1864 - 1887

Interior of Bridgewater branch, taken in 1900. The teller's cage at the left of the photo was both decorative and substantial. Protected on all four sides and overhead by steel mesh, the teller locked himself into his cage when the branch opened and, with a loaded pistol set out on the counter, spent his day handling the cash.

One of the original founders of the Merchants Bank in 1864, Kenny served as a director of Merchants' Bank of Halifax and later, The Royal Bank of Canada, from 1869 to 1908. On March 10, 1870 he became acting president of the Merchants' Bank of Halifax and president on June 25, 1870, serving in this capacity until his death on October 26, 1908.

Halifax branch, in 1880, was the bank's largest branch. They had just moved from their original rented premises on Bedford Row to a new building at the corner of George and Hollis Streets, built by the bank to house the modern and well appointed Halifax branch and head office. This is the earliest photo Royal Bank has of the interior of a branch and it is actually the branch staff who are posing as customers. Note the spittoon on the floor to the left of the photo.

At the time of Confederation in 1867, the Canadian government allowed banks to continue issuing their own notes, except for $1 and $2 notes, which now were issued by the government. The Bank Act of 1934 began the process of curtailing the rights of banks to circulate their own currency and by 1944, Canadian banks were no longer permitted to circulate their own currency.

The ship engraved on the $4 note appears on all the early bank notes of the Merchants' Bank of Halifax and forms the centrepiece of its corporate seal. This ship was believed to be a Cunard ship, a likely supposition as William Cunard was one of the bank's original directors.

The Merchants' Bank of Halifax's aggressive expansion into the Maritime hinterland resulted in the 1873 opening of an agency in Charlottetown, the first agency outside its home province of Nova Scotia. Originally opening in a small brick building, formerly a general store, the Charlottetown agency became known as "Connolly's Bank" after local merchant Owen Connolly who served as first agent.