First National Bank, Cressona, PA (Charter 9318)
First National Bank, Cressona, PA (Chartered 1909 - Open past 1935)
Town History
Cressona is a borough in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. Formed in 1857 from part of North Manheim Township, it was founded by and named for John Chapman Cresson, a Philadelphia civil engineer and manager of the Schuylkill Navigation Company, president of the Mine Hill and Schuylkill Haven Railroad, and the chief engineer of Fairmount Park in Philadelphia. Cressona is four miles south of Pottsville and is served by state routes 61, 183 and 901. The West Branch Schuylkill River flows through Cressona. As of the 2020 census, Cressona had a population of 1,606. In 1910 the population was 1,837, peaking in 1930 at 1,946.
Until the Mine Hill Road was built in Cressona, the borough remained mostly wilderness, with some minor agricultural areas. In 1831, the Mine Hill and Schuylkill Railroad was completed, and the tracks went through Cressona. The borough was historically called West Haven, but the name was changed to Cressona. The borough was incorporated on February 2, 1857.
Cressona had one National Bank chartered during the Bank Note Era, and it issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized August 28, 1908
- Chartered January 15, 1909
- Opened for business March 16, 1909
- Bank was Open past 1935
- Merged into The Pennsylvania National Bank and Trust Company of Pottsville, April 2, 1956
In September 1908, the directors of the new First National Bank awarded a contract for a new bank building to Gordon Nagle of Cressona at a cost of $6,180. The new building would be located on Silliman Street near C.F. Beck's store. Pressed brick with Indiana limestone trimmings would be used on the two-story structure and, in addition to the bank headquarters on the first floor, were the living quarters for the cashier on the second floor. One provision in the contract was that the building would be completed and ready for occupancy by February 1, 1909. The building committee consisting of J.E. Kantner, C.E. Berger, W.P. Heffner, H.G. Welst, and Gordon Nagle, would supervise the construction. The complete structure including safes, fittings, etc., was expected to cost in the neighborhood of $12,000.[2]
On January 15, 1909, Lawrence O. Murray, Comptroller of the Currency, authorized the First National Bank of Cressona to begin business.[3] On Thursday, March 11, 1909, the new bank opened for public inspection and on Wednesday, March 17th, it opened for business. The structure was planned by F.X. Reilly, architect of Pottsville and erected by Contractor Gordon Nagle of Cressona. The officers of the new bank were C.F. Beck, president; Wm. P. Heffner, vice president; and E.D. Meixell, cashier.[4] The bank's first day deposits aggregated over $25,235. Miss Esther Zerbe, daughter of a Cressona businessman, made the first deposit.[5]
In January 1912, the stockholders elected the following officers and directors: C.F. Beck, president; W.P. Heffner, vice president; E.D. Meixell, cashier; C.E. Berger, M.E. Bowen, J.G. Brown, A.F. Deibert, J.E. Kantner, R.J. McIlwain, Gordon Nagle, E.M. Phillips, J.H. Reed, C.J. Smith, W.H. Trometter, H.G. Weist, and H.E. Zerbe. Tuesday evening the directors of the bank were banqueted by the officers at Hotel Zerbe.[6]
In January 1915, the directors of the First National Bank met and selected the following officers for the year: Charles F. Beck, president; Wm. Heffner, vice president; E.D. Meixell, cashier; and C.E. Berger, solicitor. At the stockholders meeting earlier in the week, Mr. Samuel Strauss was elected to the position of director occupied by Dr. H.G. Weist, deceased.[7] The other directors were Charles F. Beck, C.E. Berger, J.G. Brown, A.F. Deibert, W.P. Heffner, J.E. Stanton, J.E. Kantner, E.D. Meixell, R.G. McIlwain, Gordon Nagle, D.M. Phillips, J.H. Reed, C.J. Smith, W.H. Trometter, and H.E. Zerbe.[8]
In March 1917, Mr. Fred Beck, teller of the First National Bank of Cressona was elected to the position of cashier of the First National Bank of Elysburg. Mr. Beck would assume his duties on or about May 1st. Mr. Beck was a son of Charles Beck, the well-known merchant and underwear manufacturer of Cressona.[9]
On Thursday, May 15, 1947, William P. Heffner, 74, president of the First National Bank of Cressona and a well-known butcher and timberman for 50 years died at his home in Friedensburg, having been ill for the last four months. He retired from the meat market and timber business in 1938. However, during the war he aided his son who had succeeded him in business. He had been vice president of the First National Bank since incorporation in 1909. Last November he was elected president, succeeding the late Charles F. Beck.[10] On Monday, April 2, 1956, the Cressona First National Bank opened as the Cressona office of The Pennsylvania National Bank and Trust Company of Pottsville. The action had been approved by the shareholders of both institutions. The Cressona office staff consisted of Maurice D. Walborn, assistant vice president; C. Elmer Smith, assistant cashier; Esther R. Miexell, teller and bookkeeper; and Eleanor E. Singley, teller and clerk. The Cressona advisory committee consisted of William S. Boussum, Paul G. Mengle, chairman, Amos M. Strause, William H. Trometter, and Roy L. Wagner.[11]
On Tuesday, February 19, 1963, Maurice D. Walborn, age 70, former resident of Orwigsburg and Cressona who before his retirement served as an assistant vice president of the Pennsylvania National Bank and Trust Co. of Pottsville, and former manager of the bank's Cressona branch was pronounced dead on arrival at the Reading Hospital. He began his career in banking in 1909 as a teller in the First National Bank of Orwigsburg and in 1919 was appointed assistant cashier. In 1920 he was named cashier and director of the First National Bank of Cressona and in 1956 when the Cressona bank merged with the Pennsylvania National Bank and Trust Co. of Pottsville, he was named an assistant vice president and manager of the Cressona branch. Mr. Walborn served as president of the Schuylkill County Bankers' Association in 1956 and during 1956-7 he served on the executive committee of Group 2 of the Pennsylvania Bankers' Association.[12]
Official Bank Title
1: The First National Bank of Cressona, PA
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $688,210 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1909 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 55,735 notes (35,784 large size and 19,951 small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 2710 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 2711 - 8946 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 1574 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 414 1929 Type 2 5 1 - 1608 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 3955 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 2460
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1909 - 1935):
Presidents:
Cashiers:
Other Known Bank Note Signers
- No other known bank note signers for this bank
Bank Note History Links
Sources
- Cressona, 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://spmc.org/bank-note-history-project
- ↑ Pottsville Republican, Pottsville, PA, Fri., Mar. 30, 1956.
- ↑ Pottsville Republican, Pottsville, PA, Fri., Sep. 25, 1908.
- ↑ The Call, Schuylkill Haven, PA, Fri., Apr. 9, 1909.
- ↑ Pottsville Republican, Pottsville, PA, Tue., Mar. 9, 1909.
- ↑ The Fulton County News, McConnellsburg, PA, Thu., Mar. 25, 1909.
- ↑ The Call, Schuylkill Haven, PA, Fri., Jan. 12, 1912.
- ↑ The Call, Schuylkill Haven, PA, Fri., Jan. 22, 1915.
- ↑ The Call, Schuylkill Haven, PA, Fri., Jan. 15, 1915.
- ↑ The Call, Schuylkill Haven, PA, Fri., Mar. 17, 1916.
- ↑ The Call, Schuylkill Haven, PA, Fri., May 16, 1947.
- ↑ Pottsville Republican, Pottsville, PA, Fri., Mar. 30, 1956.
- ↑ The Call, Schuylkill Haven, PA, Thu., Feb. 21, 1963.
- ↑ The Call, Schuylkill Haven, PA, Fri., Nov. 3, 1922.