to Papillion.  It served as town hall until 1960.  It still stands as a point of interest.  It was in private hands for a time but has been acquired by the city and preserved as a national landmark.

Wildcat banks existed during a period of free banking in the United States, 1836-65.  They existed with more stable state banks.  They would issue their own notes based on their own credit.  This would facilitate economic activity.  An economic downturn in 1857 wiped out most of these banks.  The banks were prone to failure as well as fraud.