Birth of Wall St.

It was on this day in 1792 that a group of 24 New York City businessmen founded the New York Stock Exchange while gathered under a buttonwood tree on Wall Street. Wall Street had long been the location for an outdoor auction, where businessmen sold commodities such as molasses, tobacco, and furs. With the recent opening of the first Federal Bank by Alexander Hamilton, brokers on Wall Street had begun selling securities, stocks, and government bonds as well. And so on this day, that group of traders gathered under that buttonwood tree, signed an agreement to only trade securities with each other, to charge a fixed commission rate, and to avoid other auctions. The New York Stock Exchange continued as an outdoor auction until the following year, when it moved into the upper floor of a nearby coffee house.