The Badger State bank commenced business in Janesville.

The evidence

• “Bell and McCrea were residents of Milwaukee, and owned the private bank of McCrea, Bell & Co., already mentioned. The Badger State bank commenced business September 1, 1853, in the office until then occupied by McCrea, Bell & Co., who withdrew from business the same day. About January 1, 1856, after the completion of Lappin's block, the Badger State bank moved into the corner, which is now occupied by the Bower City bank.”

  1908-brown-rock-county/22-janesville-banking.md, Vol. 1, PDF p. 519 / book p. 481

  Brown, William Fiske, editor. Rock County, Wisconsin: A New History of Its Cities, Villages, Towns, Citizens and Varied Interests, from the Earliest Times, Up to Date. Chicago: C. F. Cooper & Co., 1908. 2 vols. archive.org/details/rockcountywiscon01brow, archive.org/details/rockcountywiscon02brow.

  Grade A: Found on a page of one of our sources