after his political career ended, initiated a lawsuit against the powerful Wall Street financial firm Prime, Ward & Co. for squandering the bank's money by speculating in the flour market. The New York trial court had granted Hungerford a judgment of $70,000. The Jefferson County Bank, which was later joined by other creditors, asked the court to issue Stillwell warrants, which caused the sheriff to arrest Edward Prime, Samuel Ward (lobbyist), and John Ward based on the legal theory that they were about to remove their assets in the United States to pay creditors in England. The defendants attempted to quash the warrants based on lack of jurisdiction and insufficient affidavits, but were unsuccessful. The Jefferson County Bank's attorney in the lawsuit, George C. Sherman, who was also a director of the Bank, mercilessly questioned one of the defendants, resulting in the recovery of some bank funds. Throughout the entire nineteenth century, the Jefferson County Bank, nationally chartered in 1865, never defaulted on its obligations and from 1824 paid its shareholders regular dividends. To put its growth in perspective: in 1821 it had resources of $91,000.00; by January 1, 1916, it had resources of $3,000,000.00. In 1916, Orville's grandson, Orville E. Hungerford, was vice-president of the bank. Orville Hungerford was one of the founders of the Bank of Watertown, which was capitalized at $100,000, and began operations on January 26, 1839. Loveland Paddock also helped found the Bank of Watertown. Investor Orville Hungerford played an important role in the industrialization of the Watertown, New York, by investing his capital to help others start local ventures. For example, Hungerford helped establish the Sterling Iron Company, Black River Woolen Company, and the Jefferson County Mutual Insurance Company. In 1824, Orville Hungerford purchased the Oakland House, a hotel in Watertown, New York, which he then sold to Lewis Rich in 1847. On Monday, January 9, 1839, the New York Assembly read a petition from Orville Hungerford and ninety others, seeking to extend the Black River Canal, a feeder for the Erie Canal, all the way up to Lake Ontario or the St. Lawrence River. Beginning in the 1840s, building a plank road became a popular way to facilitate transportation routes, and several were planned to be built in Watertown and its environs. Orville Hungerford and his nephew Orville Velora Brainard were instrumental in funding and incorporating the Watertown and Sackets Harbor Plank Road