Central National Bank, Peoria, IL (Charter 3214)

The Central National Bank and Trust Company, Peoria, Illinois, ca1930s. Courtesy of Adam Stroup

Central National Bank/Central NB & TC, Peoria, IL (Chartered 1884 - Open past 1935)

Town History

Detailed work found on the Central National Bank and Trust Company Building, ca2021. Courtesy of Google Maps

Peoria (/piˈɔːriə/ pee-OR-ee-ə) is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, and the largest city on the Illinois River. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 113,150. It is the principal city of the Peoria Metropolitan Area in Central Illinois, consisting of the counties of Fulton, Marshall, Peoria, Stark, Tazewell, and Woodford, which had a population of 402,391 in 2020.

Established in 1691 by the French explorer Henri de Tonti, Peoria is the oldest permanent European settlement in Illinois according to the Illinois State Archaeological Survey. Originally known as Fort Clark, it received its current name when the County of Peoria organized in 1825. The city was named after the Peoria tribe, a member of the Illinois Confederation. On October 16, 1854, Abraham Lincoln made his Peoria speech against the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Prior to prohibition, Peoria was the center of the whiskey industry in the United States. More than 12 distilleries operated in Peoria by the end of the 19th century, more than any other city in the U.S.

A major port on the Illinois River, Peoria is a trading and shipping center for a large agricultural area that produces corn, soybeans, and livestock. Although the economy is well diversified, the city's traditional manufacturing industries remain important and produce earthmoving equipment, metal products, lawn-care equipment, labels, steel towers, farm equipment, building materials, steel, wire, and chemicals. Until 2018, Peoria was the global and national headquarters for heavy equipment and engine manufacturer Caterpillar Inc., one of the 30 companies composing the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and listed on the Fortune 100; in the latter year, the company relocated its headquarters to Deerfield, Illinois.

The city is associated with the phrase "Will it play in Peoria?", which originated from the vaudeville era and was popularized by Groucho Marx.

Peoria had nine National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all nine of those banks issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

Organized June 20, 1884
Chartered June 28, 1884
Succeeded Kingman, Blossom & Co. (Farmers Bank)
Bank was Open past 1935

The Central National Bank Building is a ten-story building located at 103 Southwest Adams Street in downtown Peoria. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 18, 1978.

In 1866, Messrs. Frederick W. & Isaac E. Leonard, assisted by Mr. B.F. Blossom, organized the First National Bank of Pekin of which Mr. Blossom became the cashier. In 1876, Mr. Blossom came to Peoria as cashier of the Second National Bank. In 1879, the private bank of Kingman, Blossom & Co. was organized, and continued until 1884, when it was succeeded by the Central National Bank, of which Mr. Martin Kingman was President and a large stockholder and Mr. B.F. Blossom, cashier.

On June 28, 1884, the comptroller of the currency authorized the Central National Bank of Peoria to begin business with capital of $200,000.

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The Central National Bank of Peoria, IL

2: The Central National Bank and Trust Company of (8/1/1928), Peoria, IL

Bank Note Types Issued

1882 Brown Back $10 bank note with pen signatures of B.F. Blossom, Cashier and Oliver J. Bailey, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

1902 Plain Back $10 bank note with pen signatures of unkown Blossom, Vice President and F.F. Blossom, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

1929 Type 1 $5 bank note, Serial Number 1, with printed signatures of C.F. Harsch, Cashier and F.F. Blossom, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $4,746,310 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1884 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 726,197 notes (600,656 large size and 125,541 small size notes).

This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:

Series/Type	Sheet/Denoms	Serial#s	Sheet Comments
1: 1882 Brown Back	3x10-20	1 - 6081
1: 1902 Red Seal	4x5	1 - 5000
1: 1902 Red Seal	3x10-20	1 - 6100
1: 1902 Date Back	4x5	1 - 11750
1: 1902 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 8900
1: 1902 Plain Back	4x5	11751 - 113963
1: 1902 Plain Back	3x10-20	8901 - 11000
2: 1902 Plain Back	4x5	1 - 6935
2: 1902 Plain Back	3x10-20	1 - 1085
2: 1929 Type 1	6x5	1 - 10990
2: 1929 Type 1	6x10	1 - 5656
2: 1929 Type 1	6x20	1 - 1982
2: 1929 Type 2	5	1 - 8052
2: 1929 Type 2	10	1 - 4653
2: 1929 Type 2	20	1 - 1068

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1884 - 1936):

Presidents:

Lieut. Martin Kingman, 1884-1890 NOTE: a featured biography is available
Hervey Lightner, 1891-1895
Oliver Joseph Bailey, 1896-1904
Richard W. Kempshall, 1905-1914
Frederick Freeman Blossom, 1915-1935

Cashiers:

Other Bank Note Signers

There are currently no known Vice President or Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.

Wiki Links

Sources

Peoria, IL, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peoria,_Illinois
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
Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, Volume II, 1902.
Chillicothe Independent, Chillicothe, IL, Sat., July 5, 1884.