First National Bank, Middleburgh, PA (Charter 4156)

Postcard depicting the First National Bank and Court House in Middleburg, PA ca1910s. Courtesy of Adam Stroup

First National Bank, Middleburgh, PA (Chartered 1889 - Open past 1935)

Town History

A view of the court house on S Main and W Market Streets, Middleburg, Pennsylvania ca2020.

A view of the court house on Main Street, Middleburg, Pennsylvania ca2020. Courtesy of Google Maps

Middleburg is a borough in and the county seat of Snyder County, located in Central Pennsylvania. It is 10 miles west of Selinsgrove and the Susquehanna River and 40 miles northeast of Lewistown. The population was 1,309 at the 2010 census.

Middleburg was originally named Swinefordstown (Swinefordstettle in the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect) after John Albright Swineford who ran a tavern here in 1787. He was also the owner of land located on the north bank of the Middle Creek on which engineer Frederick Evans laid out the town in 1800. This town became known as Middleburgh circa 1825, and was incorporated as a borough in 1864.

The section of the borough located on the southern bank of the Middle Creek was developed in a manner entirely different from that of the settlement on the northern bank. This portion of the town began with a few pioneer homes and a grist mill; later a successor on this site would be known as the Franklin Roller Mills. When the Sunbury and Lewistown Railroad was constructed, more lots for homes were laid out, and the southern section of the town was first known as Franklin, and later, Swineford. In January 1917, the property owners in Swineford petitioned the Middleburgh borough for annexation, and this wish was granted in February of the same year.

Despite the fact that the two towns were united under one government in 1917, two separate and distinct post offices operated in the borough until March 1955, when the Swineford post office was closed. The Swineford name is still used by the Swineford National Bank, which was founded in Swineford in 1903 and is listed as a part of the Fulton Financial Family as of 2013.

A major employer in the town following the Second World War was the Middleburg Tannery. This facility was located in the Swineford section of Middleburg on the south bank of the Middle Creek. It employed nearly sixty men and women that tanned high grade sole leather. Most of the raw material used at the plant came from South America, and many of the finished products were used in the manufacture of Florsheim Shoes. The tannery complex was leveled by a devastating fire in June 1967 and it was never rebuilt.

Middleburg is also home to the main processing plant of Ira Middleswarth and Son, Inc., the manufacturer of Middleswarth Potato Chips.

Middleburgh had one National Bank chartered during the Bank Note Era, and it issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

Organized Oct 3, 1889
Chartered Nov 12, 1889
Bank was Open past 1935
On February 15, 1963, merged with The First National Bank of Selinsgrove (charter 357) forming the Tri-Valley National Bank operating under charter 357

As of October 3, 1889, The First National Bank of Middleburgh received subscriptions to its $50,000 worth of stock and $10,000 more offered, but of course not accepted. The Hon. G. Alfred Schoch was elected president, Hon. S.H. Yoder, vice president, and J.N. Thompson, Jr., of Mexico, Juniata County, cashier; and directors were T.J. Smith, G. Alf. Schoch, S.H. Yoder, W.W. Wittenmyer, all of Snyder County and Jere Lyons, Mr. Hepner, and Hon. W.C. Pomeroy of Juniata. The bank will occupy a room in Emanuel Schoch's building adjoining the Court House. The safe arrived on November 20, 1889--a monster two folding-door money box, 65" X 45" X 33" and weighing 5800 lbs. It was manufactured by Farrel & Co., Philadelphia, PA and was fire, water and burglar proof. The bank opened for business on Monday, December 2, serving about 30 depositors.

The following directors were elected January 19, 1892 for the ensuing year: Hon. G. Alfred Schoch, merchant, Middleburgh; W.W. Wittenmyer, merchant, Middleburgh; T.J. Smith, lawyer, Middleburgh; S.H. Yoder, miller, Globe Mills; Hon. W.C. Pomeroy, Cashier, Port Royal Bank; Jos. Rothrock, President Juniata Valley Bank, Mifflintown; P.M. Kepner, Director of Juniata Valley Bank and Peoples' Bank, Newport. G. Alfred Schoch was re-elected president and J.N. Thompson, Jr., cashier. The net earnings for 1891 was over 10% and after paying a 6% dividend, the bank increased its surplus by $2,000.

The First National Bank of Selinsgrove merged with The First National Bank of Middleburg to form the Tri-County National Bank. Stockholders consented to the merger on Feb. 15, 1963 according to James G. Thompson, Jr. The merger agreement provided that the surviving bank would operate under the charter of the First National Bank of Selinsgrove issued 99 years ago, replacing Middleburg's charter issued in 1889. Total assets between the two banks was estimated at $16 million with about a third coming from the Selinsgrove bank. The Tri-County National Bank established its home office in Middleburg with branches in Beaver Springs, McClure, Richfield and Selinsgrove with James G. Thompson, Jr. as president.

The Tri-Valley National Bank would be acquired by M&T Bank. The Middleburg branch of M&T Bank at 1 W. Market St. merged with the branch in Selinsgrove and closed on April 20, 2015. No other M&T banks in the Valley counties of Snyder Northumberland, Union or Montour were slated to be consolidated.

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The First National Bank of Middleburgh, PA

Bank Note Types Issued

1882 Brown Back $5 bank note with pen signatures of J.N. Thompson, Jr., Cashier and G. Alfred Schoch, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

1929 Type 2 $10 bank note with printed signatures of E.W.P. Benfer, Cashier and J.G. Thompson, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $982,780 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1889 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 90,385 notes (76,968 large size and 13,417 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 - 4700
1882 Brown Back	3x10-20	1 - 3154
1902 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 3000
1902 Plain Back	3x10-20	3001 - 11388
1929 Type 1	6x10	1 - 1488
1929 Type 1	6x20	1 - 374
1929 Type 2	10	1 - 1738
1929 Type 2	20	1 - 507

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1889 - 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

Middleburgh, PA, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middleburgh,_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 Middleburgh Post, Middleburg, PA, Thu., Oct. 3, 1889.
The Middleburgh Post, Middleburg, PA, Thu., Oct. 10, 1889.
The Middleburgh Post, Middleburg, PA, Thu., Nov. 21, 1889.
The Middleburgh Post, Middleburg, PA, Thu., Jan. 21, 1892.
The Daily Item, Sunbury, PA, Sat., Feb. 16, 1963.