Allen National Bank, Fair Haven, VT (Charter 2422)
Allen National Bank, Fair Haven, VT (Chartered 1879 - 1972)
Town History
Fair Haven is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, with a population of 2,734 at the 2010 census.
Fair Haven was chartered on October 27, 1779, to Ebenezer Allen and 76 associates, and first settled the same year. The township originally included West Haven, which was set off on October 20, 1792. The post office at Fair Haven was established in 1797. In 1783, Colonel Matthew Lyon moved to Fair Haven and began building mills at the falls on the Castleton River. His enterprises included a gristmill, sawmill and papermill, in addition to a forge, as well as a newspaper, the Fair Haven Gazette. This began Fair Haven's legacy as a small, prosperous mill town, which by 1859 included a marble mill, rolling mill, nail factory, papermill producing wallpaper, three sawmills, a wagon shop, a machine shop, two blacksmith shops, and two shoe shops.
The quarrying and manufacture of slate began in 1846. Fair Haven would develop extensive quarries for the stone, believed at the time to be inexhaustible, which was supplied to cities along the Atlantic coast and in the West. Some was made into the framed, book-sized writing slates that students of the time used.
Fair Haven had two National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and both of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized April 5, 1879
- Chartered April 12, 1879
- Bank was Open past 1935
- For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
- Merged into Vermont National Bank in Brattleboro, VT, November 24, 1972
The stockholders of the new bank to be known as the Allen National bank held a meeting on April 2, 1879 and elected the following directors: Ira C. Allen, Simeon Allen, Norman Peck, Charles C. Knight, Martin L. Lee, Owen Owens, and Ellis Roberts. In a subsequent meeting, the board of directors elected the following officers: Ira C. Allen, president; Simeon Allen, vice president; Charles R. Allen, cashier. The bank had capital of $50,000 and a banking room was fitted in Ira C. Allen's new block. On April 12, 1879, the Comptroller of the Currency, John J. Knox, authorized The Allen National Bank of Fair Haven to commence the business of banking.
On July 1, 1913, former Senator and bank president Simeon Allen died. He was the son of the founding president of the Allen National Bank, Ira C. Allen. In his earlier days he was engaged in the paper making industry at Essex Junction but learning of the growing demand for milled slate in Fair Haven, he returned there and began in the slate business under the firm Allen & Leonard. He was married to Elizabeth L. Vail in 1873 and they established a residence in West Park place and had two sons, George H.V. and A. Vail Allen.
On Saturday, July 5, 1913, George H.V. Allen and A. Vail Allen took over the bank stock belonging to Charles B. Allen and Frank E. Allen, cashier and vice president of The Allen National Bank, respectively. They tendered their resignations and George Allen was chosen as president and cashier and Vail Allen as vice president of the bank. Two new directors, George A. Leonard and Morris Patterson were elected to the board.
Official Bank Title
1: The Allen National Bank of Fair Haven, VT
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $1,232,550 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1879 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 202,676 notes (185,420 large size and 17,256 small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments Series 1875 4x5 1 - 13709 1882 Brown Back 4x5 1 - 2950 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 2160 1882 Date Back 4x5 1 - 3250 1882 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 2560 1882 Value Back 4x5 3251 - 4747 1882 Value Back 3x10-20 2561 - 3378 1902 Plain Back 4x5 1 - 19411 1929 Type 1 6x5 1 - 1384 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 794 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 234 1929 Type 2 5 1 - 1562 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 1018 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 204
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1879 - 1936):
Presidents:
Cashiers:
- Charles R. Allen, 1879-1913
- George Henry Vail Allen, 1913-1913
- Arthur C. Hughes, 1913-1920
- Carlos Sherman Cole, 1921-1929
- Theodore Hyde Sherman, 1930-1935
Other Known Bank Note Signers
Bank Note History Links
Sources
- Fair Haven, VT, on Wikipedia
- Don C. Kelly, National Bank Notes, A Guide with Prices. 6th Edition (Oxford, OH: The Paper Money Institute, 2008).
- Dean Oakes and John Hickman, Standard Catalog of National Bank Notes. 2nd Edition (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1990).
- Banks & Bankers Historical Database (1782-1935), https://spmc.org/bank-note-history-project
- The Fair Haven Era, Fair Haven, VT, Fri., Apr. 4, 1879.
- The Fair Haven Era, Fair Haven, VT, Fri., Apr. 25, 1879.
- The Fair Haven Era, Fair Haven, VT, Thu., July 10, 1913.