Bank opens financial museum

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Bank of America Corp. has opened a financial history museum featuring artifacts dating back to the American Revolution.

Bank of America was founded in 1784 as The Massachusetts Bank, the first independent joint-stock owned bank in the United States and only the second bank to receive a charter in America. The museum's collection includes a replica of the 1784 charter, which was signed by John Hancock; ledgers dating back to the 1780s documenting the accounts of Hancock, Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, and Henry Knox; and a shareholders' register from 1784 noting that 15 of the original bank's 105 charter shareholders were women.

The 4,000-square-foot museum will also outline the growth of American capitalism.

The museum, located at 100 N. Tryon St. in Founders Hall, will be open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturdays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Admission is free.