First National Bank, Monrovia, CA (Charter 3743)
First National Bank, Monrovia, CA (Chartered 1887 - Liquidated 1924)
Town History
Monrovia is a city located in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County, California. The population was 37,931 at the 2020 census. Monrovia has been used for filming TV shows, movies and commercials. Incorporated in 1887, Monrovia has grown from a sparse community of orange ranches to a residential community of over 37,000.
The town was incorporated in 1887 under the leadership of prohibitionists who wished to control the arrival of an unwelcome saloon. The first order of business for the newly formed government was to pass a tippler's law, prohibiting the sale of alcohol.
In 1903, the Monrovia News was established. That same year, the Pacific Electric was opened, providing transportation to and from Los Angeles, making it possible for Monrovia homeowners to work in Los Angeles.
In 1905, Carnegie funds became available and with the help of the Board of Trade (forerunner to the Chamber of Commerce), and the Monrovia Women's Club, a bond issue was passed to purchase the Granite Bank Building to be used as a City Hall, and to acquire property for a public park. The Granite Building serves as the city hall, fire and police department facilities in 1961 and the fire department in 1974. In 1956, the old Carnegie library building was torn down and a new library was constructed.
In 1930, the Monrovia Airport, also known as the Foothill Flying Club, was commercially established. The small airstrip claimed to have had 12,000 paying customers use the airfield in 1932 and on the 19th of May, 1938, the first airmail flight took off from the Monrovia Airport. Ownership of the airport changed hands several times during the time it was in operation but was remembered by pilots to be "the friendliest little airport in the country." Apart from usage by Riley Brothers, TWA Captain and former airshow pilot Kalman Irwin, and, Pancho Barnes, the airfield is well known for its use as a movie-filming location. The first movie to be filmed at the Monrovia Airport was "The Fighting Pilot." Other films shot at the airfield included "20,000 Men a Year," "The Great Plane Robbery," and most notably, "The Big Noise," featuring Laurel and Hardy. The 35-acre airfield, used as a runway as well as an airplane repair and storage service, was eventually forced to close in 1953.
Monrovia was the home to the precursor to McDonald's. In 1937, Patrick McDonald opened a food stand on Huntington Drive (Route 66) near the old Monrovia Airport called "The Airdrome" (hamburgers were ten cents, and all-you-can-drink orange juice was five cents); it remained there until 1940, when he and his two sons, Maurice and Richard, moved the building 40 miles east to San Bernardino to the corner of West 14th Street and 1398 North E Street, renaming it "McDonald's".
Monrovia had two National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and both of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized June 20, 1887
- Chartered July 2, 1887
- Liquidated April 7, 1924
- Succeeded by Security State Bank of Monrovia
On June 20, 1887, a new bank was incorporated, thus giving Monrovia two banking institutions. The new bank was the First National Bank of Monrovia. J.L. Brossart was elected president and F.M. Meyers, cashier. The directors were L. Bradbury, General W.A. Pile, A.T. Brossart, J.S. Buck, and Geo. W. Perkins.
In December 1887, Monrovia incorporated as a city with the following Board of Trustees: W.N. Monroe, W.A. Pile, L. Barnes, W. Baxter, and F.N. Meyers. Clerk, C.A. Reynolds; Treasurer, J.F. Sartori; Marshal, T. P. Herbert.
In January 1890, the following board of directors were elected: I.W. Hellman, J.F. Sartori, J.F. Brossart, John Wilde, O.A. Moore, F.N. Myers, and J.H. Bartle.
The Monrovia Savings Bank was founded by John H. Bartle in 1903, being located diagonally across the street from the First National Bank, later moving to the corner of Myrtle and Lime Avenues, occupying new and modern banking rooms. The Savings bank opened Monday, March 1, 1903. The officers were John H. Bartle, president; H.W. Hellman, vice president; and W.A. Chess, secretary and cashier. The directors were H.W. Hellman, R.M. Baker, A.H. Johnson, J.H. Bartle, and W.A. Chess.
In January 1923, the officers of the First National Bank were Jno. H. Bartle, president; W.A. Chess, cashier; C.L. Nichols and George H. Anderson, assistant cashiers. The bank's resources were advertised as $1,525,000. The Monrovia Savings Bank with resources of $1 million had the following officers: John H. Bartle, president; Marco Hellman, vice president; W.A. Chess, vice president; K.E. Lawrence, cashier; and Arthur J. Everest, treasurer. The Directors were John P. Dunn, Arthur J. Everest, Marco P. Hellman, John H. Bartle, and W.A. Chess.
William Albert Chess of the First National Bank came to Monrovia about thirty-four years ago. When he first began work in the First National Bank which was then still in its infancy, he did everything from the work of janitor outside of banking hours to the work of bookkeeper and clerk within. Incidentally the deposits at that time totaled $50,000 while at the time of this interview in 1923, the deposits were over $1.7 million. About 1902, Mr. Bartle decided that they might be able to profitably start a savings bank. This they did capitalizing it for $10,000. This was located in what was in 1923 the Messenger office. The First National was then where the Savings Bank was located in 1923. Again, Mr. Chess was everything from bookkeeper to clerk in the savings bank as well as the other. As Mr. Chess stated, "Monrovia grew and we had to grow with it."
On February 2, 1924, the merger was announced between the Security Trust & Savings Bank of Los Angeles and the First National Bank of Monrovia and the Monrovia Savings Bank both of which John H. Bartle was president "This is not a case of 'selling out' in which the two Monrovia banks lose their identity, but an actual merger by which the stockho1ders of the local banks become stockholders of the Security Bank and the local officers will remain as officers in charge of the local branches" said President Bartle. "...The banking laws as now in operation restrict the amount of money which any bank may loan to any one borrower in proportion to its capital and surplus, thus placing a limitation to the financial assistance a bank would render to an enterprise of magnitude." after the merger the resulting Security Trust & Savings Bank of Los Angeles would have a capital and surplus of more than $10.5 million. "This merger," continued Mr. Bartle, "is the consumation of a banking friendship which extends away back to the very start of the city of Monrovia thirty-seven years ago. At that time Joseph F. Sartori, a young lawyer, came from Iowa with his wife and selected Monrovia as the most promising place to start in Southern California. The new town needed a bank and Mr. Sartori and others accomplished the organization of the First National Bank of which he was the first cashier. Subsequently, he moved to Los Angeles and started the Security Savings Bank in 1889, but he never ceased to be a stockholder, director and officer of the First National Bank of Monrovia." The plan was to continue the two Monrovia banks on their present sites as two branches of the Security Bank. It was expected that it would require fully sixty days to complete the necessary legal formalities to dissolve the First National Bank, re-open it as a State bank, and then merge that bank and the Savings Bank with the Security Trust & Savings Bank.
On April 28, the merger became effective. The First National Bank would be known as the First Monrovia branch, and the Monrovia Savings Bank would be called the Second Monrovia branch of the Security Trust and Savings Bank.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The First National Bank of Monrovia, CA
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $512,710 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1887 and 1924. This consisted of a total of 67,808 notes (67,808 large size and No 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 - 3673 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 933 1902 Red Seal 4x5 1 - 350 1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 200 1902 Date Back 4x5 1 - 3100 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 2580 1902 Plain Back 4x5 3101 - 7140 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 2581 - 4656
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1887 - 1924):
Presidents:
- John Francis Brossart, 1887-1887
- Isaias William Hellman, Jr. , 1888-1890
- John Francis Brossart, 1891-1891
- Isaias William Hellman, Jr. , 1892-1893
- John Henry Bartle, 1894-1923
Cashiers:
Other Known Bank Note Signers
- No other known bank note signers for this bank
Bank Note History Links
Sources
- Monrovia, CA, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monrovia,_California
- Monrovia, CA, Online Collections Database
- 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
- Los Angeles Daily Herald, Tue., June 21, 1887.
- The Los Angeles Times, Fri., Feb. 14, 1890.
- The Los Angeles Times, Thu., Dec. 25, 1902.
- Monrovia Daily News, Monrovia, CA, Tue., Nov. 27, 1923.
- Monrovia Daily News, Monrovia, CA, Fri., Jan. 5, 1923.
- Monrovia Daily News, Monrovia, CA, Sat., Feb. 2, 1924.
- The Los Angeles Times, Tue., Apr. 29, 1924.