First National Bank, Sipesville, PA (Charter 11849)

ca1930 postcard of the First National Bank. Courtesy of Mark Hotz

First National Bank, Sipesville, PA (Chartered 1920 - Open past 1935)

Town History

ca2015 photo of the old First National Bank building. Courtesy of Mark Hotz

Sipesville is an unincorporated community in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. The community is located along Pennsylvania Route 985 6.3 miles north of Somerset in southwestern Pennsylvania. Sipesville is named for Michael Sipe, who opened a mercantile in 1843. Sipesville has a post office with ZIP code 15561, which opened on April 9, 1851; Levi Hoffman was the first postmaster.

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

Bank History

• Organized August 23, 1920
• Chartered October 8, 1920
• Bank was Open past 1935
• Merged with The First National Bank of Somerset, Charter 4100, March 22, 1937

The First National Bank of Sipesville began business February 1, 1921.  The initial board of directors included Dr. C.B. Korns, S.V. Swank, U.J. Speicher, C.F. Darr, H.G. Fritz, L.C. Berkey, H.F. Swank, and William H. Friedline.  J.S. Speicher served three years as the bank's first cashier.  In 1924, Park Hoffman was given this position and held it until 1930 when Pierce Miller was elected.

In 1937, the First National Bank of Somerset purchased the First National Bank of Sipesville, acquiring through the transaction most of the Sipesville bank's customers.  The total assets of the bank amounted to $186,077.10 as reported in July 1936. The Sipesville bank was 16 years old and one of the small town banks in the state to successfully withstand the epidemic of bank closings in 1933.  Dr. C.B. Korns, president of the Sipesville bank was elected a member of the board of directors of The First National Bank of Somerset, joining fellow director, L.C. Berkey, who had been a member of the board of both banks.

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The First National Bank of Sipesville, PA

Bank Note Types Issued

1902 Plain Back $20 bank note with pen signature of Park L. Hoffman, Cashier and an unknown signature for the President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

1929 Type 1 $10 bank note with printed signatures of Pierce Miller, Cashier and C.B. Korns, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $141,600 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1920 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 11,343 notes (8,208 large size and 3,135 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 - 2052
1929 Type 1	6x10	1 - 386
1929 Type 1	6x20	1 - 126
1929 Type 2	10	1 - 54
1929 Type 2	20	1 - 9

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1920 - 1936):

Presidents:

• Dr. Charles Byron Korns Sr., 1921-1935

Cashiers:

• Jacob S. "Jack" Speicher, 1921-1923
• Park L. Hoffman, 1924-1931
• Franklin Pierce Miller, 1932-1935

Other Bank Note Signers

• There are currently no known Vice President or Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.

Wiki Links

• Pennsylvania Bank Note History
• General information on Sipesville (Wikipedia)
• General information on Somerset County (Wikipedia)
• General information on Pennsylvania (Wikipedia)

Sources

• Sipesville, PA, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sipesville,_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 Daily American, Somerset, PA, Mon., July 6, 1936.
• The Daily American, Somerset, PA, Mon., Mar. 22, 1937.
• The Republic, Meyersdale, PA, Thu., Sep. 1, 1949.