Farmers National Bank, Salem, OH (Charter 973)

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Postcard showing the Farmers National Bank of Salem, Ohio, ca1940s.
Postcard showing the Farmers National Bank of Salem, Ohio, ca1940s. Courtesy of Adam Stroup

Farmers National Bank, Salem, OH (Chartered 1865 - Closed (Merger) 1979)

Town History

The old Farmers National Bank on the corner of State Street and Broadway Avenue, Salem, Ohio, ca2021.
The old Farmers National Bank on the corner of State Street and Broadway Avenue, Salem, Ohio, ca2021. Courtesy of Google Maps

Salem is a city in northern Columbiana County, Ohio, with a small district in southern Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 11,915. Salem is 25 miles southwest of Youngstown and 30 miles east of Canton.

Founded by the Quaker society in 1806, Salem was notably active in the abolitionist movement of the early- to mid-19th century as a hub for the American Underground Railroad. Through the 20th century, Salem served as one of many industrial towns in the Mahoning Valley. Today, the city enjoys being an exurb of Youngstown and is the commercial hub of northwestern Columbiana County, home to Allegheny Wesleyan College and Kent State University at Salem.

Salem was founded by a New Jersey clockmaker, Zadok Street, and a Pennsylvanian potter, John Straughan, in 1806. The city was named after Salem, New Jersey, where Street was from. The name Salem itself comes from "Jerusalem", which means "city of peace". Salem thrived on an industrial-based economy, advantageously located between Cleveland and Pittsburgh. For several decades, the largest corporations located in Salem included American Standard Brands, Eljer, Mullins Manufacturing, Deming Pump, and Salem China.

Salem had three National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all three of those banks issued National Bank Notes. The other national bank operated using the title The First National Bank of Salem and it received two charters, 43 and 2691. Salem also had one Obsolete Bank, The State Bank of Ohio, Farmers' Branch in Salem, that issued Obsolete Bank Notes during the Obsolete Bank Note Era (1782-1866).

Bank History

An Obsolete $10 bank note dated March 4, 1847 from The State Bank of Ohio, Farmers' Branch, Salem, Ohio with pen signatures of John H. Ebbert, Cashier and unknown President.
An Obsolete $10 bank note dated March 4, 1847 from The State Bank of Ohio, Farmers' Branch, Salem, Ohio with pen signatures of John H. Ebbert, Cashier and unknown President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com
  • Organized March 25, 1865
  • Chartered April 1, 1865
  • Succeeded Farmers Branch Bank
  • Bank was Open past 1935
  • For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
  • Merged into Heritage Bank in Toronto, OH, May 3, 1979

In January 1841, the principal features of the bill to incorporate the State Bank of Ohio was reported in the House of Representatives by the committee on Banks and the Currency.  A Bank to be incorporated and to be denominated "The State Bank of Ohio," consisting of Branches with an aggregate capital not exceeding twelve millions of dollars.  Each Branch to have a separate corporate existence to bank for itself and divide its own profits.  The whole to be subject to the general supervision of a Board of Control to be elected by the Branches; each Branch to vote in electing the members of the Board according to its capital stock paid in, graduated in such manner as to prevent the larger Branches from possessing the entire control of the election.  The Board of Control to furnish each Brach the paper for circulation which is be be signed by the President of the Board of Control, countersigned by the Cashier of the Branch issuing the paper and made payable to its President or bearer. This bill was defeated.

After state elections in 1844 swept the Whig Party into power, the Legislature finally passed the General Banking Act of 1845, also known as the "Kelley Bank Act," named after Alfred Kelley, the bill's Senate floor manager.

In January 1855, Mr. C.H. Cornwell resigned as cashier of the Farmers' Bank of Salem and Mr. P.S. Campbell, the teller, was elected his successor. J. Twing Brooks was Salem's first lawyer, a vice president for the Pennsylvania Railroad and president of the Farmer's Bank at the time of its conversion to a National Bank in 1865. In 1866 Brooks was a Senator of Ohio, representing the 22d district of Jefferson and Columbiana Counties. By 1868 it was noted that he was the youngest Senator at just 27 years of age and one of two that were bankers.

In December 1907, the directors were R.V. Hampson, M.L. Young, L.L. Gilbert, W.F. Deming, and J.R. Carey. The officers were R.V. Hampson, president; M.L. Young, vice president; and W.B. Carey, cashier.

On Tuesday, January 9, 1917, the stockholders elected the following directors: M.L. Young, W.F. Deming, J.R. Carey, H.M. Silver, W.H. Mullins, C.T. Brooks, and W.B. Carey. The officers elected were: M.L. Young, president; W.F. Deming, vice president; W.B. Carey, cashier; and B.L. Flick, assistant cashier.

In February 1920, the directors were M.L. Young, J.R. Carey, W.F. Deming, H.M. Silver, W.H. Mullins, C.T. Brooks, and W.B. Carey. The officers were M.L. Young, chairman of the board; W.B. Carey, president; W.F. Deming and H.M. Silver, vice presidents; B.L. Flick, cashier; and O.C. Hoover, assistant cashier.

On November 4, 1935, L.B. Vincent, assistant cashier and William Hart, cashier of the Farmers National Bank were robbed of money intended for local payrolls. The holdup occurred directly in front of the Post Office when three men shoved guns in the sides of the bank's employees and informed them that "This is a stickup!" The three then ran toward a waiting automobile parked on North Lincoln Avenue beside the Arbaugh store. The robbers in their flight shot and seriously wounded Herman Stratton, 30 years old, of Salem, an unarmed motorist who pursued them in the belief they were automobile thieves. The holdup men stopped their car, got out, and began firing at Stratton. Stratton stopped his car and one of the bullets crashed through the windshield and struck him in the left eye. At the City hospital attaches said Stratton's condition was fair and he had a good chance for recovery, although the left eye had been destroyed.

B.L. Flick, president of the bank announced that every cent of the loss was covered by insurance. The money, he pointed out, was protected by Federal Reserve insurance from the time it left the Federal reserve bank in Pittsburgh, until it was in the Salem Bank and from that moment on it was protected by the bank's own insurance. The loss was $26,000 representing only a portion of currency which was needed for payroll purposes to meet the obligations of the Mullins Manufacturing Corp., the Deming Co., and other Salem plants. The Mullins Corp. had a two week payroll of approximately $83,000.

The holdup men were intelligent enough to know that the money was being shipped in to meet payrolls and also devised ways and means of identifying the bank's messengers. Two strange men were reported to have been seen sauntering up and down State Street in front of the bank the day before the robbery. The Salem police and the state highway patrol were among the different groups investigating the holdup. State highway patrolmen and county authorities of northern Ohio and western Pennsylvania were covering all principal roads and many secondary avenues.

In January 1936, stockholders re-elected the following directors: R.W. Campbell, W.P. Carpenter, G.R. Deming, F.J. Emeny, B.L. Flick, C.C. Gibson, and H.M. Silver.

In November 1936, Mike Beaver was under indictment for robbery of the Farmers National Bank of Salem, Ohio. Beaver was arrested in connection with the robbery in the fall of 1935 of the First National Bank of Springfield, Ohio and was on trial in U.S. district court in Dayton. At the trial, victims of the Salem holdup identified Beaver as one of the gunmen.

In September 1938, John S. Bugas, head of the Detroit Federal Bureau of Investigation announced that Lee Elliott McVoy had confessed to robbery of $54,000 in Springfield, Ohio on August 29, 1935 and the holdup on November 4th of the Farmers National Bank of Salem, and of the Second National Bank of Warren Ohio on October 9, 1933. McVoy and Beaver were subsequently sentenced to 25 years in federal prison.

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The Farmers National Bank of Salem, OH

Bank Note Types Issued

1882 Brown Back $10 bank note with pen signatures of R.V. Hampson, Cashier and J.T. Brooks, President.
1882 Brown Back $10 bank note with pen signatures of R.V. Hampson, Cashier and J.T. Brooks, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com
1902 Red Seal $20 bank note with pen signatures of W.B. Carey, Cashier and M.L. Young, President
1902 Red Seal $20 bank note with pen signatures of W.B. Carey, Cashier and M.L. Young, President Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com
1929 Type 1 $20 bank note with printed signatures of Orvil C. Hoover, Cashier and B.L. Flick, President.
1929 Type 1 $20 bank note with printed signatures of Orvil C. Hoover, Cashier and B.L. Flick, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $2,518,440 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1865 and 1979. This consisted of a total of 235,565 notes (211,064 large size and 24,501 small size notes).

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

Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments
Original Series 4x5 1 - 9000
Original Series 3x10-20 1 - 2800
Series 1875 4x5 1 - 5000
Series 1875 3x10-20 1 - 3852
1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 6460
1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 3100
1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 6900
1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 6901 - 22554
1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 2768
1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 824
1929 Type 2 10 1 - 2380
1929 Type 2 20 1 - 569

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1865 - 1979):

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

  • Salem, OH, 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
  • Wolka, Wendell, "Bank Note Portraiture: The Ohio Experience," Paper Money, January/February 2004, Whole No. 229.
  • Huron Reflector, Norwalk, OH, Tue., Jan. 19, 1841.
  • Anti-Slavery Bugle, Lisbon, OH, Sat., Jan. 6, 1855.
  • The Highland Weekly News, Hillsboro, OH, Thu., Oct. 17, 1867.
  • The Fremont Weekly Journal, Fremont, OH, Fri. Mar. 6, 1868.
  • The Salem News, Salem, OH, Thu., Dec. 26, 1907.
  • The Salem News, Salem, OH, Sat., Jan. 9, 1917.
  • The Salem News, Salem, OH, Sat., Feb. 14, 1920.
  • The Salem News, Salem, OH, Tue., Nov. 5, 1935.
  • The Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati, OH, Fri., Nov. 8, 1935.
  • The Salem News, Salem, OH, Wed., Jan. 15, 1936.
  • Xenia Daily Gazette, Xenia, OH, Thu., Nov. 26, 1936.
  • The Springfield Daily News, Springfield, OH, Fri., Sep. 16, 1938.
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