First National Bank, Greenville, AL (Charter 5572)
First National Bank, Greenville, AL (Chartered 1900 - Closed (Merger) 1998)
Town History
Greenville is a city and the county seat of Butler County, Alabama. Greenville is known as the Camellia City, wherein originated the movement to change the official Alabama state flower from the goldenrod to the camellia with legislative sponsors LaMont Glass and H.B. Taylor. The state flower was changed to the camellia in 1959. Montgomery, the state capital, is 44 miles northeast and Mobile is 132 miles southwest. At the 2020 census, the population was 7,374. In 1900 the population was 3,162, growing to 3,985 by 1930.
Greenville was first settled in 1819. Its original name was Buttsville, but after becoming the county seat in 1822, its name was changed to Greenville, in remembrance of the former locale in South Carolina of many of the original settlers. The first county seat was at Fort Dale, a fortification that was named for Sam Dale, who fought to defend the area during the Creek War. The site of Fort Dale lies on the north of the city near the Fort Dale Cemetery, along what is now Alabama Highway 185.
The namesake of the county, Captain William Butler, was killed during the Creek War. He is buried in the Pioneer Cemetery, which is across from the oldest church in Butler County, the First United Methodist Church of Greenville.
Greenville had one National Bank chartered during the Bank Note Era, and it issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized August 30, 1900
- Chartered September 10, 1900
- Bank was Open past 1935
- For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
- Merged into Whitney National Bank, New Orleans, LA, December 4, 1998
On Thursday morning, August 30, 1900, the First National Bank of Greenville was organized with a capital of $50,000. The were officers of the new financial institution: Richard Tillis of Montgomery, president; W.F. McKenzie, vice president; Wm. J. Hall, cashier. The directors were R. Tillis, W.P. Rouse, R.A. Beeland, W.F. McKenzie, A.G. Winkler, A.G. Steward, J.H. Dunklin, J.P. Reynolds, and W.J. Hall. The bank was expected to be ready for business by September 15 and occupy the former banking office of Jos. Steiner & Sons. This gave Greenville two banks.
In September 1903, the bank had capital of $50,000 with surplus and undivided profits of $14,300. Mr. Richard Tillis, capitalist of Montgomery, was the president with Mr. R.A. Beeland, vice president, and J.H. Hall, cashier. The new building, recently erected, was situated about half way between the Court House and the depot.
On Friday, January 15, 1921, stockholders held their annual meeting and elected the following directors: W.J. Hall, R.A. Beeland, W.J. Beeland, L.J. Beeland, J.H. Dunklin, R.O. Winkler, J.A. Kendrick, and Park Smith. The officers elected were R.A. Beeland, president; Park Smith, vice president; J.B. Powell, Jr., cashier; R.A. Beeland, Jr. and F.R. Smith, assistant cashiers.
On Sunday, March 18, 1923, Mr. William J. Hall, who for 21 years was connected with the First National Bank, died at the home of his son, Mr. Roger Hall in Montgomery. He was born on June 11, 1855 at Talbotton, Georgia. Mr. Hall was president of the bank until about 2 years earlier when ill health forced him to give up active work. Mr. Hall made many friends in Greenville.
On Saturday morning, August 25, 1923, the new building on the corner of Commerce and Church streets opened its doors to the public and the First National was again occupying the location on that corner. The First National Bank of Greenville contracted with Hugger Brothers of Montgomery, general contractors and builders to erect a new, larger building. The Georgia Show Case Co., manufactured and installed the bank fixtures. The building was constructed of Illinois limestone. The architecture was of Gothic style with four mammoth Gothic columns on front and tow on each side of the doorway. Doors of bronze added a distinctive touch to the entrance. The floor of the lobby was made of Tennessee marble, while the floor in the working rooms and cages were concrete with cork carpet. In the directors' room the flooring was highly polished hardwood. Directly in front of the main entrance were the cages, two receiving and paying in the center; loan and discount window on right. Each of the cages is enclosed in bronze grill and equipped with a sliding door in which is set a Yale lock.
On February 25, 1930, the boards of directors of the Bank of Greenville and the First National Bank of Greenville agreed upon terms whereby the two banks would merge into one financial institution with a combined capital of more than $600,000 and combined resources of more than $3 million. The merger was on an equal basis, the stockholders in both institutions neither gaining nor losing shares. The Bank of Greenville, established in 1900, surrendered its charter and the new bank would be known as the First National Bank of Greenville. Since the banking houses joined one another, the two would be made into one large building by removal of the walls separating them. G.H. Tatum was president of the Bank of Greenville. The officers of the new bank were R.A. Beeland, president; Park Smith, C.E. Hamilton, G.H. Tatum, R.A. Beeland, Jr., and Oscar Riley, vice presidents; A. Calvin Smith, cashier; and Comer W. Knight, E.A. Wilkinson, and H.C. Parrish, assistant cashiers. The business of the bank would utilize both of the bank buildings, one to house the Savings and rapidly growing Trust Departments and the other the Loan and Commercial Banking Departments.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The First National Bank of Greenville, AL
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $2,352,030 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1900 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 221,663 notes (146,272 large size and 75,391 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 - 2400 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 2600 1882 Date Back 4x5 1 - 7700 1882 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 6000 1882 Value Back 4x5 7701 - 10820 1882 Value Back 3x10-20 6001 - 7656 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 1 - 13092 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 7704 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 2268 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 12535 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 3024
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1900 - 1935):
Presidents:
- Richard Tillis, 1901-1904
- William James Hall, 1905-1919
- Robert Alpheus Beeland, (Sr.), 1920-1934
- Robert Alpheus Beeland, Jr., 1935-1935
Cashiers:
- William James Hall, 1901-1904
- David Park Smith, 1905-1920
- John Bolling Powell, Jr., 1921-1924
- Robert Alpheus Beeland, Jr., 1925-1928
- Archillus Calvin Smith, 1929-1935
Other Bank Note Signers
- There are currently no known Vice President or Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.
Wiki Links
- Alabama Bank Note History
- General information on Greenville (Wikipedia)
- General information on Butler County (Wikipedia)
- General information on Alabama (Wikipedia)
Sources
- Greenville, AL, 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 Living Truth, Greenville, AL, Fri., Sep. 7, 1900.
- The Greenville Advocate, Greenville, AL, Wed., Sep. 16, 1903.
- The Montgomery Advertiser, Montgomery, AL, Sun., Jan. 16, 1921.
- Greenville Advocate, Greenville, AL, Wed., Mar. 21, 1923.
- Greenville Advocate, Greenville, AL, Wed., Aug. 29, 1923.
- The Montgomery Advertiser, Montgomery, AL, Wed., Feb. 26, 1930.
- Greenville Advocate, Greenville, AL, Wed., Feb. 26, 1930.