The Federal Reserve System was created on December 23, 1913, when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act into law. Before the new central bank could begin operations, the Reserve Bank Organization Committee, consisting of Treasury Secretary William McAdoo, Secretary of Agriculture David Houston, and Comptroller of the Currency John Skelton Williams, had the task of building a working institution from the basic framework of the new law. Twelve cities, including St. Louis, were chosen as the locations for the regional Reserve Banks and district lines were drawn. On November 16, 1914, the Reserve Banks opened for business. Today, the Federal Reserve sets the nation's monetary policy, supervises and regulates banking institutions, maintains the stability of the financial system, and provides financial services to depository institutions, the U.S. government, and foreign official institutions. An event-based <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/timeline/st-louis-fed-centennial" title="Link: https://fraser-staging.stlouisfed.org/timeline/st-louis-fed-centennial">timeline</a> is also available, with documents, images, and other media that commemorate the first hundred years of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 129 Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 27 Federal Reserve Bank History 212 Photographs and other media documenting the history of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. collection 1910-01-01 2013-11-18 5182 2025-12-18 15:25:47 2016-04-08 13:30:38 https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/centennial/ title https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/timeline/st-louis-fed-centennial https://www.stlouisfed.org/Annual-Report/2013/fed-is-born archival material https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/archival-collection/federal-reserve-bank-st-louis-centennial-5182 https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/images/record-thumbnail.jpg https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/api/title/5182 For more information on rights relating to this item, please see: https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/archival-collection/federal-reserve-bank-st-louis-centennial-5182