First National Bank, Blue Ridge Summit, PA (Charter 12281)

ca.1930 Postcard of the First National Bank. Courtesy of Mark Hotz

First National Bank, Blue Ridge Summit, PA (Chartered 1922 - Open past 1935)

Town History

ca.2015 Photo of the old First National Bank building. Courtesy of Mark Hotz

Blue Ridge Summit is an unincorporated community in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, southwest of Gettysburg in the central part of the state, adjoining Pennsylvania's southern border with Maryland. It is less than 3 miles east of Pen Mar, Maryland. The population of Blue Ridge Summit was 891 at the 2010 census.

The community was the birthplace of Wallis Simpson, the wife of Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor (previously King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom). It is also home to one of the 15 oldest golf courses in the United States. Built before 1885, the Monterey Country Club has served as a summer retreat for many Washingtonians, and American presidents Woodrow Wilson, Calvin Coolidge and Dwight D. Eisenhower all played the Monterey Country Club course.

During the American Civil War, at the time of the Gettysburg Campaign of 1863, there were several cavalry skirmishes in and around Emmitsburg, Maryland, including Fountain Dale and Monterey Pass.

On June 22, the first skirmish occurred along the Monterey Mountain pass near Blue Ridge Summit. An armed civilian militia encountered a detachment of Confederates under General Albert G. Jenkins. The militia was forced to retreat after a very brief skirmish. General Jenkins and his Confederate troops withdrew toward Hagerstown, joining General Richard S. Ewell, who was advancing with a larger force.

Following the events at the Battle of Gettysburg, the Confederate Army retreated via Emmitsburg. On July 5, General J.E.B. Stuart's soldiers were engaged in some small skirmishes as he made his way back to General Robert E. Lee's army. A mountain swamp at Monterey Pass bogged down Stuart and the Army of Northern Virginia as they retreated. The Monterey Country Club sits upon 37 acres that were once part of that swamp.

Blue Ridge Summit had one National Bank chartered during the Bank Note Era, and it issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

Organized November 29, 1922
Chartered December 14, 1922
Bank was Open past 1935

On October 26, 1922, the First Natonal Bank of Blue Ridge Summit opened in temporary space in the front of the storeroom of the Summit Pharmacy. A new building was planned for the spring of 1923. Bank officers were Charles R. Lewis as president and John Carraway of Washington as vice president and cashier, and Clyde I. Gray, assistant cashier. Capital stock of $25,000 was bought up by the people of the Summit section. The directors were H.J. Mentzer, Dr. H.C. Bridgers, Charles S. Gardner, J.L. Chapman, A.L. Happel, John D. Hoffmaster, David E. Kauffman, Benjamin H. Solliday, George O. Poffenberger, Martin L. Harbaugh, Maurice R. Wagaman, Charles R. Lewis, John Carraway, and Charles R. Cline.

In December 1963, Directors of the First National Bank and Trust Company in Waynesboro and the First National Bank of Blue Ridge Summit approved plans to merge into one bank with combined resources of $24,250,000. Dr. Harvey C. Bridgers, Sr., president of the Blue Ridge Summit bank and Chester E. Adams, president of the Waynesboro bank said the new name would be the First National Bank and Trust Co. in Waynesboro with the present Blue Ridge Summit bank operating as a branch. On April 28, 1964, the stockholders of the respective banks approved the merger of the two institutions, subject to approval by the Comptroller of the Currency and other regulatory bodies. Dr. Bridgers, one of the organizers of the First National Bank of Blue Ridge Summit continued to serve on the advisory board of the merged banks until his death in 1965.

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The First National Bank of Blue Ridge Summit, PA

Bank Note Types Issued

1929 Type 1 $10 bank note with printed signatures of Frank R. Martin, Cashier and Harvey C. Bridgers, President. Courtesy of Lyn Knight Auctions, www.lynknight.com

A total of $232,160 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1922 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 18,896 notes (11,700 large size and 7,196 small size notes).

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

Series/Type	Sheet/Denoms	Serial#s	Sheet Comments
1902 Plain Back	3x10-20	1 - 2925
1929 Type 1	6x10	1 - 818
1929 Type 1	6x20	1 - 200
1929 Type 2	10	1 - 893
1929 Type 2	20	1 - 195

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1922 - 1935):

Presidents:

Charles R. Lewis, 1923-1923
Charles Shoop Gardner Sr., 1923-1924
Dr. Harvey Clifton Bridgers, 1924-1935

Cashiers:

Other Bank Note Signers

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

Wiki Links

Sources

Blue Ridge Summit, PA, 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://bbdata.banknotehistory.com
Harrisburg Telegraph, Harrisburg, PA, Mon. Dec. 18, 1922.
The Democratic Advocate, Westminster, MD, Fri., Dec. 22, 1922.
Public Opinion, Chambersburg, PA, Fri., Dec. 13, 1963.
Public Opinion, Chambersburg, PA, Wed., Apr. 29, 1964.
Public Opinion, Chambersburg, PA, Tue., Jan. 5, 1965.