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The Buttonwood Agreement, which took place on May 17, 1792, started the New York Stock & Exchange Board (now called the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange

New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange based in New York City, New York. It is the largest stock exchange in the world by United States dollar market capitalization of its listed companies' Security ....
, NYSE). This agreement was signed by twenty-four stock brokers outside of 68 Wall Street
Wall Street

Wall Street is a street in lower Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. It runs east from Broadway to South Street on the East River, through the historical center of the Financial District, Manhattan....
 in New York under a buttonwood tree. The organization drafted its constitution on March 8th, 1817, and named itself the "New York Stock & Exchange Board".






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Buttonwood
The Buttonwood Agreement, which took place on May 17, 1792, started the New York Stock & Exchange Board (now called the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange

New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange based in New York City, New York. It is the largest stock exchange in the world by United States dollar market capitalization of its listed companies' Security ....
, NYSE). This agreement was signed by twenty-four stock brokers outside of 68 Wall Street
Wall Street

Wall Street is a street in lower Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. It runs east from Broadway to South Street on the East River, through the historical center of the Financial District, Manhattan....
 in New York under a buttonwood tree. The organization drafted its constitution on March 8th, 1817, and named itself the "New York Stock & Exchange Board". In 1863, this name was shortened to its modern form, "New York Stock Exchange". Membership on the NYSE has been held as a valuable property since 1868. Until recently, members could only join by purchasing existing seats, which were limited to a total of 1,366. In April 2006, the NYSE went both electronic and public, by merging with the already publicly traded Archipelago electronic stock exchange. The new merged company is called the NYSE Group, Inc., and the seats of the NYSE translated into shares of stock which are now traded under the ticker symbol NYX.

Document agreement

In brief, the agreement had two provisions: 1) the brokers were to deal only with each other. Thereby eliminating the auctioneers, and 2) the commissions were to be .25%. It reads as follows:

Names and address

The twenty-four brokers (also known as, Founding and Subsequent Fathers) who signed the Buttonwood Agreement were (including business location).

  • Leonard Bleecker … 16 Wall Street
  • Hugh Smith … Tontine Coffee House
  • Armstrong & Barnewall … 58 Broad Street
    Broad Street (Manhattan)

    Broad Street is located in the Financial District in the New York City borough of Manhattan, stretching from South Street to Wall Street.Broad Street was named for the Broad Canal, which it replaced....
  • Samuel March … 243 Queen Street
  • Bernard Hart … 55 Broad Street
  • Alexander Zuntz … 97 Broad Street
  • Andrew D. Barclay … 136 Pearl Street
    Pearl Street (Manhattan)

    Pearl Street is a street in the Lower Manhattan section of the New York City borough of Manhattan, running northeast from Battery Park to the Brooklyn Bridge, then turning west and terminating at Centre Street ....
  • Sutton & Hardy … 20 Wall Street
  • Benjamin Seixas … 8 Hanover Square
    Hanover Square, Manhattan

    Hanover Square is a square and public park in the Financial District , Manhattan, New York City. It is triangular in shape, bordered by Pearl Street, Stone Street and a street named Hanover Square....
  • John Henry … 13 Duke Street
  • John A. Hardenbrook … 24 Nassau Street
    Nassau Street (Manhattan)

    Nassau Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan of the New York City borough of Manhattan, located near Pace University and New York City Hall....
  • Samuel Beebe … 21 Nassau Street
  • Benjamin Winthrop … 2 Great Dock Street
  • John Ferrers … 205 Water Street
  • Ephraim Hart
    Ephraim Hart

    This page is about the New York City merchant, for the New York State Senator see Ephraim Hart Ephraim Hart was an American merchant who helped to organize the Board of Stock-Brokers, now known as the New York Stock Exchange....
     … 74 Broadway
    Broadway (New York City)

    Broadway, as the name implies, is a wide avenue in New York City. While New York has several other Broadways, in the context of the city it usually refers to the Manhattan street....
  • Isaac M. Gomez … 32 Maiden Lane
  • Julian McEvers … 140 Greenwich Street
  • Augustine H. Lawrence … 132 Water Street
  • G. N. Bleecker … 21 Broad Street
  • John Bush … 195 Water Street
  • Peter Anspach … 3 Great Dock Street
  • Charles McEvers Jr. … 194 Water Street
  • David Reedy … 58 Wall Street
  • Robinson & Hartshorne … 198 Queen Street


The Buttonwood Agreement is honored by the name of the financial markets column
Column (newspaper)

A column is a recurring piece or article in a newspaper, magazine or other publication. Columns are written by columnists.What differentiates a column from other forms of journalism is that it meets each of the following criteria:...
 in The Economist
The Economist

The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international relations publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in London....
.

Tontine Coffee House

Later in 1793, they conducted their business inside the Tontine Coffee House.

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