Commercial National Bank, Spartanburg, SC (Charter 14211)
Commercial National Bank, Spartanburg, SC (Chartered 1934 - Open past 1935)
Town History
Spartanburg is the second-largest city in the greater Greenville–Spartanburg–Anderson Combined Statistical Area, which has a population of 1,385,045 as of 2014. It is part of a 10-county region of northwestern South Carolina known as "The Upstate," and is located 98 miles northwest of Columbia, 80 miles west of Charlotte, North Carolina, and about 190 miles northeast of Atlanta, Georgia.
Spartanburg was formed in 1785, after a deal was made with the Cherokee Nation in 1753, and was named after a local militia called the Spartan Regiment in the American Revolutionary War. The Spartan Regiment, commanded by Andrew Pickens, participated in the nearby Battle of Cowpens. In 1831, Spartanburg was incorporated, later becoming known as the "Hub City": railroad lines radiated from the city forming the shape of a wheel hub.
It became a center of textile manufacturing in the late 19th century, with around 40 textile mills being established through the early 1900s. Spartanburg is the home of Wofford College, Converse University, and Spartanburg Community College, and the area is home to USC Upstate and Spartanburg Methodist College. It is also the site of headquarters for Denny's.
Spartanburg had five National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and four of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized June 5, 1934
- Chartered June 29, 1934
- Bank was Open past 1935
- Merged in December 1964 with First National Bank of South Carolina in Columbia to form The First Commercial National Bank of South Carolina with headquarters in Columbia, SC
On Monday, July 2, 1934, The Commercial National Bank, with a capital of $150,000 and a $16,000 paid-in surplus opened with Alfred Moore, textile executive as chairman of the board of directors. J.L. Campbell who had handled liquidation of several national banks was president; A.B. Taylor, president of the Taylor-Colquitt company was vice president; Vernon C. Earle, cashier; and W. Evans Bruner, assistant cashier. W.P. Conyers of Greenville was appointed receiver of the Central National Bank of Spartanburg, the First National Bank of Gaffney, and the Carolina National Bank of Spartanburg to succeed Mr. Campbell.
The boards of directors of the First National Bank of South Carolina and the Commercial National Bank of Spartanburg agreed to a merger of the two institutions. On August 28, 1964, Thomas J. Robertson, chairman of the board of First National and W.W. Brawley, president of the Commercial National. The merger was subject to the approval of shareholders of each bank and the comptroller of the currency. The plan called for shareholders of Commercial National to receive 1.65 shares of stock of the First National Bank for each share of Commercial stock. The First National operated 26 branches in Anderson, Bamberg, Bennettsville, Cayce, Charleston, Clemson, Clover, Columbia, Darlington, Denmark, and Summerville. The Commercial National operated nine branches in Spartanburg, Jonesville, Landrum, Union, and Cowpens. The merged institutions had 35 offices in 16 cities and total resources in excess of $150 million.
On November 19, stockholders of the Commercial National approved the merger. The Commercial National had deposits of $30,167,121 and the First National had deposits of $104,178,431. Shareholders of the First National Bank of South Carolina of Columbia met at the banking house at 1208 Washington Street and approved the plan the next day. S. Ernie Wright, assistant director of the State Development Board, resigned to become vice president for marketing services of The First National Bank of South Carolina. He would serve in the newly-created position, directing the public relations, advertising and related programs for the bank.
On Tuesday, December 19, 1964, the Comptroller of the Currency approved the consolidation. The head office of the First Commercial National Bank was in Columbia. Principal officers were Thomas J. Robertson, chairman of the board, and W.W. Bruner, president. The merger to form the First Commercial National Bank of South Carolina was the largest for the state in recent years.
In November, the bank announced their plan to revert to the name used since its organization in 1933, the First National Bank of South Carolina.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The Commercial National Bank of Spartanburg, SC
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $54,400 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1934 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 6,715 notes (No large size and 6,715 small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments 1929 Type 2 5 1 - 4210 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 1675 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 830
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1934 - 1936):
Presidents:
Cashiers:
Other Known Bank Note Signers
- No other known bank note signers for this bank
Bank Note History Links
- Commercial National Bank, Spartanburg, SC History (NB Lookup)
- South Carolina Bank Note History (BNH Wiki)
Sources
- Spartanburg, SC, 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 Gaffney Ledger, Gaffney, SC, Tue., July 3, 1934.
- The State, Columbia, SC, Sun., Mar. 12, 1961.
- The State, Columbia, SC, Sat., Aug. 29, 1964.
- The State, Columbia, SC, Fri., Nov. 20, 1964.
- The Columbia Record, Columbia, SC, Tue., Dec. 1, 1964.
- The Times and Democrat, Orangeburg, SC, Wed., Dec. 30, 1964.
- The Columbia Record, Columbia, SC, Tue., Oct. 26, 1965.
- The Greenville News, Greenville, SC, Sun., Nov. 7, 1965.