First National Bank, Hazleton, PA (Charter 3893)

The old First National Bank, 20 West Broad Street, Hazleton, Pennsylvania. At the time of the photo, ca2023, building was occupied by the Northeast Pennsylvania Trust Company. Courtesy of Google Maps

First National Bank, Hazleton, PA (Chartered 1888 - Closed (Merger) 1992)

Town History

Hazleton is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania with a population of 29,963 at the 2020 census, making it the second largest city in Luzerne County behind the county seat of Wilkes-Barre. Hazleton was incorporated as a borough on January 5, 1857, and as a city on December 4, 1891.

The Greater Hazleton Area is located at the foothills of the Pocono Mountains, a popular vacation destination that offers year-round recreation. It is 82 miles northwest of Allentown and 106 miles west of New York City.

In 1818, anthracite coal deposits were discovered in nearby Beaver Meadows by prospectors Nathaniel Beach and Tench Coxe. This caught the attention of railroad developers in Philadelphia. A young engineer from New York (named Ariovistus "Ario" Pardee) was hired to survey the topography of Beaver Meadows and report the practicality of extending a railroad from the Lehigh River Canal (in Mauch Chunk, present day Jim Thorpe) to Beaver Meadows. Pardee, knowing that the area of Beaver Meadows was already controlled by Coxe and Beach, bought many acres of the land in present-day Hazleton. The investment proved to be extraordinarily lucrative. The land contained part of a massive anthracite coal field. Pardee will forever be known as the founding father of Hazleton because of many of these contributions and particularly because he laid out the patch town that would one day become Hazleton.

Pardee incorporated the Hazleton Coal Company in 1836, the same year the rail link to the Lehigh Valley market was on the brink of being completed. The Hazleton Coal Company built the first school on Church Street, where Hazleton City Hall is now located. Pardee also built the first church in Hazleton (located at the intersection of Church and Broad Streets) and the first private school in Hazleton (located on the south side of Broad Street between Wyoming and Laurel Streets). Ario Pardee died in 1892. The following year (1893), his son, Israel Platt Pardee, built a 3-story, 19-room mansion in Hazleton; it would later be added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

The coal industry attracted many immigrants for labor. The first wave, in the 1840s and 1850s, consisted mostly of German and Irish immigrants. The second wave, from the 1860s to the 1920s, consisted mostly of Italian, Polish, Russian, Lithuanian, Slovak, and Montenegrin immigrants. The coal mined in Hazleton helped establish the United States as a world industrial power, primarily fueling the massive blast furnaces at the Bethlehem Steel Corporation.

Hazleton had two National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, the First National Bank (Charter 3893) and Hazleton National Bank (Charter 4204), and both of those banks issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

The old First National Bank of Freeland, located at Centre and Amy Streets, ca2016. This became an office of the Peoples First National Bank after the 1966 merger of the Peoples Savings and Trust Co. and First National Bank of Hazleton. Courtesy of Google Maps

• Organized March 27, 1888
• Chartered May 31, 1888
• Bank was Open past 1935
• For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
• Merged into First Eastern Bank, N.A. in Wilkes-Barre, PA, March 30, 1992

On Saturday, May 19, 1888, the stockholders of the First National Bank of Hazleton met at the Central Hotel and organized by electing the following directors: A.W. Leisenring, S.B. Price, and J.S. Wentz, Mauch Chunk; A.P. Blakslee, Delano; David Clark, Hazleton; Thomas Birkbeck, Freeland; J.B. Tweedle, Weatherly; Dom F. Sweeney, Hazleton; J.E. Leisenring and P.J. Ferguson, Shenandoah; Peter Heidenreich, Hazleton; frank Stout, Audenried; H. C. Koons, Freeland. the officers were A.W. Leisenring, president; David Clark, vice president; J.E. Leisenring, cashier; John Price, teller; and Charles Brill, bookkeeper. It had been intended to call the new institution the "Lehigh National Bank," but a telegram from the comptroller of the currency required the changing of the name to the First National Bank of Hazleton At a meeting of the stockholders at 2 o'clock, a vote was taken and it was unanimously agreed to comply with the request of the comptroller. The president, A. W. Leisenring, was for 35 years president of the First National Bank of Mauch Chunk and the past four years president of the First National Bank of Shenandoah. S.B. Price and J.S. Wentz were directors of the First National Bank of Mauch Chunk. A.P. Blakslee of Delano was a director of the Linderman National Bank of Manch Chunk, and had been for the last ten years. J.R. Leisenring and C.J. Ferguson of Shenandoah were, respectively. cashier and vice president of the First National Bank of that town. They held these positions since the organization of the bank four years ago. David Clark, master mechanic of the Lehigh Valley Railroad shops, D.F. Sweeney, of THE PLAIN SPEAKER, and Peter Heidenreich, the East Broad Street clothier and insurance agent of Hazleton, were well-known to all our readers, while Thomas Birkbeck and H.C. Koons of Freeland J.B. Tweedle of Weatherly, and Frank Stout of Audenried were representative men in their respective towns. John Price, the teller, who was a son of S.B. Price, was no stranger to the town, and his numerous Hazleton friends were glad to know that he was going to take up his residence there. Charles Brill, filling the position of bookkeeper, filled a similar position in the banking house of Markle Bros. & Co. for many years. The capital stock was $100,000, all of which was paid in. After the organization had been completed, a premium was offered on shares, but those having them felt disposed to. retain them. The east room Brill's block opposite the Central Hotel was being fitted up for occupancy of the new bank.

In July 1903, the directors were Walter Leisenring, S.Y. Frederick, H.B. Price, H.W. Heidenreich, J.B. Tweedle, J.B. Price, George L. Wentz, George Bicking, C.A. Smith, S.B. Price, and George R. Clark. The officers were John B. Price, president; H.W. Heidenreich, vice president; and P.G. Heidenreich, cashier. The bank was located in the Hazle Hall Building with capital $100,000 and surplus $50,000.

In February 1908, William R. Dougherty posted plans from Milligan & Weber, architects, for the new building planned for the First National Bank of Hazleton. The plans called for an exterior of stone and would be two-stories high, covering an area of 40X100 feet. The same builder had posted plans from Walter F. Price, architect, for alterations and additions to the Friends' Meeting House at Fourth and Arch Streets, Philadelphia. S.Y. Fredrick of Hazleton, the lowest bidder, was awarded the contract for the erection of the new bank building on the upper lot of the Luzerne House property on West Broad Street. He would begin the work removing the western section of the Luzerne on April 1st to make room for the modern new building. The lower half of the Luzerne House, occupied by Newton Boone and Groover's cigar store, would remain intact. The bank received nine sealed bids on the building, but only two from Hazleton, those of Mr. Fredrick and Jacob Jacoby. The bids were opened by Architect Weber of Philadelphia in the presence of the Board of Directors. The competition was very close, especially from Philadelphia contractors. The Board was pleased that it could give the contract to a Hazleton man. After the contract was awarded, it was decided to substitute a superior quality of marble and granite. The granite would be the same kind as was used in the construction of the Congressional Library at Washington, D.C. The building would be one-story brick, 33 feet wide and 80 feet deep, to be completed under the terms of the contract by November 1st. The front would be of Concord granite, supported by four polished columns, weighing eight tons each of one piece. The main banking room would be 55 feet long and 31 feet wide, with 31 feet to the glass dome. In the rear of the building would be the private office of the president, vault, and coupon booths. The Directors' room would be above the vault. The steel vault, located on the first floor, would have a fireproof concrete covering. A fireproof storage vault and rooms for the use of colliery paymasters and others making up pay rolls would be in the basement. The tellers’ desks and windows would be inside a steel cage in the shape of a horse shoe. A private telephone system such those installed in all the big financial institutions of the country was planned. The main banking room would be of marble and bronze, with marble mosaic floors throughout. Above the main entrance will be a large clock with Western Union connections, the time being regulated from Washington every hour. Enclosed in granite the clock would show the time inside and outside so placed that it could be seen from any part of the interior of the building.

On June 13, 1909, John Leisenring, a retired banker of Hazleton died after a brief illness of paralysis. He began his banking career when a young man, his first position of trust being as cashier of the Shenandoah National Bank. When the First National Bank of Hazleton was organized, he was chosen as its first cashier. He was born in East Mauch Chunk and was 56 years of age.

On September 27, 1911, Alonzo P. Blakslee, father of Hon. James I. Blakslee, Secretary of the Democratic State Committee, died at his home in Mauch Chunk. For many years Mr. Blakslee was superintendent of the M. and H. division of the Lehigh Valley Railroad founded by his uncle, Judge Asa Packer. He was president of the First National Bank of Orwigsburg and of the First National Bank of Hazleton.

The old Traders' Building at Broad and Wyoming Streets, Hazleton, ca2019. This building became an office of the Peoples First National Bank and Trust Company in 1966. At the time of this photo, Lackawanna College occupied the building. Courtesy of Google Maps

In January 1928, Charles H. Loewer, national bank examiner with headquarters at Williamsport, resigned that position to accept the office of auditor at the First National Bank of Hazleton. Before the war, Mr. Loewer was employed that the First National Bank of Nanticoke.

In January 1929, officers were John B. Price, president; Henry W. Heidenreich, vice president; Henry Walser, vice president; P.G. Heidenreich, vice president and trust officer; J.R. Dershuck, secretary; George Bicking, assistant secretary; Charles H. Loewer, cashier; George Martin, John Hohman, George Walser, assistant cashiers; and Richard L. Bigelow, solicitor.

On Friday, May 27, 1966, officers for the Peoples First National Bank and Trust Company were elected. The new banking institution was the result of the merger of the Peoples Savings and Trust Co. and the First National Bank of Hazleton, approved by the comptroller of the currency on April 11th. Its total assets of approximately $45 million made it the Hazleton area's largest financial institution. O.E. Phillips was elected president and Arthur E. Dick, Jr. was named chairman of the board. The post of executive vice president went to Eugene C. Bogdon. Phillips was previously president of the First National Bank and Dick was president of the Peoples Savings and Trust Co. and Bogdon was the executive vice president. During the interim period until the Peoples First National occupied its newly constructed building at the northwest corner of Broad and Wyoming Streets, the bank would operate at these four locations: the main floor of the Traders' Building at Broad and Wyoming Streets, the office at 31 West Broad Street, the Church Street office at Seventh Street, and the Freeland office on Centre Street. A Conyngham office was scheduled to open in the Lantern Lane building on Main street in a month. On July 6, 1888, the Lehigh National Bank, organized by a group of local businessmen, opened for business in Hazleton. At the suggestion of the comptroller of the currency, the name was changed to the First National Bank because it was the first federal bank chartered in Hazleton. The People's Savings and Trust Company was opened as a state bank by a group of local businessmen on June 19, 1905. The First National Bank at one time had a branch office in Freeland. This office later became the First National Bank of Freeland which in June 1962 became a part of the People's Savings and Trust Co. The Church Street office of the First National opened in December 1959.

In January 1971, application was made to the comptroller of the currency for approval to change The First National Bank of Wilkes-Barre to First National Bank of Eastern Pennsylvania.  The change became effective on April 1, 1971.

The First Eastern Bank logo and tag line from a 1992 advertisement.

In January 1992, David L. Wetzel, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Peoples First National Bank and Trust Co., retired after 45 years of service to the local financial institution. Wetzel would continue as chairman of the board of the bank until the proposed merger of Peoples into First Eastern Bank was finalized. Wetzel became affiliated with the bank in 1947 upon his graduation from Hazleton Senior High School. He returned to the bank in 1953 after serving with the Army in Korea. He was appointed assistant cashier in 1958, vice president and controller in 1966 and executive vice president in 1971. Wetzel was named to the board of directors in 1984. In 1988 he was named president and in 1990 appointed chairman of the board. Wetzel graduated from Wilkes College with a bachelor's degree in commerce and finance and also attended the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University. He was a member of the board of CAN DO Inc., the Political Action Committee of the Pennsylvania Bankers’ Association, and the United Credit Bureau, Wilkes-Barre. On March 31, 1992, First Eastern merged the offices of Peoples First National Bank & Trust Company.

Official Bank Title

1: The First National Bank of Hazleton, PA

Bank Note Types Issued

1882 Brown Back $5 bank note with redrawn signatures of John R. Leisenring, Cashier and David Clark, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

1902 Red Seal $10 bank note with SN 1A and pen signatures of P.G. Heidenreich, Cashier and Jno. B. Price, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

1929 Type 2 $5 bank note with printed signatures of Charles H. Loewer, Cashier and Henry Walser, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $1,909,120 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1888 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 251,692 notes (56,772 large size and 194,920 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 - 5550
1882 Brown Back	3x10-20	1 - 4820
1902 Red Seal	4x10	1 - 375
1902 Date Back	4x10	1 - 3448
1929 Type 1	6x5	1 - 8194
1929 Type 1	6x10	1 - 6708
1929 Type 1	6x20	1 - 846
1929 Type 2	5	1 - 69988
1929 Type 2	10	1 - 30444

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1888 - 1935):

Presidents:

• Alexander William Leisenring, 1888-1893
• David Clark, 1894-1894
• Alonzo P. Blakslee, 1895-1898
• Harrie Oscar Rodgers, 1899-1900
• John B. Price, 1901-1928
• Frank Henry Walser, 1929-1935

Cashiers:

• John R. Leisenring, 1888-1895
• John B. Price, 1896-1900
• Peter G. Heidenreich, 1901-1928
• Charles H. Loewer, 1929-1933
• John W. Hohman, 1934-1935

Other Known Bank Note Signers

• No other known bank note signers for this bank

Bank Note History Links

• First National Bank, Hazleton, PA History (NB Lookup)
• Pennsylvania Bank Note History (BNH Wiki)

Sources

• Hazleton, 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