First National Bank, Chickasha, OK (Charter 5431)
First National Bank, Chickasha, OK (Chartered 1900 - Liquidated 1935)
Town History
Chickasha is a city in and the county seat of Grady County, Oklahoma. The population was 16,051 at the 2020 census. The city is named for and strongly connected to Native American heritage, as "Chickasha" (Chikashsha) is the Choctaw word for Chickasaw.
Chickasha was founded by Hobart Johnstone Whitley, a land developer, banker, farmer and Rock Island Railroad executive. The founding took place in 1892 when the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway (Rock Island) built a track through Indian Territory. A post office was established in June 1892. One of the earliest industrial plants to come to Chickasha was the Chickasha Cotton Oil Company, which was established in 1899. The town incorporated in 1902.
At the time of its founding, Chickasha was located in Pontotoc County, Chickasaw Nation.
In 1908, the Oklahoma Industrial Institute and College for Girls was established in Chickasha. A local rancher named J. B. Sparks donated land for the school in memory of his daughter, Nellie. The girl was a Chickasaw descendant, and the land had been part of her allotment. The Nellie Sparks Dormitory commemorated her. The school was renamed as the Oklahoma College for Women in 1916. It became coeducational in 1965, and was renamed the Oklahoma College of Liberal Arts. It was renamed again in 1975 as the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.
Chickasha had five National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and four of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized May 19, 1900
- Chartered June 16, 1900
- Conservatorship March 15, 1933
- Receivership July 5, 1934
- Restored to solvency April 26, 1935
- Liquidated May 16, 1935
- Absorbed by 9938 (Oklahoma National Bank, Chickasha, OK)
On June 16, 1900, The First National Bank of Chickasha, Indian Territory, was authorized to commence business with capital of $25,000. The directors were R.M. Bourland, C.H. Bessent, R. Bond, E.B. Johnson, A.L. Nail, R.K. Wootten, Jr., Webb Hendrix, C.B. Campbell, and H.B. Johnson. The officers were C.B. Campbell, president; R.K. Wootten Jr., vice president; H.B. Johnson, cashier; and J.T. Aust., and B.F. Johnson, assistant cashiers.
On Monday, January 17, 1910, T.T. Johnson began duties as cashier. In so doing he retained his interests and holdings in the First National Bank of Minco and continued as vice president and a director of this bank. The other officers for the Chickasha bank were C.B. Campbell, president; Ben F. Johnson, H.B. Johnson, and E.B. Johnson, vice presidents; F.L. Slusher and J.E. McNeill, assistant cashiers.
On January 15, 1920, at the annual meeting of the stockholders and directors, the following directors were elected: J.D. Sugg, E.B. Johnson, C.B. Campbell, Ben F. Johnson, F.L. Slusher, Alger Melton, R. Bond, J.H. Bond, T.H. Williams, Neil R. Johnson and Adrian Melton. Three new directors were elected, Neil R. Johnson of Norman; F.L Slusher and Adrian Melton of Chickasha. The officers elected were C.B. Campbell, president; Ben F. Johnson and E.B. Johnson, vice presidents; F.L. Slusher, cashier; J.E. McNeil and L.R. Hawn, assistant cashiers.
In January 1930, The election of John B. Nichlos, gas magnate, to the chairmanship of the board of directors was the outstanding event in banking circles in Chickasha. Nichlos acquired a substantial block of stock formerly held by the Sugg estate. Ben F. Johnson, cashier and vice president said, "I believe that deeper drilling will yet make Grady County a great oil producing territory and Mr. Nichlos' knowledge of the oil and gas industry will be of much value to the First National." Directors elected by shareholders were William Inman, F.M. Bailey, J.B. Nichlos, J.G. Mayes, J.D. Lindsey, and B.F. Johnson. The officers were J.B. Nichlos, chairman of the board; William Inman, president; B.F. Johnson, vice president and cashier; J.H. Cunningham, Mary B. Devlin, Stanley Kidd and Miles Mayes, assistant cashiers.
In January 1933, A.A. Sugg, who had recently become vice president filling the vacancy created by the death of William Inman, was elected a member of the board of directors by the bank's stockholders. The directors were J.B. Nichlos, A.A. Sugg, J.D. Lindsay, F.M. Bailey, J.G. Mays and O.L. Bingham. The officers were J.B. Nichlos, president; A.A. Sugg, vice president; and Joe Cunningham, all re-elected.
Serving approximately 6,000 depositors, the Oklahoma National Bank was one of the largest financial institutions in Southwestern Oklahoma. First organized in the early days as the Chickasaw Trust Company, the name of the bank was changed to the Oklahoma National in 1911. Its resources were increased when it merged with the Chickasha National Bank a few years ago. The institution was housed in its own seven-story office building completed in October 1930 at Third Street and Chickasha Avenue. The officers were A. Schuler, president, F.T. Chandler, executive vice president; M.E. Humphrey, chairman of the board; Clyde Turner, cashier; Roy Cornwell, Pelham Williams and Oscar Foster, assistant cashiers.
In March 1935, Tom Fatheree, John B. Nichlos, and A.A. Sugg were working a deal with the Oklahoma national Bank to pay 650 depositors approximately $265,000. Interest waivers were secured on all but $17,000 of the deposits. The Oklahoma National would take over the assets of the First National closed since the bank moratorium two years earlier.
Under the contract the Oklahoma National advanced money to pay First National depositors, interest being waived. The loan was secured by A.A. Sugg, John B. Nicholos and Tom Fatheree with Mr. Sugg acting as liquidating agent. Principal assets of the closed First National were the bank building, other real estate, notes, and bonds.
On Saturday, April 27, 1935, all details of the contract were worked out, examiners had made their final check, and F.T. Chandler, vice president of the Oklahoma National Bank announced that the institution was prepared to take care of depositors on Monday morning. With depositors waiving interest on their money, they would be paid 100 cents on the dollar.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The First National Bank of Chickasha, OK
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $2,662,770 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1900 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 315,069 notes (293,736 large size and 21,333 small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments 1882 Brown Back 4x5 1 - 5000 Territory, Indian 1882 Brown Back 4x10 1 - 500 Territory, Indian 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 2230 Territory, Indian 1882 Brown Back 50-100 1 - 390 Territory, Indian 1882 Brown Back 4x5 1 - 750 1882 Brown Back 4x10 1 - 500 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 300 1882 Date Back 4x5 1 - 12000 1882 Date Back 4x10 1 - 10700 1882 Date Back 50-100 1 - 200 1882 Date Back 3x50-100 1 - 360 1882 Value Back 4x5 12001 - 20288 1882 Value Back 4x10 10701 - 14050 1902 Plain Back 4x5 1 - 17140 1902 Plain Back 4x10 1 - 5670 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 1 - 5801 1902 Plain Back 3x50-100 1 - 550 1929 Type 1 6x5 1 - 1798 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 894 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 318 1929 Type 1 6x50 1 - 146 1929 Type 1 6x100 1 - 54 1929 Type 2 5 1 - 1332 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 556 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 185
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1900 - 1935):
Presidents:
- Charles Bryant Campbell, 1900-1903
- Henry Belton Johnson, 1904-1907
- Charles Bryant Campbell, 1908-1920
- Joseph D. "Ickard" Sugg, 1921-1924
- William Inman, 1925-1930
- Benjamin Franklin Johnson, 1931-1931
- John Bruce Nichlos, 1932-1932
Cashiers:
- Henry Belton Johnson, 1900-1903
- Benjamin Franklin Johnson, 1904-1909
- Tilford T. Johnson Sr., 1910-1910
- F. L. Slusher, 1911-1920
- Neil Robert Johnson, 1921-1921
- J. E. McNeill, 1922-1922
- Benjamin Franklin Johnson, 1925-1930
- Joe Hill Cunningham Sr., 1931-1932
Other Known Bank Note Signers
- No other known bank note signers for this bank
Bank Note History Links
Sources
- Chickasha, OK, 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 Chickasha Daily Express, Chickasha, OK, Mon., Sep. 3, 1900.
- The Minco Minstrel, Minco, OK, Fri., Jan. 21, 1910.
- The Chickasha Daily Express, Chickasha, OK, Sat., Jan. 17, 1920.
- The Chickasha Star, Chickasha, OK, Thu., Jan. 16, 1930.
- The Chickasha Daily Express, Chickasha, OK, Wed., Jan. 11, 1933.
- The Chickasha Daily Express, Chickasha, OK, Thu., Mar. 7, 1935.
- The Chickasha Daily Express, Chickasha, OK, Mon., Apr. 15, 1935.
- The Chickasha Daily Express, Chickasha, OK, Sun., Apr. 28, 1935.