Citizens National Bank, Orange, VA (Charter 7150)

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The old Citizens National Bank of Orange
The old Citizens National Bank of Orange, Virginia. The bank was opened in 1925 by the National Bank of Orange. In 1953, the Citizens National added the drive-thru window. As pictured in September 2024, this was a drive-up ATM for the Bank of America. Courtesy of Google Maps

Citizens National Bank, Orange, VA (Chartered 1904 - Open past 1935)

Town History

drive-in window added by the Citizens National Bank of Orange
In 1953, the drive-in window was added by the Citizens National Bank of Orange, Virginia.[1]
Officers and employees of the Citizens National Bank of Orange
Officers and employees of the Citizens National Bank of Orange by the new drive-in window added in 1953.[2]

Orange is a town and the county seat of Orange County, Virginia. Orange is 28 miles northeast of Charlottesville, 88 miles southwest of Washington, D.C., and 4 miles east of Founding Father and fourth U.S. president James Madison's plantation of Montpelier. The population was 4,880 at the 2020 census. In 1880 the population was 547, growing to 1,381 by 1930.

The present-day Town of Orange was known as the Town of Orange Court House prior to the late 19th century. Following the establishment of Culpeper County from a part of Orange County in 1749, the courthouse was relocated to Orange Court House from elsewhere in the county.

Orange was a strategically important location during the American Civil War. Just north of town, the Rapidan River was effectively the northern border of the Confederacy from March 1862 to May 1864. Consequently, the area witnessed countless troop movements, patrols, skirmishes, and encampments. In addition, the Town of Orange served as General Robert E. Lee's headquarters during that time. General Lee worshipped at the St. Thomas Episcopal Church. This church is also significant as it served as a hospital for Confederate wounded after the Battle of Chancellorsville and the Battle of the Wilderness. Lee passed by this church many times during his stay in Orange. Mort Künstler, an artist of American historical subjects, immortalized this scene in his painting Soldier of Faith. County records dating back to its founding in 1734 were protected by a clerk of court removing them to "a place of safety" as Federal troops were moving through Orange and towards Richmond.

Numerous buildings constructed soon after the Civil War stand in the downtown historic district. Following Virginia's readmission to the Union in 1870, Orange Court House officially became a town in 1872 when the petition (required by the 1855 General Assembly act) for an election of town trustees was filed in the court. The first town council meeting was held on June 28, 1872. In 1890, the village changed its name officially to the current-day Town of Orange.

The economy and population continued to grow up until the time of a fire in 1908, which destroyed most of the eastern portion of town. Like nearby Gordonsville, Orange's importance as a railroad hub began declining in the early 20th century. Because of its location at the confluence of two major roadways and the establishment of the Orange Automobile Club in 1910, the town became a regional center for automobile sales and services. Its accessibility allowed it to maintain a relatively healthy economy through the Great Depression.

A notable company in Orange during that period was American Silk Mills, Inc., which was established in 1929 and processed raw silk into a finished material. During World War II, the mill was awarded a presidential citation for its production of parachutes for Allied troops.

Orange had three National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, the National Bank of Orange (Charter 5438), the American National Bank (Charter 5532), and the Citizens National Bank, (Charter 7150), and all three of those banks issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

A 1930 advertisement for the Citizens National Bank
A 1930 advertisement for the Citizens National Bank of Orange, Virginia.[3]

On Thursday, February 4, 1904, a meeting of the stockholders of the Citizens National Bank of Orange was held in the office of Attorney A.T. Browning. Hon. W.W. Burgess was made temporary chairman. The bank was organized with the election of the following directors: R.O. Halsey of Everona, C.J. Stovin of Orange, L. Willis, Jr. of Rapidan, Dr. E.W. Twyman of Madison, Dr. Wm. J. Crittenden of Unionville, G.E. Waugh of Everona, S.P. Kirkpatrick of Somerset, L.W. Booton of Orange, W.J. Tatum of Tatum, R.C. Booton of Orange, and R.C. Slaughter of Orange. The officers elected were R.O. Halsey, president; L. Willis, Jr., vice president; R.C. Slaughter, cashier; and C.J. Stovin, assistant cashier. This bank, along with the National Bank of Orange and the American Bank of Orange, both of which were enjoying success, would afford facilities for banking interests unequalled by an town of its size in Virginia.[4][5] The Citizens National Bank planned to commence business the first of March in the room in the American Bank building recently occupied as the post office.[6] In March the board of directors appointed a committee to arrange for the purchase of a suitable lot and the erection of a new bank building.[7] The new Citizens National Bank opened for business at 9 o'clock Tuesday morning, March 8th.[8] The bank purchased the vacant lot between Mr. D. May's store and the Orange Hotel and would at once erect a handsome, two-story bank building on it.[9] The King Lumber Company of Charlottesville had the contract and agreed to have the building completed within 90 days. The building's cost was $9,000.[10]

In February 1908, the directors were R.O. Halsey, G.E. Waugh, R.C. Booton, Dr. W.J. Crittenden, W.J. Tatum, L.W. Booton, S.P. Kirkpatrick, Dr. E.W. Twyman, and R.C. Slaughter. The officers were R.O. Halsey, president; R.C. Booton, vice president; R.C. Slaughter, cashier and G.J. Browning, assistant casiher.[11]

On Tuesday, January 13, 1925, at the annual meeting of stockholders of the Citizens National Bank, the following directors were elected: R.O. Halsey, G.E. Waugh, Dr. W.J. Crittenden, H.F. Twyman, W.J. Tatum, W.C. Boxley, L.A. Rhoades, Dr. E.W. Twyman, W.G. Buckner, J.H. Biscoe, Dr. J.P. Hankins, R.J. Brockman, R.C. Slaughter. The directors elected R.O. Halsey, president; G.E. Waugh and Dr. W.J. Crittenden, vice presidents; R.C. Slaughter, acting vice president; H.F. Priest, cashier; Marshall James, assistant cashier. The bank had total resources of more than $1,200,000, capital and surplus of $250,000, with $30,000 set aside to take care of any possible losses.[12] In February 1925, work was begun on getting the lot ready for the erection of the magnificent new building for the Citizens National Bank of Orange, a large framed picture of which had been on display for the past week.[13]

In January 1928, stockholders elected the following directors: Dr. E.W. Twyman, Dr. J.P. Hankins, R.O. Halsey, G.E. Waugh, H.F. Twyman, W.J. Tatum, W.C. Boxley, L.A. Rhoades, W.G. Buckner, R.C. Slaughter, J.H. Biscoe, R.J. Brockman, H.C. Clarke, M.W. Carter, and A.W. Simms. The directors re-elected the following officers: R.O. Halsey, president; G.E. Waugh, W.G. Buckner, vice presidents; R.C. Slaughter, active vice president; H.F. Priest, cashier; Marshall James, assistant cashier; J.E. Wiltshire, teller; Miss Louise Willis, bookkeeper; and Mrs. Brantley T. Willis, stenographer. The stockholders were invited by the officers to a turkey and oyster dinner at the Hotel Coleman.[14]

On June 19, 1931, the Piedmont Bankers' Association met at the courthouse in Orange for its third monthly meeting. The association was comprised of the 11 banks of Orange, Madison, Culpeper, Greene and Rappahannock counties. Mr. H.A. Dinwiddie, cashier of the Peoples National Bank of Charlottesville, chairman of Group 4 of the Virginia Bankers' Association, was the principal speaker, the subject of his talk being interest rates and methods of computation. In attendance from the Citizens National Bank of Orange were R.C. Slaughter, vice president; H.F. Priest, cashier; Marshall James, assistant cashier; Norman C. Bailey and H.F. Twyman, directors; J. Edward Wiltshire and W. Howard Lane, tellers.[15]

On Tuesday, January 13, 1953, the annual meeting of stockholders of the Citizens National Bank of Orange was held in the directors' room of the bank. Of the 5,000 shares of capital stock outstanding, 3,115 shares were represented in person and by proxy. P.M. Watts was chosen chairman of the meeting and E.L. Brockman acted as secretary. R.C. Slaughter, president of the bank, presented a report of the year's business. The bank anticipated being of greater service to the community in the near future when the parking lot next door opened as well as the drive-in depository. The following directors were unanimously re-elected: H.C. Clark, N.C. Bailey, F.B. Daniel, W.B. Early, vice president; John J. Browning, vice president and cashier; M.F. Perry, Geo. A. Carpenter and Miss Bruce Bailey, assistant cashiers; Mrs. Mary Lloyd, R.C. Slaughter, Jr., and T. Newton Brooking, tellers; Mrs. Elly Rea Newman, Mrs. Mary Ann Moore, Miss Virginia Gibson, Miss Peggy Sue Bartley and Mrs. Margaret A. Gallihugh, bookkeepers; and Miss Katherine Peatross, secretary.[16] In October 1953, the first Drive-In Depository was introduced in Orange by the Citizens National Bank. After checking with numerous banks in communities similar to Orange, it was noted that parking had become the greatest problem and many people preferred to do their banking from their automobiles when possible. Also, the new parking lot would be free for use by the public after banking hours and was especially offered to the churches of the town for parking on Sundays.[17]

On Tuesday, January 12, 1954, the stockholders reappointed all officers for another year. Norman C. Bailey was named chairman of the board by the directors. Mr. Bailey succeeded Hugh C. Clark who had held the post for the past seven years until his death. Mr. Bailey was a native of the Rapidan section of Orange County but resided in Orange for the past 45 years. He was manager and director of the Merchants Grocery Co. and a delegate in the General Assembly, representing Orange, Madison, and Culpeper counties.[18]

On Sunday, January 10, 1960, Robert Carroll Slaughter, 86, president of the Citizens National Bank of Orange, died at Martha Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville after a week's illness. President of Citizens National Bank for 18 years, Mr. Slaughter was one of its founders and had been associated with banking in Orange County for 70 years. He was born October 21, 1873, in Madison County, son of Dr. Alfred E. and Eugenia Taylor Slaughter. His wife, the former Lucy Lyne, died in 1950. He was only 16 when he entered the employ of a private bank at Gordonsville, which had since gone out of existence. He became associated with the National Bank of Orange when it was founded in 1892, and in 1904, when the Citizens National Bank of Orange was organized, he became its first cashier. He held that post for about 20 years, and then was named executive vice president. In 1942, he became the bank's president. Mr. Slaughter was slated to become a vice president of the Peoples National Bank of Charlottesville after the 1960 merger of these two banks.[19]

On Monday, January 18, 1960, the former assistant teller of the Citizens National Bank of Orange was jailed on a charge of embezzling more than $26,000 on deposit in the bank. Sheriff M.M. Myers said Mrs. Mary Lloyd, about 33, voluntarily came to the office of Commonwealth's Attorney S. Page Higginbotham and told him she had embezzled the funds. The bank had been unaware there was a shortage.[20] Mrs. Lloyd had worked for the bank for 12 years before she was fired the previous week. The Citizens National had assets of between $8 and $9 million and stockholders would soon vote on a proposed merger with the Peoples National Bank of Charlottesville.[21] She was sentenced to five years for grand larceny and embezzlement with Judge C. Champion Bowles suspending three years of the sentence without the supervision of a probation officer.[22]

On Monday, February 3, 1960, in a joint announcement by N.C. Bailey, president of the Citizens National Bank of Orange and W. Wright Harrison, president of the Peoples National Bank of Charlottesville, the approval of the proposed merger by the Comptroller of the Currency in Washington was announced. The merger plan was subject to approval by stockholders of the two institutions. Federal laws required that the stockholders meeting be advertised for 4 weeks in newspapers having general circulation in the areas served by the banks. A routine audit of the accounts of the Citizens National would be conducted during this period. The bank in Orange would be known as the Citizens Office of The Peoples National Bank and would be under the direction of the board of directors then serving on the board of the Citizens National, namely, F.B. Daniel, Adolph Goiser, W.T. Goodwin, Edward B. Sparks, A.W. Somerville, H.B. Tomlinson, N.C. Bailey and M.R. Ford.[23] Stockholders of the two banks approved the merger at separate meetings with final approval reserved by the Comptroller of the Currency. O.B. Omohundro, a Peoples vice president in charge of the Gordonsville office would be in charge also of the Orange office. M.R. Ford and N.C. Bailey, chairman and president of the Orange bank, would serve on the board of the merged bank. The effective date of the merger was set for March 16th, at the close of business.[24]

In May 1966, the magnificent new building for the Citizens National Bank of Orange was rapidly being constructed under the guidance of Contractor Charles R. Butler.[25]

In August 1968, H. Frank Priest, vice president of the Citizens National Bank tendered his resignation to the board of directors after concluding nearly 50 years of service.[26]

Official Bank Title

1: The Citizens National Bank of Orange, VA

Bank Note Types Issued

1902 Plain Back $20 bank note
1902 Plain Back $20 bank note with stamped signatures of H.F. Priest, Cashier and R.O. Halsey, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com
1929 Type 1 $20 bank note
1929 Type 1 $20 bank note with printed signatures of H.F. Priest, Cashier and R.O. Halsey, President. Courtesy of Lyn Knight Auctions, www.lynknight.com
1929 Type 2 $10 bank note
1929 Type 2 $10 bank note with printed signatures of H.F. Priest, Cashier and W.G. Buckner, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $1,883,050 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1904 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 152,796 notes (87,164 large size and 65,632 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 3x10-20 1 - 1426
1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 2120
1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 2121 - 20365
1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 6120
1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 1758
1929 Type 2 10 1 - 15194
1929 Type 2 20 1 - 3170

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1904 - 1935):

Presidents:

Cashiers:

Other Known Bank Note Signers

  • No other known bank note signers for this bank

Bank Note History Links

Sources

  • Orange, VA, 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
  1. ↑ Orange County Review, Orange, VA, Thu., Oct. 15, 1953.
  2. ↑ Orange County Review, Orange, VA, Thu., Oct. 15, 1953.
  3. ↑ The Orange Observer, Orange, VA, Fri., Nov. 7, 1930.
  4. ↑ The Daily Star, Fredericksburg, VA, Fri., Feb. 5, 1904.
  5. ↑ The Orange Observer, Orange, VA, Fri., Mar. 4, 1904.
  6. ↑ Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, VA, Sun., Feb. 14, 1904.
  7. ↑ Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, VA, Tue., Mar. 8, 1904.
  8. ↑ Culpeper Star-Exponent, Culpeper, VA, Fri., Mar. 11, 1904.
  9. ↑ Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, VA, Fri., Apr. 8, 1904.
  10. ↑ Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, VA, Sun., May 1, 1904.
  11. ↑ The Orange Observer, Orange, VA, Fri., Feb. 14, 1908.
  12. ↑ The Daily Star, Fredericksburg, VA, Mon., Jan. 19, 1925.
  13. ↑ The Orange Observer, Orange, VA, Fri., Feb. 6, 1925. A corps of workmen were removing the trees from the lot adjoining the Clerk's Office for the new bank building. Work would be started as soon as the weather permitted.
  14. ↑ Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, VA, Sun., Jan. 22, 1928.
  15. ↑ Orange County Review, Orange, VA, Thu., June 25, 1931.
  16. ↑ Orange County Review, Orange, VA, Thu., Jan. 15, 1953.
  17. ↑ Orange County Review, Orange, VA, Thu., Oct. 15, 1953.
  18. ↑ Orange County Review, Orange, VA, Thu., Jan. 14, 1954.
  19. ↑ The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, VA, Mon., Jan. 11, 1960.
  20. ↑ Daily Press, Newport News, VA, Tue., Jan. 19, 1960.
  21. ↑ Danville Register and Bee, Danville, VA, Tue., Jan. 19, 1960.
  22. ↑ The Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg, VA, Tue., Jan. 26, 1960.
  23. ↑ Orange County Review, Orange, VA, Thu., Feb 4, 1960.
  24. ↑ The Richmond News Leader, Richmond, VA, Wed., Mar. 9, 1960.
  25. ↑ Orange County Review, Orange, VA, Thu., May 5, 1966.
  26. ↑ Orange County Review, Orange, VA, Thu., Aug. 15, 1968.
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