First National Bank, Lansdale, PA (Charter 430)

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Postcard of The First National Bank and Post Office of Lansdale, Pennsylvania, ca1890s.
Postcard showing The First National Bank and Post Office of Lansdale, Pennsylvania, ca1890s. Courtesy of Adam Stroup

First National Bank, Lansdale, PA (Chartered 1864 - Open past 1935)

Town History

Photo of the old First National Bank of Lansdale, Pennsylvania, ca2021.
Photo of the old First National Bank of Lansdale, Pennsylvania, ca2021. Courtesy of Google Maps

Lansdale is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, located northwest of Philadelphia. It is a densely-populated commuter town, with many residents traveling daily to Philadelphia using SEPTA Regional Rail's Lansdale/Doylestown Line. In 1900, 2,754 people lived here; in 1910, 3,551; and in 1940, 9,316 people were inhabitants of Lansdale. The population was 16,269 at the time of the 2010 census.

The earliest known settlers in Lansdale were members of the Jenkins family. At the peak of its growth, the Jenkins homestead occupied approximately 120 acres of land. The construction of the North Pennsylvania Railroad (later absorbed into the Reading Railroad) during the 1850s contributed to rapid growth and expansion in Lansdale. Employment opportunities generated by the railroad brought settlers, housing, and local businesses to the area.

By 1872, Lansdale Borough was officially incorporated and named after Phillip Lansdale Fox, chief surveyor of the North Penn Railroad. By the naming conventions of the time, it should have been called Jenkintown, since the land immediately surrounding the train station was owned by the Jenkins family, but there was already a town by that name along the rail line also in Montgomery County.

The Jenkins Homestead and Lansdale Silk Hosiery Company-Interstate Hosiery Mills, Inc. are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Lansdale had two National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and both of those banks issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

Stockholders of the Citizens National Bank and the First National Bank of Lansdale approved unanimously the agreement of consolidation entered into by the two boards on September 5, 1929.  This merger gave Lansdale the largest national bank in Montgomery county with a capital and surplus of $1.5 million.  The vacating of the present Citizens Bank Building due to the merger provided the market one of the most valuable Main Street properties in Lansdale.

Irwin Godshalk Lukens was the president of the First National Bank of Lansdale for 36 years, from 1918 until it merged with the Philadelphia National Bank in 1954. Frederic A. Potts, president of Philadelphia National in a joint statement announced in 1953 that stockholders of the First National bank of Lansdale would receive two shares of Philadelphia National stock for each three shares of First held. At the time, the Philadelphia National Bank was celebrating its 150th anniversary and reported deposits of over $760 million; The First National Bank of Lansdale had deposits of just over $13.9 million.

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The First National Bank of Lansdale, PA

Bank Note Types Issued

Series of 1875 $10 bank note with pen signatures of Charles S. Jenkins, Cashier and Elias K. Freed, President.
Series of 1875 $10 bank note with pen signatures of Charles S. Jenkins, Cashier and Elias K. Freed, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com
1929 Type 1 $5 bank note with printed signatures of P.G. Hartman, Cashier and Irwin G. Lukens, President.
1929 Type 1 $5 bank note with printed signatures of P.G. Hartman, Cashier and Irwin G. Lukens, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $3,020,350 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1864 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 280,865 notes (169,114 large size and 111,751 small size notes).

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

Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments
Original Series 4x5 1 - 3310
Original Series 3x10-20 1 - 2100
Series 1875 3x10-20 1 - 1772
1882 Brown Back 50-100 1 - 1053
1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 6300
1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 9300
1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 9301 - 28270
1929 Type 1 6x5 1 - 8430
1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 4282
1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 1150
1929 Type 2 5 1 - 17112
1929 Type 2 10 1 - 8862
1929 Type 2 20 1 - 2605

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

First National Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1864 - 1936):

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

  • Lansdale, PA, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lansdale,_Pennsylvania
  • 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
  • The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA, Fri., Oct. 11, 1929.
  • The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA, Wed., Oct. 7, 1953.
  • The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA, Tue., Jan. 24, 1956.
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