On the surface, it would seem that San Francisco and Charlotte may have little in common. But dig just a little deeper and you'll find that they share one very important thing: both cities owe their beginnings, early prosperity, and growth to gold. And although the gold discovery by James Marshall 
in California on January 24, 1848 may be more well-known, the precious metal was also discovered and mined in North Carolina (and later Georgia) a half-century before Marshall's find.
In 1799, twelve-year-old Conrad Reed picked up a seventeen-pound gold nugget in a creek in Cabarrus County, North Carolina , and took it home where the family reportedly used it as a doorstop for three years. I'm sure it made a fine doorstop. But when the nugget's true value was revealed, people began looking for and finding more gold.
At the time, Charlotte was merely a small village. In 1825, one miner found that gold extended into quartz veins below ground too, and the North Carolina mining rush was on. Many mines were developed around Charlotte, which grew into a supply hub for the mining industry and financial services center.
Out West in 1848, San Francisco was a sleepy port of less than 1,000 residents located in a distant territory recently ceded by Mexico to the U.S. As news of the California gold discovery spread around the world, gold fever induced hundreds of thousands of fortune seekers to head to California. By 1852, the first year the federal government took a census in the new state (everyone had been too busy digging for gold in 1850 to bother counting heads), San Francisco had grown into a city of 34,000.
It was that growth and promise of future fortune that inspired Henry Wells and William Fargo to open the doors of their new banking and express business, Wells Fargo & Co., in San Francisco July 13, 1852.
Much has been made of the fact that there was very little footprint overlap in the Wells Fargo and Wachovia's retail franchises — signs for Wells Fargo and Wachovia's banking stores hung in competition in only a few states. In fact, a number of the "Wachovia states" were places where Wells Fargo did business as an express company or bank a century ago...
From 1852 to 1918, Wells Fargo had two aspects of its business: a bank and an express company. Wells Fargo & Co.'s Express maintained thousands of agencies across the nation — not just in the West, but in forty states including Alabama, Delaware, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington D.C.
Wells Fargo did business transporting money and valuable goods, selling money orders, traveler's checks, and transferring funds by telegraph in city offices and railroad depots all across the country. In 1918 however, the federal government took over the nation's express operators to coordinate transportation during wartime, and Wells Fargo's signs came down from 10,000 locations throughout the U.S., with one very important exception: its bank in San Francisco.
Of course, it's not just gold that Wells Fargo and Wachovia histories have in common — both companies have demonstrated great insight and customer service as well.
In 1893, banks on either end of the country launched themselves into the trust business. Little did they know their new institutions would soon be tested by one of the most severe financial crises ever.
In San Francisco, banker Isaias W. Hellman founded the Union Trust Company, California's first successful trust institution. In North Carolina, Wachovia Loan & Trust Company opened its doors in Winston. Trust companies offered services beyond traditional banking, acting as executors, trustees, and transfer agents for individual and companies.
To head Wachovia Loan & Trust, its directors chose a dynamic businessman named Francis Henry Fries , who had already made a name for himself in the textile and railroad business. Wachovia Loan & Trust opened its doors in June. Just three months later, the new institution and the nation's economy plunged into panic, resulting in a crisis that sounds very familiar today: people hoarded money and banks hoarded their gold while unemployment rose.
Wachovia Loan & Trust obtained $5,000 in gold to meet its obligations, a treasure trove that cashier Henry Shaffner took home with him each night and hid beneath his bed.
Out west, Isaias Hellman watched as the banking panic spread westward from the East Coast. "I do not expect any monetary stringency in San Francisco but cannot foresee what may come," Hellman wrote to his brother-in-law Meyer Lehman (of Lehman Brothers in New York) "I am preparing for it." Union Trust Company was never threatened, but in Los Angeles, Hellman's other bank, Farmers and Merchants, watched as banks failed all over town.
Hellman withdrew $500,000 from his own bank account and boarded an armored express train headed for Los Angeles. Upon arrival, Wells Fargo express wagons loaded many sacks of gold coin and delivered it to Farmers and Merchants Bank. Hellman heaped it upon the counters, almost instantly and single-handedly halting the run on Los Angeles' banks.
currently bank with wachovia and have home mortage with wells fargo. when can I start making automatic payment for mortage payment on line without paying a fee
Are there any Plans for banks in Indiana, Kentucky or ohio
Why when I go to a Wachovia ATM can I not make a deposit. There are envelopes but the only option on the screen is to get the balance or take money out. Disappointing since I generally make deposits at the ATM
I am very excited about the Wells Fargo/Wachovia Merge... When do you think both banks will become 1 bank?? Thanks for welcoming us to Wells Fargo!! We look forward to be banking with you soon!!
We need Wells fargo here in Bangor ME.
@Keith Lewis - Hey we're in the same boat: I've also got my mortgage through Wells and my checking account (obviously) at Wachovia. I pay my bills with Wachovia's online banking service and there's no charge to make payments to my Wells mortgage that way. Have you tried that?
@Danny Root, thanks for your business. Legally, we are now one company. However, most of the stuff our customers see still looks the same for now. The conversion process for changing signs and a ton of other important details will take 2-3 years to be completed.
@Tom Manley, @david decesere - Our immediate focus is on the conversion of Wachovia financial centers in our existing footprint. Growth plans in new markets is something that is always being evaluated, but it’s good to know we have fans from Maine to Kentucky - very cool! In the meanwhile, have either of you every considered using Wachovia’s (www.wachovia.com/inside/page/0,,131_6338_6994_6995,00.html) or Wells Fargo’s (www.wellsfargo.com/help/faqs/deposits_faqs) bank by mail and online banking services. I've heard good things from other commenters here on the blog.
@Sara, sorry you encountered some trouble with one of our ATMs. If you are Wells customer, you can't use Wachovia ATMs for deposits just yet. Stay tuned for updates
How much will it cost to change all the signage over the course of "2-3 years"??
I'm expecting some money to come in and would like to open an account with Well Fargo -- is that possible at this point or will I have to wait until the integration is complete?
@Carolyn Slaughter - If a Wachovia branch is more convenient there's no reason to not open your account there for now. If you want it to be directly with Wells Fargo and there is not a Wells Fargo store near you, you can open an account through the mail.