North American Co. - 1922-1926 dated Stock Certificate

Stock printed by American Bank Note Company. Train vignette at bottom as well as eagle vignette at top. Light brown color.

The North American Company was a holding company incorporated in New Jersey on June 14, 1890, and controlled by Henry Villard, to succeed to the assets and property of the Oregon and Transcontinental Company. It owned public utilities and public transport companies and was broken up in 1946, largely to comply with the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935. Its headquarters were at 60 Broadway in Manhattan. In 1889, the New Jersey legislature passed legislation to facilitate the control of other companies by another corporation. This was part of a bid to entice trusts to convert into holding companies and move to New Jersey. It persuaded the Oregon company Oregon and Transcontinental to re-incorporate as a holding company in New Jersey and became the North American Company. When the Dow Jones Industrial Average was created on May 26, 1896, North American's stock was one of the 12 component stocks, but it was replaced on August 26 by U.S. Cordage. On October 1, 1928, when the number of stocks comprising the DJIA was increased to 30, North American was re-added to the list but was replaced by Johns-Manville in 1930. By 1940, North American was a US$2.3 billion holding company that directly and indirectly ran 80 companies.