GEORGE LA MONTE & SON

FRANK J. CHURCH

By Dave Wilson

LaMonte was one of the big three employers in Nutley and had a world-wide impact while bringing financial security to hundreds of local families.

The Civil War was over and reconstruction began to restore unity to our nation. Monetary practices needed to be modernized across the country. Many forms of money, trade, and valuations would be tried. Coins were too heavy, easily stolen, and counterfeited. Livestock, beaver skins, and crops were hard to divide and value. Shady bankers and forgers found easy money altering bank notes and bills of exchange, a capital offense.