County National Bank at Clearfield, PA (Charter 13998)

Postcard of the County National Bank of Clearfield, Pennsylvania, ca1910s. Courtesy of Adam Stroup

County National Bank at Clearfield, PA (Chartered 1934 - Open past 1935)

Town History

Photo of the Clearfield County National Bank at Clearfield, located at 1 South Second Street, ca2020.

Incorporated in 1840, Clearfield is a borough in and the county seat of Clearfield County, Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census the population was 6,215 people making it the second most populous community in Clearfield County behind DuBois.

There were many trade routes and paths for Native Americans living and passing through Clearfield County up to the 1600s. One major Indian path at the time was the Great Shamokin Path, which started near the Indian village of Shamokin (now Sunbury) on the Susquehanna River and continued west past Lock Haven, to Chinklacamoose, now the borough of Clearfield. Finally the path ended at the village of Kittanning on the Allegheny River, which is now the modern town of the same name.

William Bigler (January 1, 1814 – August 9, 1880), was born in Perry Co. and became an American politician, 12th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1852 to 1855, and later U.S. Senator for Pennsylvania from 1856 until 1861. He started a political newspaper, the Clearfield Democrat. After selling the paper he was Nicknamed "The Clearfield Raftsman" because he was the largest producer of lumber for building supplies on the West branch of the Susquehanna River. His older brother, John Bigler, was elected governor of California during the same period; this is possibly the only instance where two brothers governed two different states at the same time.

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

Bank History

Organized January 27, 1934
Chartered February 9, 1934
Succeeded The County National Bank of Clearfield, PA (Charter 855) (Receivership February 26, 1934))
Bank was Open past 1935
For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
Acquired The First National Bank of Spangler (Charter 7181) of Spangler, PA, August 18, 1999
Main Office moved to One South Second Street, Clearfield, PA 16830, December 2, 1999
Changed Institution Name to CNB Bank on December 28, 2006
Still in business as CNB Bank, Clearfield, PA (June 2022)

On March 27, 1933, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia announced the appointment of 15 conservators in Pennsylvania. Conservator H.B. Powell was assigned the Clearfield County National Bank.

On January 6, 1934, the organization committee of the County National Bank at Clearfield was advised that their application to organize was approved by the comptroller's office at Washington. The committee announced the directors of the new bank as follows: John H. Bell, Clearfield; Fred G. Brown, DuBois; Andrew Frendberg, Grassflat; L.C. Hegarty, Coalport; C.T. Kurtz, Jr., Clearfield; A.E. Leitzinger, Clearfield; J.F. Leitzinger, Jr., Clearfield; Rembrandt Peale, Sr., St. Benedict; Richard Peale, Clearfield; P.B. Reed, Clearfield; Frank G. Smith, Clearfield; W.H. Thompson, LaJose. The board elected the following officers: Rembrandt Peale, chairman of the board; P.B. Reed, president; W.H. Thompson, vice president; and Roy I Fulton, cashier.

On Saturday morning, February 10, 1934, the County National Bank at Clearfield opened its doors, having been closed since the bank holiday last March. The reorganized bank was authorized to carry on unrestricted banking business.

The Library of Congress has three photos high resolution photos from approximately 1980 of the Clearfield County National Bank & Dimeling Hotel, 1 North Second Street, Clearfield, Clearfield County, PA.

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The County National Bank at Clearfield, PA

Bank Note Types Issued

1929 Type 2 $5 bank note with printed signatures of R.I. Fulton, Cashier and P.B. Reed, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $164,700 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1934 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 14,117 notes (No large size and 14,117 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 - 4712
1929 Type 2	10	1 - 4696
1929 Type 2	20	1 - 4709

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1934 - 1936):

Presidents:

Philip Bowman Reed, 1934-1935

Cashiers:

Roy Irwin Fulton, 1934-1935

Other Bank Note Signers

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

Wiki Links

Sources

Clearfield, PA, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clearfield,_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
The Sentinel, Carlisle, PA, Mon., Mar. 27, 1933.
Harrisburg Telegraph, Harrisburg, PA, Sat., Jan. 6, 1934.
The Kane Republican, Kane, PA, Tue., Feb. 13, 1934.