First National State Bank/First NB, Sheridan, IN (Charter 5296)

The old First National Bank of Sheridan, Indiana, ca2023. In 1927, the American State Bank acquired this building from the newly organized Farmers and Merchants National Bank which occupied this location for less than one week. Courtesy of Google Maps

First National State Bank/First NB, Sheridan, IN (Chartered 1900 - Liquidated 1927)

Town History

The origins of Sheridan, which started out as Millwood, are vague, owing partly to the loss of all the town's records in 1913 when a disastrous fire destroyed the town hall and many other buildings. No documentation supports the popular contention that Egbert Higbee started the town in 1860. Higbee, born in Ohio and brought to Adams Township as a child, did, indeed, lay out a town he called Millwood on land adjacent to the district school (built 1851) on the state road. He had acquired his land in parcels and filed his town plat in April 1866. Only two-and-a-half blocks divided into twenty lots, it was oriented in an east–west direction along the south side of the Lafayette-Noblesville state road, which Higbee designated as Main Street (present day Second Street; his “West Street” became Main). Higbee immediately began to sell off lots to enterprising merchants and a few mill owners, and the little village got its start. Higbee himself built a mill and laid out additions to his original plat. Caswell Boxley, however, subdivided the south edge of his land, which adjoined Higbee's plat across the state road and he laid out his own plat of Millwood immediately north and extending west of Higbee's. The initial town orientation was succeeded by one that placed Main Street in a north–south direction. In a few years the hamlet of Millwood applied for a post office and was granted one on January 30, 1871. Since there was already an existing post office in a village of the same name in Kosciusko County, this Millwood was rechristened “Sheridan,” in honor of Civil War general Philip Sheridan. The town had something of an identity crisis for a few years as some people continued to call it Millwood while others used the new name of Sheridan—even in official records. Several significant buildings from that early period survive, including the H.J. Thistlethwaite Building, constructed in 1886 to boast an opera house, a lodge room and retail spaces.

Sheridan, around the turn of the twentieth century had become the second largest town in the county with a thriving commercial district along Main Street. Included were a large variety of stores, several hotels, banks, and lodges still sharing the street with a few dwellings. Many of these buildings survive, including the two large commercial buildings on Main—the Golden Rule general merchandise store and the dry goods store of Stanley Brothers. Both were constructed in the 1890s.

The great conflagration of 1913 started in a lumber company and destroyed much of the south end of downtown—mostly wood-frame structures. The Town Hall, which had stood on the east side of Main south of 5th Street, burned. After the fire, a new brick building was constructed at the southwest corner of Main and Cora (presently Jaycee) streets—previously the site of a livery stable that also burned. The aftermath of the fire resulted in considerable change downtown. Over the next 15 years, scattered houses on Main Street disappeared and were replaced by commercial buildings. Only the far north end of Main Street retained its original residential character. Several new businesses appeared, including several movie houses, although even before the fire, Sheridan had been proud that it possessed more than one nickelodeon. Another type of business that seemed to thrive downtown in the interwar years was the automobile dealership, but little evidence of any of these remain. The last bank of several institutions that had been established in town—the newly formed American State Bank of Sheridan—built its headquarters in 1914 at Main and Fourth. It remained to house a bank until 2006. Another beautiful former bank building built after the fire was the Farmers National Bank of Sheridan, now part of the adjacent hardware store.

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

Bank History

The 4th Annual Pumpkin show hosted by the American State Bank of Sheridan, Indiana, October 6, 1928.

The First National Bank of Sheridan, Indiana, opened in February 1921.

• Organized April 2, 1900
• Chartered April 20, 1900
• Succeeded State Bank
• 2: Liquidated May 16, 1927
• 2: Succeeded by 13050 (Sheridan NB/Farmers & Merchants NB (No Issue), Sheridan, IN)
• 2: Receivership August 18, 1927

On February 26, 1886, John H. Cox opened up the Bank of Sheridan, at Sheridan, Hamilton County. He was the president of the First National Bank until 1913 and was well-known and respected as one of the oldest, best and most conservative bankers in Central Indiana. He was also president of the American State Bank of Sheridan until his death; he held that position from the time he organized the institution in 1914 with $40,000 in capital. The Bank of Sheridan was the first bank organized in Sheridan.

On February 22, 1900, the application of the State Bank of Sheridan, Indiana, to convert to the First National State Bank of Sheridan, was approved by the Comptroller of the Currency. On April 27th, Charles G. Dawes, Comptroller of the Currency, authorized the First National State Bank to commence the business of banking. The capital was $50,000.

In January 1908, the directors elected were Dr. John N. Parr, John H. Cox, John S. Kercheval, James H. Padgett, George H. Palmer, Cassius E. Elliott, and William L. Hare. The officers elected were John H. Cox, president; Dr. John N. Parr, vice president; William L. Hare, second vice president; Lowell W. Cox, cashier; William J. Eberwein, assistant cashier; C.E. Elliott, secretary; and Claude Goff, bookkeeper.

On January 20, 1909, the comptroller of the currency approved the application to change the title of the First National State Bank of Sheridan to the First National Bank of Sheridan.

In February 1921, the First National Bank of Sheridan occupied its new home, a beautiful two-story modern bank building situated in the heart of the business district of this city. The building was 45 feet wide by 88 feet long with buff tapestry brick and terra cotta exterior. The first floor contained the main banking room, consultation and directors' rooms. The banking room was finished in Alabama marble and its equipment included two large, burglar-proof vaults situated immediately to the rear of the banking room. The second floor was for office suites. Charles B. Jones was president; W.J. Eberwein and George H. Palmer, vice presidents; M.S. Parr, cashier; Ella Scott, assistant cashier; Effie Newcomer, bookkeeper and Marle Boatman, assistant bookkeeper. Charles H. Byfield of Indianapolis was the architect and the Walker-brooks Construction Co. had the general construction contract.

On Tuesday, January 19, 1926, stockholders elected the following directors: W.J. Eberwein, E.J. Mendenhall, Anson M. Bell, A.M. Padgett, Nelson, J. Parr, G.M. Haughey, and Marshall Boyer. The last two named were new members of the board and the others were re-elected. The directors organized on Friday with W.J. Eberwein as president; Anson M. Bell, vice president; E.J. Mendenhall, vice president; H.R. Johnson, cashier; Ella Scott, assistant cashier; and Marie Boatman, bookkeeper. At the close of business, December 31, 1926, the bank had capital $75,000, surplus $25,000, undivided profits $6,663.89, circulation $75,000, and deposits $149,040.67. H.R. Johnson was cashier and directors attesting to the correctness of the report were E.J. Mendenhall, A.M. Padgett, and D.F. Hutchens.

On Tuesday, March 8, 1927, the charter for the Sheridan National Bank arrived in the afternoon. The organization plan was worked out under the direction of Alfred Leyburn, National Bank Examiner, and was approved by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Mr. Leyburn was previously in charge of the First National Bank of Noblesville for some time after it went into the hands of a receiver. The capital stock of the new institution was $40,000 and the surplus was $8,000. Forty-five stockholders purchased 400 shares at $120 a share. It was understood the new bank would take over the building of the First National Bank of Sheridan at a price of $45,000, which was less than half its actual cost. The new bank did not accept the frozen assets which consisted largely of second mortgages on farms. They would be turned over to a board of trustees and the amount was estimated around $70,000. The 45 stockholders held a meeting on Tuesday, March 8th and elected the following directors: Phil Hare, H.S. Moredock, L.C. Higbee, Charles Chew, W.S. Pressler, I.H. McMurtry and Frank Ringer.

On Wednesday afternoon, March 23, 1927, George Henderson Palmer, aged 67, one of the most widely known businessmen of Hamilton County, died at his home in Sheridan. Mr. Palmer had been in poor health for the past three years. He was survived by the widow, one son, Duval, who lived at Sheridan, and one daughter, Mrs. Hilda Long, of Indianapolis; one brother, O.K. Palmer of Chehalis, Washington, and two sisters, Mrs. N.W. Cowgill, of Noblesville, and Mrs. Frances Higham, of Chicago, survived. The deceased was born in Switzerland county, Indiana, being a son of Osmer and Susan Palmer. When his parents moved to Jennings county early in the eighties George left home to make his way in the world and located at Fishersburg, where he and his brother-in-law, W.H. Guirl, engaged in the lumber business. In 1883 they located in Sheridan and bought the lumber interest of the late A.M. Jenkins, one of the early merchants of Noblesville. There the deceased spent the remainder of his life and was very successful in business. For several years he was president of the First National Bank of Sheridan. At the time of his death, he owned his residence property in Sheridan, something over three hundred acres of land in Adams Township, half of the Sheridan Gas and Oil Company and also the moving picture house in Sheridan.

Official Bank Titles

1: The First National State Bank of Sheridan, IN

2: The First National Bank of Sheridan, IN (1/20/1909)

Bank Note Types Issued

1882 Brown Back $20 bank note with the bank's first title and pen signature of L.W. Cox, Cashier. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

1902 Plain Back $5 bank note with pen signature of H.R. Johnson, Cashier and stamped signature of W.J. Eberwein, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $894,500 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1900 and 1927. This consisted of a total of 126,796 notes (126,796 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
1: 1882 Brown Back	3x10-20	1 - 2820
2: 1882 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 4500
2: 1882 Value Back	4x5	1 - 2375	Plate approved December 29, 1917
2: 1882 Value Back	3x10-20	4501 - 5864
2: 1902 Plain Back	4x5	1 - 20640

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1900 - 1927):

Presidents:

• John Henry Cox, 1900-1913
• George Henderson Palmer, 1914-1914
• John Alfred Branson, 1915-1915
• Charles B. Jones, 1916-1920
• Anson M. Bell, 1921-1922
• Elmer John Mendenhall, 1923-1925
• William J. Eberwein, 1926-1926

Cashiers:

• CPT Orlando Alvin Cox, 1900-1902
• Frank George Kassebaum, 1903-1906
• Lowell Wallace Cox, 1907-1913
• William J. Eberwein, 1914-1918
• Morris S. Parr, 1919-1923
• Herschel Robling "Pop" Johnson, 1924-1926

Other Known Bank Note Signers

• No other known bank note signers for this bank

Bank Note History Links

• First National State Bank/First NB, Sheridan, IN History (NB Lookup)
• Indiana Bank Note History (BNH Wiki)

Sources

• Sheridan, IN, on Wikipedia
• 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