Guide to Records of the Pittsburgh Stock Exchange, 1894-1972

Arrangement

Repository
Heinz History Center
Title
Records of the Pittsburgh Stock Exchange
Creator
Pittsburgh Stock Exchange
Collection Number
MSS#150
Extent
40 cubic feet
Date
1894-1972
Abstract
The Pittsburgh Stock Exchange was a regional securities exchange that operated from 1894 until 1974. These records include minutes, transaction reports, charters, by-laws, committee records, and materials generated by other stock exchanges, as well as materials providing comprehensive documentation of the operation and management of the Pittsburgh Stock Exchange from its founding in 1894 through the 1960s. Records also provide financial documentation for most large Pittsburgh banks throughout the twentieth century.
Language
The material in this collection is in English.
Author
This guide to the collection was originally prepared by: Historical Society Staff c. 1975. The records were rearranged and the guide was rewritten by Corey Seeman on June 19, 1995. Further revisions occurred to the finding aid as a part of the encoding process in Spring, 1999.
Sponsor
This finding aid has been encoded as a part of the Historic Pittsburgh project, a joint effort of the University of Pittsburgh and the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Funding for this portion of the project has been donated by the Hillman Foundation.
Publisher
Heinz History Center
Address
1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org

Historical Sketch

The Pittsburgh Stock Exchange was a regional securities exchange that operated from 1894 until 1974. The Pittsburgh Stock Exchange provided facilities for its members to execute transactions in securities (stocks and bonds) traded for either the members of the Exchange or their clients. At the Exchange, stocks and bonds, primarily from local banks, industrial corporations and businesses, were traded. Cities across the country had similar exchanges to facilitate the raising of capital needed for businesses in their region and to overcome the problems of communications that would limit a person's ability to trade on the New York exchanges. Regional stock markets were opened throughout the country and were located in larger cities such as Boston, Cincinnati, Detroit, and Philadelphia. These regional exchanges reached a peak in activity around the time of the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and never rebounded to pre-crash levels of activity. Even the practice of listing a stock initially on a regional exchange before moving to the New York Stock Exchange fell out of favor after the 1920s. As more of the country's financial business was centered in New York City in the 1930s and beyond, the need for regional stock exchanges waned.

The Pittsburgh Stock Exchange traced its origins to the booming oil trade in Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania. After Colonel Drake successfully drilled for oil in Titusville (Venango County), Pennsylvania in 1859, Pittsburgh became the center for the trade of oil between those who transported the oil down the Allegheny River and those who purchased the oil for shipment elsewhere in the country. In the summer of 1867, the oil traders organized as the Pittsburgh Brokers Association and operated in downtown Pittsburgh on the Allegheny River at Duquesne Way. Eleven years later, the first organized market was established in Pittsburgh. On July 25, 1878, the Pittsburgh Oil Exchange was founded with 180 members. The Exchange's initial officers were President George W. Cochran, Vice-President Jonathan Gallager, Treasurer W. N. Riddle and Secretary S. M. Willcock.

The Pittsburgh Oil Exchange was succeeded by the Pittsburgh Petroleum Exchange, incorporated on January 23, 1882. Like its predecessor, the Petroleum Exchange was established to protect and encourage the petroleum business in Pittsburgh. The Petroleum Exchange did not formally open for business until April 22, 1884 when they moved into a new building. Their officers were President C. W. Batchelor, Treasurer B. W. Vandergrift, and Secretary J. I. Buchanan. During the first eight months of operation, the Petroleum Exchange cleared 843,416,000 barrels of petroleum, averaging almost four million barrels daily.

While the Pittsburgh Petroleum Exchange thrived during the Western Pennsylvania oil boom, the diversified and growing economy of Pittsburgh and the region caused the leaders of the Exchange to expand their scope of operations. The charter was amended on January 11, 1886 when the name was changed to the Pittsburgh Petroleum, Stock and Metal Exchange. This new market was established to protect and encourage trade and commerce in Pittsburgh for more than just the petroleum industry. Factors involved in this decision include the establishment of gas stocks in 1886 and 1887, the establishment of rapid transit facilities in Pittsburgh (which necessitated the issuance of securities and a market for them), and the growth of the Standard Oil Company. This last factor might be considered the most significant reason for the change of this organization from petroleum to stocks. With the passing of control of the oil markets to Standard Oil, trading in oil was limited to the decreasing number of independent dealers and gradually diminished. In the late 1880s, brokers focused more on stocks as the trading of oil certificates was gradually eliminated. The Exchange did not successfully make this transition to a stock market and the value of the stock for the Exchange, that members owned and traded at market prices, dropped sharply. This drop in both the monetary value and commercial interest in the Exchange was heightened by the national depression of 1893. The Exchange folded and its property was sold at auction on August 17, 1893. A meeting of former active members of the Exchange was held on March 26, 1894 and began discussions that led to the establishment of the Pittsburgh Stock and Oil Exchange, the organization known after 1896 as the Pittsburgh Stock Exchange. The Stock Exchange's original officers were President Henry M. Long, Vice President S. S. Pinkerton, and Secretary-Treasurer John B. Barbour.

The Pittsburgh Stock Exchange was originally located in the Union Trust Building (335 Fourth Avenue) and the Citizens Insurance Building until fire forced them to relocate in 1897. The Exchange moved to the banking rooms of the Commercial National Bank (315 Fourth Avenue) and in April 1901, moved to the Pittsburgh Bank for Savings Building. The Exchange found permanent quarters in the old Mechanics National Bank building (333 Fourth Avenue) in the fall of 1902 after additional memberships were sold to help finance the purchase of the building. These additional memberships brought the total number of members to 130, up from fifty at the founding of the Exchange.

In the early years of the Exchange, the trading of stocks was restricted to brief periods of the day when a certain stock would be given a quotation. These events were known as daily "calls," and provided members with the purchase and sales price of stocks. These quotations were accepted by banks as valid numbers that would be used for negotiating collateral for loans. In the first few years, calls were limited to fifteen minutes per stock. With the increased popularity of the Exchange, the daily call was extended to thirty minutes and increased in frequency to three times a day. On February 10, 1902, the Exchange instituted daily continuous sessions, that were observed for the remainder of the Exchange's history. With this increased opportunity to buy and sell stocks, the volume of the Pittsburgh Stock Exchange increased greatly between the early years and the peak years of the Exchange in the 1920s.

Led by the great industrial and commercial growth of Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Stock Exchange became a clearing house for stocks of most of the great Pittsburgh companies including Allegheny-Ludlum Steel, Bank of Pittsburgh, Consolidated Ice Company, Harbison-Walker Refractories, Joseph Horne and Company, Jones and Laughlin Steel Company, Pittsburgh Plate Glass, Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing, and others. By 1929, a total of 204 issues traded on the Exchange with 159 of that number being capital, common and preferred stocks and the remainder being bonds. Included in the 1929 figures are 34 regional banks and companies from other parts of the country. The number of stocks listed on the Exchange grew rapidly in the late 1920s, in part because of heightened interest in the stock market before the great crash of October 29, 1929. Despite the Great Depression, there were many periods of active trading in the 1930s on the Pittsburgh Stock Exchange led by the presence of numerous Fortune 500 companies in Pittsburgh and the high concentration of stock owners in the Pittsburgh area.

The Pittsburgh Stock Exchange suffered two lengthy suspensions of activity in its early history. The first major disturbance was the closing of the Exchange from October 23, 1907 until January 26, 1908. This closing was necessitated by the general depression in the country and its particularly damaging effects in Pittsburgh. During this depression, George Westinghouse declared bankruptcy and his company nearly folded. Complicating commercial matters in Pittsburgh that year was the flood of 1907. The other major closure by the Exchange occurred at the outbreak of World War I in Europe. Following the pattern of other exchanges in the United States and Europe, the Pittsburgh Stock Exchange suspended daily sessions on July 31, 1914 and remained closed until December 2 of the same year. In addition to these major closures, the Exchange was closed at numerous smaller intervals to observe the deaths of presidents, civic celebrations and other worthy events.

After the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression, the volume and interest in the regional stock exchanges waned and activity never reached pre-crash numbers. The greater control of the securities trading industry that was established through the Securities and Exchange Commission eliminated the regional exchanges blanket exemption from blue-sky laws. These laws were designed to protect the public from fraudulent purchases of securities. On the positive side, the regional exchanges were encouraged to remain a viable entity by the Securities Exchange Act (SEA) of 1934. In that Act, the SEC provided three ways for the regional exchanges (and others) to conduct unlisted trading of national stocks at their local exchanges. Members of the Pittsburgh Stock Exchange could purchase and sell stock that was not listed on the Exchange if that stock was listed on a national exchange (as most were). Furthermore, the commission price for stock transactions of New York Stock Exchange shares would cost less if purchased through the Pittsburgh Stock Exchange. While this presumably assisted the regional exchanges, this provision in the SEA did not fully rejuvenate them.

By March, 1961, there were 14 securities exchanges in the United States that were registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as national securities exchanges. Besides the two major New York stock exchanges and smaller exchanges that dealt primarily in mining shares, the remaining seven exchanges were the regional exchanges and included: Boston, Midwest, Philadelphia-Baltimore-Washington, Pacific Coast, Cincinnati, Detroit and Pittsburgh. The two dominant stock markets, the New York Stock Exchange and the American Stock Exchange handled the clear majority of volume in stocks traded and dollar worth. From 1935 until 1958, the New York Stock Exchange annually handled around 85% of the dollar volume and averaged over 70% of the volume of stocks. Over the same time period, the American Stock Exchange averaged around 10% of the dollar value and nearly 15% of the volume of stocks. These two exchanges handled all but 7% of the dollar volume and all but 10% of the total share volume over that 24 year span. In 1959, the Pittsburgh Stock Exchange handled only .08% of the total dollar volume and .11% of the total share volume and ranked below regional exchanges in Philadelphia-Baltimore, Boston and Detroit. By 1964, the dollar value of the stocks traded at the Pittsburgh Stock Exchange dropped to .06% of the New York Stock Exchange and only .05% of its volume. This low volume placed the Pittsburgh Stock Exchange along with the Cincinnati Stock Exchange at the bottom of the seven regional exchanges in stocks traded. By this time, most of the stocks listed on the Pittsburgh Stock Exchange were also listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the values of those stocks were taken from the New York prices.

In 1969, the Pittsburgh Stock Exchange announced their merger with the Philadelphia-Baltimore-Washington Stock Exchange (PBW), a regional exchange that had a working agreement with the Pittsburgh Stock Exchange since 1956. As per the merger agreement, the PSE operated in Pittsburgh for five years and then moved all operations to the PBW in 1974. PSE President K. B. Cunningham oversaw the last day of trading on August 23, 1974. By that time, there were only three employees of the Exchange and only two exclusively listed stocks: Pittsburgh Brewing Company and Williams and Co. On the last day of trading, 3,100 shares of 11 different companies were traded including Pittsburgh-based Westinghouse Electric Corporation as well as Chrysler Corporation and Ramada Inns. With the closing of the Exchange in 1974, all stock trading done by the PBW was done in Philadelphia.

Scope and Content Notes

These records include minutes, transaction reports, charters, by-laws, committee records, materials generated by other stock exchanges, as well as materials providing comprehensive documentation of the operation and management of the Pittsburgh Stock Exchange from its founding in 1894 through the 1960s. Of note are daily transaction records from the founding of the Exchange in 1894 through 1970, yearly summaries of transactions by company name, extensive bulletins relating to new equity issues by local and national companies, and minutes providing information on the operation of the Exchange. Additionally, the Pittsburgh Stock Exchange Records provide strong financial documentation for most large Pittsburgh companies and banks throughout the twentieth century.

Arrangement

The Pittsburgh Stock Exchange Records are housed in 12 archival boxes and are arranged in three series. Series have been designated for Administrative Records, Transactions, and Material Generated by Other Stock Exchanges.

These materials were rearranged on June 19, 1995.

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

These materials were received in two accessions.

Acc# 1975.192, Gift of the Pittsburgh Stock Exchange (Records). 1975

Acc# 1996.0264, Gift of the McCullum, Gable, and McDonald families (Sales and Closings Quotation book, 1929). 1996

Preferred Citation

Records of the Pittsburgh Stock Exchange, 1894-1972, MSS# 150, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by the Historical Society Staff c. 1975

These records were rearranged and the finding aid was rewritten by Corey Seeman on June 16, 1995.

Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Jennifer Marshall in February, 1999.

Conditions Governing Use

Property rights reside with the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or publish, please contact the curator of the Archives.

Subjects

    Corporate Names

    • Associated Stock Exchanges
    • Boston Stock Exchange
    • Cincinnati Stock Exchange
    • Detroit Stock Exchange
    • New Orleans Stock Exchange
    • New York Stock Exchange
    • New York Curb Exchange
    • Philadelphia-Balitmore Stock Exchange
    • Pittsburgh Clearing House

    Geographic Names

    • Pittsburgh (Pa.) -- Business
    • Pittsburgh (Pa.) -- Commerce
    • Pittsburgh (Pa.) -- Industry

    Other Subjects

    • Banks and banking -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Bonds -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Finance -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Investments -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Petroleum industry and trade -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Securities -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Stock-exchange -- Law and legislation -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Stock-exchange -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Stockbrokers -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Stocks -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh

Container List