Imagine a time when you couldn’t just swing by an ATM at any hour to grab some quick cash. Hard to picture, isn’t it? But in 1969, there was only one automated teller machine in the entire United States, and it was right here on Long Island.
On September 2, 1969, Chemical Bank in Rockville Centre made history by unveiling the nation’s first ATM. Less than two months after humanity’s first moon landing and just weeks after Woodstock, another groundbreaking moment was quietly taking place—this time in banking.
The ATM, initially known as the “Docuteller” and patented by Don Wetzel, was created to answer a simple but forward-thinking question: “If we built this machine, would people use it?” The answer, as we know today, was a resounding yes.
Wetzel’s invention revolutionized the banking world, enabling customers to withdraw money without waiting for business hours. The early machine installed in Rockville Centre worked surprisingly well, with only minor issues—an impressive feat for such cutting-edge technology.
Over the years, we’ve given these machines different names, from “cash machine” to “money dispenser,” and even adopted redundant terms like “ATM machine.” (Fun fact: That redundancy has a name—RAS Syndrome, or “Redundant Acronym Syndrome.”)
Long Island’s Chemical Bank branch may no longer house the original ATM, but the legacy of that first machine lives on every time we hear that familiar whir of cash being dispensed.
Wil540 art, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
