Citizens National Bank, Middletown, PA (Charter 7826)

Postcard showing the Citizens National Bank of Middletown, Pennsylvania, ca1900s. Courtesy of Adam Stroup

Citizens National Bank, Middletown, PA (Chartered 1905 - Liquidated 1923)

Town History

This could be recent photo of the bank or another postcard. (Set Height x300px)

Middletown is a borough in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States, on the Susquehanna River, 10 miles southeast of Harrisburg. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 8,901.

Middletown was founded in 1755 along the left bank of the Susquehanna River and was incorporated as a borough in 1828 after a sudden boom in development and population occurred as a result of the construction of the Union Canal, connecting Lancaster to Middletown. Earlier in 1824 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's legislature authorized and funded the canal construction as part of the broad sweeping commercial initiative called the Main Line of Public Works; a forward looking project designing to connect Philadelphia to Pittsburgh by canals and river navigations. Middletown was selected as the western terminus of the Union Canal, and it was named from its location halfway between Lancaster and Carlisle, where an ascent exists to a low pass allowing easier (wagon era) travel. It is the oldest incorporated community in Dauphin County and is located within a rich agricultural area forming the western edge of Pennsylvania Dutch Country.

Middletown is located 3 miles north of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant. The Unit #2 reactor at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant suffered a partial meltdown in 1979, causing then-Governor Richard "Dick" Thornburgh to order the evacuation of pregnant women and pre-school children from the area. Within days, 140,000 people had left the area. President Jimmy Carter visited Middletown's Community Building to calm the nerves of anxious residents.

Middletown had two National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and both of those banks issued National Bank Notes. The Bank of Middletown was founded in 1832 by Hon. Simon Cameron.

Bank History

Organized May 4, 1905
Chartered July 8, 1905
Opened for business November 1, 1905
Liquidated December 31, 1923
Succeeded by Citizens Bank and Trust Company of Middletown, Pennsylvania

The stockholders of the new Citizens National Bank of Middletown elected the following directors: J.W. Rewalt, D.W.C. Laverty, W.R. Fisher, C.W. Beard, H.R. Saul, H.S. Roth, Josiah Foltz, C.M. Foltz, and H.W. Bausman. The bank was organized with $50,000 in capital stock and of the 500 shares, 447 have been taken. The directors unanimously elected W.T. Bell, acting assistant cashier in the First National Bank of Bedford, as cashier.

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The Citizens National Bank of Middletown, PA

Bank Note Types Issued

1902 Red Seal $5 bank note with printed signatures of Henry A. Bell, Cashier and J.W. Rewalt, President. Courtesy of Lyn Knight Auctions, www.lynknight.com

A total of $649,950 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1905 and 1923. This consisted of a total of 80,604 notes (80,604 large size and No small size notes).

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

Series/Type	Sheet/Denoms	Serial#s	Sheet Comments
1902 Red Seal	4x5	1 - 1900
1902 Red Seal	3x10-20	1 - 1570
1902 Date Back	4x5	1 - 4300
1902 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 3240
1902 Plain Back	4x5	4301 - 10020
1902 Plain Back	3x10-20	3241 - 6661

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1905 - 1923):

Presidents:

Cashiers:

Other Bank Note Signers

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

Wiki Links

Sources

Middletown, PA, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middletown,_Pennsylvania
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
Harrisburg Telegraph, Harrisburg, PA, Sat., April 29, 1905.
Mount Union Times, Mount Union, PA, Fri., May 19, 1905.