James E. Grimes

Local merchant James E. Grimes took steps to organize a co-operative bank for Canton with Mr. E.B. Thorndike and local manufacturer Mr. Joseph W. Wattles Jr. in late 1890 and early 1891.  On February 12, 1891 the Canton Co-Operative Bank opened for business in the selectman’s room at Town Hall, then in 1901 moved to the Grimes Brothers Shoe Store on the corner of Rockland and Washington Streets (in the Pitcher Building) where it remained for many years.  James E. Grimes served as bank Treasurer for over 50 years, and claimed never to have missed a board meeting.  When he died on April 8, 1953 at the age of ninety seven, Grimes was the last living member of the original board of the Canton Co-Operative Bank and a Charter member of the Massachusetts Catholic Order of Foresters.  Grimes was a respected and prominent citizen, reputedly casting a ballot in every town, state, and national election during his lifetime.

Historic Homes of Canton: Canton Corner, vol. II  by  Patricia Johnson, p. 275. 

Canton Journal,  April 10, 1953 

Canton Comes of Age, 1797-1997, by Canton’s Bicentennial Committee, p. 77.