$5 National Currency 1875 Ch#1886 - Citizens NB, Niles, MI - PMG 20

Located in the 2 counties in the corner of SW Michigan, Berrien and Cass, Niles is just north of the Indiana border.  Niles is on the site of the French Fort Saint Joseph which was built in 1697 to protect the Jesuit Mission in started in 1691.  After 1761 the fort was held by the British, losing it briefly in 1763 to Native Americans during Pontiac’s Rebellion.  The British took back the fort but did not re-garrison it and it became a trading post.  During the Revolutionary War, the fort was even captured by the Spanish for a short time.  Due to the French, British, Spanish and Americans all occupying the fort at one time or another, the town has the nickname City of Four Flags.  Niles also served as an important part of the Underground Railroad before the Civil War.  The Citizen’s National Bank of Niles was only open from 1871 to 1899 and THIS NOTE IS 1 OF ONLY 5 REPORTED for the bank in the census.  Examples from this bank have gone to auction only a handful of times and twice brought around $3500 and a 1882-BB realized $5750 in Lyn Knight in 2008.