First National Bank, Port Royal, PA (Charter 11369)

NEEDED: a contemporary postcard or photo of the bank.

First National Bank, Port Royal, PA (Chartered 1919 - Open past 1935)

Town History

Port Royal is a borough in Juniata County, Pennsylvania. The population was 925 at the 2010 census. In 1910, the population was 535 and by 1930 it had grown to 579.

Port Royal used to be named Perrysville, after Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry. Port Royal (and Perrysville before it) once was a stop on the old main line of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR). Port Royal was, in fact, one of the first towns to be linked to the Pennsylvania Railroad system, as it lay along the Lewistown-to-Harrisburg stretch of the railroad—the first leg constructed after the new railroad was chartered. Located along the Juniata River, many forms of transportation including the Pennsylvania Canal passed through the small town as a result of the river being an essential transportation highway. The Pennsylvania Railroad station no longer exists. Port Royal was also the northern terminus of the Tuscarora Valley Railroad, a narrow-gauge railroad serving southern Juniata and northern Franklin counties. The railroad was decommissioned in the 1930s.

From the PRR station during the Gettysburg Campaign of the Civil War, Union scout, Stephen W. Pomeroy, telegraphed the vital news to Governor Andrew Curtin that Robert E. Lee was concentrating the Army of Northern Virginia at Gettysburg. This was how state officials came to know of this vital intelligence, which Pomeroy had carried for nearly sixty miles from near Lee's headquarters in Chambersburg. He had sewn the message into his belt strap of his pants.

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

Bank History

Organized June 2, 1919
Chartered June 13, 1919
Bank was Open past 1935

The First National Bank of Port Royal was granted permission to organize. On Monday, May 18, 1919, Judge J.A. Kohler was elected president with Dr. A.W. Shelley as vice president. A charter was issued by the comptroller of the currency on June 13. The bank was capitalized with $40,000.

In January 1929, the officers and directors elected were: J.A. Kohler, president, Dr. A.W. Shelley, vice president; Edgar A. Ulsh, cashier; Samuel S. Beaver, D.B. Esh, Stewart Gronninger, D.K. Kepner, Y.H. Krebs, C.B. Milliken, J.S. McMath, N.H. Yoder, and W.W. Book, directors. In January 1930 the same officers and directors were elected with the addition of Martha Frankhouse, assistant cashier.

On February 18, 1965, four Pennsylvania bank merger applications were approved by the comptroller of the currency to allow the Juniata Valley National Bank of Mifflintown to absorb the Farmers National Bank of McAlisterville, the Port Royal National Bank and the First National Bank of Port Royal. The mergers were to meet the needs and better serve the people of the area. On September 25, 1965, the two Port Royal offices were combined and the former Port Royal National Bank was used as the Port Royal Office of the Juniata Valley National Bank. Charles H. Zendt of Mexico, former cashier of the First National Bank of Port Royal, was appointed manager for the combined office to succeed the late Paul R. McClure, former cashier of the Port Royal National Bank. Besides Mr. Zendt, the following persons were employed in the Port Royal office: Mrs. Kathryn Neff, Darwin H. Kohler, Mrs. Doris Armstrong, Mrs. Helen G. Beers, Mrs. Blanche C. Moyer, John Ritzman, Sandra M. Zendt, and Mrs. Alma Groninger.

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The First National Bank of Port Royal, PA

Bank Note Types Issued

1902 Plain Back $10 bank note with signatures printed with blue ink of Edgar A. Ulsh, Cashier and J.A. Kohler, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

1929 Type 1 $10 bank note with printed signatures of Edgar A. Ulsh, Cashier and J.A. Kohler, President. GPO prepared the overprinting plate for this note. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $334,120 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1919 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 26,766 notes (18,636 large size and 8,130 small size notes).

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

Series/Type	Sheet/Denoms	Serial#s	Sheet Comments
1902 Plain Back	3x10-20	1 - 4659
1929 Type 1	6x10	1 - 812
1929 Type 1	6x20	1 - 274
1929 Type 2	10	1 - 1271
1929 Type 2	20	1 - 343

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1919 - 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

Port Royal, PA, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Royal,_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://spmc.org/bank-note-history-project
The Perry County Times, New Bloomfield, PA, Thu., May 22, 1919.
Pittsburgh Daily Post, Pittsburgh, PA, Tue., June 17, 1919.
Harrisburg Telegraph, Harrisburg, PA, Sat., Jan. 26, 1929.
Harrisburg Telegraph, Harrisburg, PA, Fri., Jan. 24, 1930.
The Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA, Thu., Feb. 18, 1965.
Standard-Speaker, Hazleton, PA, Thu., Feb. 18, 1965.