He served under the Confederacy during the Civil War, but he was pardoned by President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward.
This bank played a major role in Charlotte's growth, as did the city's railroad access to other areas.
[1] Rufus McAden and his family actually lived in the bank's three-story building on South Tryon Street.
Later in 1927, the Federal Reserve opened its branch office on the building's nineteenth floor.
One reason given for the bank's failure was the ambitious building program, combined with the inability to make money from the new skyscraper.