First National Bank, Glens Falls, NY (Charter 980)
First National Bank, Glens Falls, NY (Chartered 1865 - Closed (Merger) 2002)
Town History
Glens Falls is a city in the southeastern corner of Warren County, surrounded by the town of Queensbury to the north, east, and west, and by the Hudson River and Saratoga County to the south.
As a halfway point between Fort Edward and Fort William Henry, the falls was the site of several battles during the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. The then-hamlet was mostly destroyed by fire twice during the latter conflict, forcing the Quakers to abandon the settlement until the war ended in 1783. Fire also ravaged the village in 1864, 1884, and 1902.
A post office was established in 1808. Glens Falls became an incorporated village in 1839, and was re-incorporated in 1874 and 1887, expanding the village to what would become the city limits when the state legislature granted the city charter in 1908, at which time the city became independent from the town of Queensbury.
Finch Paper LLC, headquartered at the base of Glen Street hill, is a major regional employer and a manufacturer of specialty paper and forest products. It is by far the largest taxpayer in the City of Glens Falls, owning property assessed at $60-million in 2006, according to city records. In mid-June 2007, Finch, Pruyn & Company announced it had sold all of its assets, including 161,000 acres of forestland in the Adirondacks, to Atlas Holdings of Greenwich, Conn. The Company name was then changed to Finch Paper LLC. Atlas then sold all of the forestland to The Nature Conservancy.
Glens Falls had four National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all four of those banks issued National Bank Notes. The Glen's Falls National Bank was the only one of the four to use the possessive form "Glen's". South Glens Falls in Saratoga County also had one national bank.
Bank History
- Organized March 16, 1865
- Chartered April 5, 1865
- Succeeded Commercial Bank of Glens Falls
- Bank was Open past 1935
- For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
- Merged into BankNorth, N.A. in Portland, Maine, January 1, 2002
The First National was originally the Commercial Bank of Glens Falls, founded in 1853 as a state bank. The founders originally intended to capitalize it at $150,000, the capital to consist of 3,000 shares of common stock at $50 par value. Later this amount was reduced to $127,000. In the winter of 1852-53, two men set out from Glens Falls to solicit subscriptions to the proposed bank, one going north and the other one south. One of these men was Augustus Sherman. When they returned they discovered that the subscriptions totaled $136,400, or $9,400 more than what was needed. At a meeting of the incorporators, it was suggested that some of the subscriptions be cut down to make the total equal to the desired amount, but neither Mr. Sherman nor his co-worker would consent to this. Both asserted they had worked hard to obtain the subscriptions and would not permit them to be reduced. Consequently, the capital was again changed and set this time at $136,400. Mr. Sherman was the grandfather of Arthur W. Sherman, later president of the bank.
The first directors of the Commercial Bank were Lewis Hunt, Bethuel Peck, Augustus Sherman, William McDonald, James C. Clark, Keyes P. Cool, James Morgan and Hermon Peck, all of Glens Falls; William H. Warren, Moreau; Erskine G. Clark, Sandy Hill, William W. Rockwell, Hadley; and Quartus Curtis, Queensbury. At the first meeting of the directors on March 21, 1853, Keyes P. Cool was appointed chairman and James C. Clark, secretary of the board. Augustus Sherman, Lewis Hunt and James C. Clark were named a committee to obtain a banking house and subsequently the Sherwood Building on Glen Street was purchased from E. Hubbard for $2,581. On April 19, William McDonald was elected president and Bethuel Peck, vice president. William McDonald continued in office until 1858 when he resigned because of advanced age and the need for more time for his private affairs. Mr. McDonald was succeeded by Augustus Sherman who continued until 1884.
The bank offered the position of cashier to Isaac Fowler of Ballston Spa, but he declined. Subsequently, Isaiah Scott, cashier of the Bank of Vergennes, Vermont, indicated that he would be receptive to an offer, and the board of directors finally hired him on May 5, 1853, at a salary of $1,500 per year. On July 12, 1853, Charles Thompson was elected teller. The bank opened for business about August 1, 1853. At the first annual meeting of stockholders on February 7, 1854, the following were elected directors: Lewis Hunt, Bethuel Peck, Augustus Sherman, William McDonald, Keyes P. Cool, James Morgan, Hermon Peck, Jeremy Rockwell, Joseph Russell, William A. Fonda, Glens Falls; William H Warren, Moreau; Erskine G. Clark, Sandy Hill; Quartus Curtis, Queensbury. Isaiah Scott was cashier until 1859. F.A. Johnson served from 1859 to 1864 and was succeeded by Emmett T. Johnson.
In the Great Fire of 1864, the bank was destroyed with a loss of $4,000 of which $2,000 was covered by insurance. The fire started in the Glens Falls Hotel next door to the bank and the bank building was the next to burn. The bank obtained temporary quarters in the Glens Falls Insurance Company's building on Glen Street. A new building apparently was erected on the site of the old one and the First National Bank continued to occupy that bank until 1915. By the close of 1864, the bank was able to report profits of $39,406 and deposits of $250,106.16. Augustus Sherman was president and Emmett T. Johnson, cashier in 1864.
On April 5, 1865, a national charted was approved and the old name dropped in favor of the First National Bank of Glens Falls.
By 1914, the bank had outgrown its quarters in Bank Square and construction of a new structure was authorized at Glen Street and Lapham Place. The new building was completed early in the summer of 1915 and the bank opened for business at that location on July 15. The structure was designed by Mobray and Uffinger, New York architects, and the general contractor was A.J. Robinson Co., also of New York. Vermont marble was used for the exterior and French caen stone and Sienna marble for the interior. In 1938, the interior of the bank was completely remodeled to provide additional room. At the same time a portion of the Lapham Building adjoining the bank in Lapham Place was taken over to give the bookkeeping department more space.
On November 9, 1940, the first branch office came into being when the assets of the Bolton National Bank were purchased and its liabilities assumed.
On December 2, 1955, The First National Bank of Glens Falls and the Washington County National Bank of Granville consolidated resources. The Granville bank was the third branch added to the First National in an effort to give complete progressive banking service to Glens Falls and the surrounding area. The South Glens Falls branch office was built by the parent bank and opened on February 17, 1951 and was the first bank in the area to feature drive-in banking service. The First National Bank of Glens Falls now served the tri-county area of Warren, Washington and Saratoga Counties. The officers at the main bank were: H.C. Brown, president; W.M. Bowden, vice president; C.A. Scriver, vice president and cashier; F.O. Ducharme, assistant vice president; P.E. Lavine, J.W. Dean, F.T. O'Neil, J.E. Barnes, and P.E. McCarthy, assistant cashiers; R.J. Dehais, comptroller; B.W. Francis and R.N. Hinds, trust officers. Officers at the Washington County Branch at Granville were: Maynard D. Goodfellow, vice president; J. Easton Owens and Robert E. Jones, assistant cashiers.
In 1949-50, the Lapham Building behind the white marble structure was razed and a new two-story brick structure erected and attached to the main bank. The main lobby was enlarged and remodeled. In 1951, a new office was opened at South Glens Falls, introducing the first drive-in banking window to the area. In May 1955, the Bolton Landing Branch was remodeled.
In December 1955, the Washington County National Bank of Granville was consolidated with the First National and became known as the Washington County Branch.
On Friday, May 17, 1963, shareholders of the First National Bank of Hudson Falls met at the banking house at 124 Main Street in the village of Hudson Falls to vote on the consolidation with the First National Bank of Glens Falls. C.W Higley and F. Earl Bach, presidents of the respective institutions announced the approval by the stockholders. The Hudson Falls office would continue at that location with its staff. The board of directors of the continuing bank would be: F. Earl Bach, William H. Barber, Lyman A. Beeman, William M. Bowden, Arthur F. Brown, Hubert C. brown, Alfred D. Clark, Alfred S. Clark, William T. Clark, Robert F. Crawford, James J. Fitzpatrick, James Gibson, Clifford W. Higley, Michael G. Linehan, Francis W. McGinley, Gray E. Safford, Clarence A Scriver, T. Coolidge Sherman and Dwight A. Symmes. The Capital stock would be $2,005,000 and the surplus $2,005,000, and undivided profits would be not less than $2,100,000. The combined bank would have total resources of more than $65 million. At the close of business, Friday, July 12, 1963, the First National consolidated with the First National Bank of Hudson Falls.
In November 1980, the board of directors of First National Bank of Glens Falls approved a reorganization plan under which the bank would be operated by a holding company known as First Glen Bancorp. Shareholders could exchange their stock, share for share and tax free, so they could own the same number of shares of First Glen Bancorp as they formerly owned in First National. Dr. William L. Bitner, III, the bank's president and chief executive officer said, "This step also facilitates expansion by providing the opportunity for established banks to join the holding company and still continue to maintain their separate identity."
On Tuesday, April 22, 1986, shareholders of First Glen Bancorp, Inc., voted to change the name to Evergreen Bancorp, Inc. Evergreen had been identified with First National Bank of Glens Falls for many years and more recently with Keeseville National Bank. This identification would be introduced to Peoples Commercial Bank in 1986. Evergreen Bancorp, Inc. had three major subsidiaries, First National Bank of Glens Falls, Keeseville National Bank and Peoples Commercial Bank.
On December 1, 1994, the name was changed to Evergreen Bank, National Association.
On January 1, 2002, Evergreen Bank merged and became part of BankNorth, National Association, FDIC # 18409, in Portland, Maine.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The First National Bank of Glens Falls, NY
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $3,337,910 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1865 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 370,820 notes (327,380 large size and 43,440 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 - 4500 Original Series 4x5 1 - 4800 Original Series 3x10-20 1 - 1320 Original Series 50-100 1 - 490 Series 1875 4x5 1 - 3420 Series 1875 3x10-20 1 - 1232 Series 1875 50-100 1 - 733 1882 Brown Back 4x5 1 - 6390 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 4455 Dot, right side of left plate letter, 10s only, possibly as guide marker 1882 Brown Back 50-100 1 - 1175 1902 Red Seal 4x5 1 - 3000 1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 1490 1902 Red Seal 50-100 1 - 170 1902 Date Back 4x5 1 - 9250 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 6500 1902 Date Back 50-100 1 - 180 1902 Date Back 3x50-100 1 - 474 1902 Plain Back 4x5 9251 - 31060 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 6501 - 18013 1902 Plain Back 3x50-100 475 - 791 1929 Type 1 6x5 1 - 3710 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 1676 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 498 1929 Type 1 6x50 1 - 156 1929 Type 1 6x100 1 - 54 1929 Type 2 5 1 - 4004 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 2172 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 700
- Huntoon, Peter, and Doug Walcutt, "Chapter N3, Starred Plate Letter on Reentered Series of 1875 and 1882 National Bank Notes", The Encyclopedia of U.S. National Bank Notes
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1865 - 1935):
Presidents:
- Augustus Sherman, 1865-1884
- Jerome Lapham, 1885-1898
- William McEchron, 1899-1906
- Byron Lapham, 1907-1928
- Arthur William Sherman, Sr., 1929-1929
- Maurice Hoopes, Sr., 1930-1935
Cashiers:
Other Bank Note Signers
- Melville A. Sheldon, Vice President, 1890
- Jerome Lapham signed notes as vice president
- There are currently no known Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.
Wiki Links
- New York Bank Note History
- General information on Glens Falls (Wikipedia)
- General information on Warren County (Wikipedia)
- General information on New York (Wikipedia)
Sources
- Glens Falls, 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://spmc.org/bank-note-history-project
- The Post-Star, Glens Falls, NY, Wed., Dec. 7, 1955.
- The Glens Falls Times, Glens Falls, NY, Sat., Oct. 12, 1963.
- The Glens Falls Times, Glens Falls, NY, Wed., Apr. 17, 1963.
- The Glens Falls Times, Glens Falls, NY, Sat., May 18, 1963.
- The Glens Falls Times, Glens Falls, NY, Mon., Nov. 10, 1980.
- The Glens Falls Times, Glens Falls, NY, Mon. Nov. 10, 1986.
- The Glens Falls Times, Glens Falls, NY, Thu., Apr. 24, 1986.