First National Bank, Cortland, NY (Charter 226)

Needed: a contemporary postcard or photo of the bank.

First National Bank, Cortland, NY (Chartered 1864 - Liquidated 1916)

Town History

Cortland is a city in Cortland County, New York. Known as the Crown City, Cortland is in New York's Southern Tier region. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 19,204. It is the county seat of Cortland County.

Cortland, settled in 1791, was made a village in 1853 (rechartered in 1864), and incorporated in 1900 as New York's 41st city. It is named after Pierre Van Cortlandt, the first lieutenant governor of New York. When the county was formed in 1808, Cortland vied with other villages to become the county seat. Known as the "Crown City" because of its location on a plain formed by the convergence of seven valleys, Cortland is 1,130 feet above sea level. Forty stars representing the 40 cities incorporated before Cortland circle the State of New York and Crown on the city's official seal. The seven points of the crown represent the seven valleys surrounding Cortland. The 41st star in the center of the crown illustrates Cortland as the incorporated city closest to New York's geographic center.

Cortland's leading industry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was the Wickwire Brothers wire-drawing mill, noted for its production of wire hardware cloth for use as window screens. The extent of the Wickwires' wealth is demonstrated in the two magnificent mansions they commissioned. The Victorian Chateauesque-style home of Chester Wickwire is now operated as the 1890 House Museum & Center for Victorian Arts. Charles Wickwire's 1912 home is now owned and operated by the State University of New York (SUNY) Cortland Alumni Association. It is open to the public and used by the Alumni Association to host college-related events and house visiting dignitaries.

Cortland was also the location of Brockway Motor Company, a pioneering truck maker. Begun in 1875 as Brockway Carriage Works, it was taken over by Mack Trucks in 1956, and survived until 1977. The city continues to host an annual show of Brockway trucks. From 1960 to 1992 Smith Corona typewriters were manufactured in Cortland.

Cortland boasts a classic octagon house. The Cortland Rural Cemetery is styled as a garden setting and is still in operation. In 1868 Cortland became the home of the Cortland Normal School, which gradually developed into a four-year college. With graduate programs and research capacity, it has expanded into the SUNY at Cortland.

Cortland had three National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all three of those banks issued National Bank Notes. Cortland also had one Obsolete Bank that issued Obsolete Bank Notes during the Obsolete Bank Note Era (1782-1866).

Bank History

Chartered February 2, 1864
Liquidated July 15, 1916
Absorbed by Cortland Trust Company, Cortland

In March 1916, announcement was made of the absorption of the First National Bank of Cortland by the Cortland Trust Company with a capital stock of $200,000 and $50,000 surplus. The First National was capitalized at $125,000. The incorporators of the trust company were the directors of the present bank, Edward Keator, Samuel Keator, A.A. Carley, C.F. Brown, O.U. Kellogg, F.R. Wickwire, Henry Corcoran, F.A. Purchase, George V. Clark, J.C. Seager, W.R. Halstead, A.H. Wolcott, and Thomas Smith. The stockholders of the First National would have the option of taking stock in the new bank or receiving cash for their stock. The new company would loan money on real estate and do a general banking business. In July, O.U. Kellogg, Cortland, New York, was the liquidating agent of the First National Bank.

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The First National Bank of Cortland, NY

Bank Note Types Issued

1902 Red Seal $5 bank note with SN 1 and pen signatures of E. Alley, Cashier and E. Keator, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $1,278,660 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1864 and 1916. This consisted of a total of 132,892 notes (132,892 large size and No small size notes).

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

Series/Type	Sheet/Denoms	Serial#s	Sheet Comments
Original Series	3x1-2	1 - 2400
Original Series	4x5	1 - 2750
Original Series	4x10	1 - 3517
Series 1875	4x5	1 - 750
Series 1875	4x10	1 - 3000
1882 Brown Back	50-100	1 - 1960
1902 Red Seal	4x5	1 - 4915
1902 Red Seal	3x10-20	1 - 3134
1902 Date Back	4x5	1 - 6600
1902 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 4960
1902 Plain Back	4x5	6601 - 6729
1902 Plain Back	3x10-20	4961 - 5048

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1864 - 1916):

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

Cortland, NY, 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
Press and Sun-Bulletin, Binghamton, NY, Sat., Mar. 4, 1916.
The Wall Street Journal, New York, NY, Mon., July 24, 1916.