First National Bank, Carbondale, PA (Charter 664)

First National Bank of Carbondale, Pennsylvania, ca1930s. Courtesy of Adam Stroup

First National Bank, Carbondale, PA (Chartered 1864 - Closed (Merger) 2000)

Town History

Photo of the First National Bank of Carbondale, Pennsylvania ca2020. Courtesy of Google Maps

Carbondale is a city in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, located approximately 15 miles due northeast of the city of Scranton in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The population was 8,891 at the 2010 census.

The land area that became Carbondale was developed by William and Maurice Wurts, the founders of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, during the rise of the anthracite coal mining industry in the early 19th century. It was also a major terminal of the Delaware and Hudson Railroad. Carbondale was the site of the first deep vein anthracite coal mine in the United States, and was the site of the Carbondale mine fire which burned from 1946 to the early 1970s.

Like many other cities and towns in the region, Carbondale has struggled with the demise of the once-prominent coal mining industry that had once made the region a haven for immigrants seeking work so many decades ago. Immigrants from Wales, England, Scotland, Ireland, Italy and from throughout continental Europe came to Carbondale in the course of the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries to work in the anthracite and railroading industries.

Carbondale had one National Bank chartered during the Bank Note Era, and it issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

Organized December 14, 1864
Chartered December 30, 1864
Conservatorship March 23, 1933, licensed August 4, 1933
Bank was Open past 1935
For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
Merged into Pennstar Bank, NA in Lake Ariel, PA on December 9, 2000

The first banking facilities in Carbondale were provided by the banking house of Gillespie, Pierce & Co. The establishment of the National Banking system opened the door for Carbondale to secure a regular bank and members of the Gillespie, Pierce & Co. banking house and a few others organized to secure a charter for the First National Bank of Carbondale. Stockholders assembled at the Banking Office of Gillespie, Pierce & Co. on November 21, 1864 and elected the following officers: H.S. Pierce, president, John S. Law, vice president; James Stott, cashier. The directors were H.S. Pierce, James Stott, Anthony Grady, Thomas Gillespie, James Clarkson, John S. Law, D.N. Lathrope, Wm. W. Bronson, and Lewis Pughe.

In January 1866, the directors met and re-elected officers for the upcoming year. The officers were H.S. Pierce, president; J.S. Law, vice president; James Stott, cashier; George H. Birdsall, teller. The following were the directors: H.S. Pierce, John S. Law, James S. Stott, James Clarkson, Anthony Grady, Thomas Gillespie, Wm. W. Bronson, Lewis Pughe, and D.N. Lathrope. On April 1, 1866, the bank reported capital stock of $110,000, circulating notes of $99,000, deposits of $76,809.82. The banking house and lot were valued at $800.

On January 14, 1875, at 15 minutes after 12 o'clock, two robbers descended on the bank while the teller, G.D. Couch, and a clerk were absent at dinner, leaving only the cashier, James Scott, in the bank. The two men came in a front door of the bank and one of them asked for the change of a five dollar bill. Mr. Scott stooped down to make change when a man reached over, grabbed his head and pinned it to the desk while his companion jumped over and bound and gagged him. Mr. Scott was quite an old man, suffering from ill health and very feeble at the time. The robbers hastily gathered up all the currency they could find amounting to about $5,000, but fortunately overlooked a package containing $15,000 in $500 and $1000 bills. They were disturbed by a woman coming to the front door and escaped by the back door, crossing the river on the ice and were seen to enter a sleigh and drive off. At 1:40 two men were arrested on suspicion and were held for a hearing. Their movements were observed by ex-Mayor Voyle who overtook and captured them. On examination, their boots were found to be wet, clearly showing they were the men who had crossed the river. Also the tracks in the snow at the rear door of the bank exactly fitted the boots that the men wore. No money was found on their persons except a ten cent scrip, showing that they must have had an accomplice or hidden the stolen money. Mr. Scott thought they were the parties, but could not swear positively.

On September 21, 1875, the trial of Patrick Sweeney, the last of the Carbondale bank robbers commenced. Testimony by one of the robbers, William A. Rafferty, 26, of Carbondale, convinced the jury to return guilty verdicts on 5 of 6 charges. John McGovern and a man named McTighe were convicted earlier.

The First National Bank of Carbondale and the First National Bank of Dickson City officially merged on September 20, 1976. Joseph Needle, Ralph Needle, Dr. Dan W. Reckless and Dr. J.J. O'Connor, directors of the Dickson City bank, became directors of the First National Bank of Carbondale. Mrs. Annette Jones, the assistant cashier of the Dickson City bank, continued in that capacity and as the assistant manager of the Dickson City Office of the First National Bank of Carbondale. Mr. Richard D. Casagrande became the manager while Harry Miller, the cashier of the Dickson City bank, became controller of the combined banks. Donald D. Thomas remained president of the First National Bank of Carbondale.

In March 1988, the Pioneer American Holding Company Corp. announced the name was changed to Pioneer American Bank. The bank had offices in Carbondale, Archbald, Dalton, Dickson City, Elmhurst, Hamlin, Mayfield and the three branches of the Price Chopper Supermarkets in Scranton and Dunmore.

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The First National Bank of Carbondale, PA

Bank Note Types Issued

Needed: photo of a Large size bank note with good signatures.

1929 Type 2 $10 bank note with printed signatures of F.G. Winter, Cashier and R.A. Jadwin, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $2,257,600 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1864 and 2000. This consisted of a total of 230,145 notes (210,316 large size and 19,829 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 - 4250
Original Series	3x10-20	1 - 2100
Series 1875	4x5	1 - 4850
Series 1875	3x10-20	1 - 1914
1882 Brown Back	4x5	1 - 10500
1882 Brown Back	3x10-20	1 - 6804
1902 Red Seal	3x10-20	1 - 3500
1902 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 14800
1902 Plain Back	3x10-20	14801 - 18661
1929 Type 2	10	1 - 17993
1929 Type 2	20	1 - 1836

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1864 - 2000):

Presidents:

Cashiers:

James Stott, 1865-1897
Robert A. Jadwin, 1898-1914
Frank Garfield Winter, 1915-1935

Other Bank Note Signers

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

Wiki Links

Sources

Carbondale, PA, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbondale,_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
Wayne County Herald, Honesdale, PA, Thu., Nov. 24, 1864.
Wayne County Herald, Honesdale, PA, Thu., Feb. 1, 1866.
Carbondale Advance, Carbondale, PA, Sat., Apr. 7, 1866.
Carbondale Advance, Carbondale, PA, Sat., June 28, 1873.
The Scranton Republican, Scranton, PA, Wed., Jan. 20, 1875.
The Sunbury Gazette, Sunbury, PA, Fri., Jan. 22, 1875.
Daily Record of the Times, Wilkes-Barre, PA, Wed., Sep. 22, 1875.
The Times-Tribune, Scranton, PA, Wed., Nov. 10, 1976.
The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, PA, Sun., Mar. 6, 1988.