Grange NB of McKean County, Smethport, PA (Charter 8591)
Grange NB of McKean County, Smethport, PA (Chartered 1907 - Open past 1935)
Town History
Smethport is a borough in and the county seat of McKean County, Pennsylvania. The population was 1,655 at the 2010 census. Smethport is situated in the Pennsylvania Wilds region, in a hilly area a short distance from the Allegheny National Forest and Kinzua Bridge State Park. Smethport is about two hours from Erie and Buffalo. The highest point on U.S. Route 6 east of the Mississippi River is near Smethport at Bush Hill.
Smethport was founded in 1807 by Dutch land investors who were surveying a large tract of land they purchased from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and was named in honor of a Dutch banking family, the De Smeths, who financed the land investments. The town's first business was a water-powered sawmill built by John Applebee in 1822. Smethport became the McKean County seat in 1826 and was incorporated as a Borough in 1853. The sawmill's artificial pond is now the centerpiece of Hamlin Park. Notable businesses in Smethport include Hamlin Bank and Trust Company, a community bank founded by Henry Hamlin in 1863 and Smethport Specialty Company, which manufactured Wooly Willy and other magnetic toys until 2014.
Smethport had one National Bank chartered during the Bank Note Era, and it issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized October 31, 1906
- Chartered March 9, 1907
- Opened for business July 9, 1907
- Bank was Open past 1935
- Merged with Producers Bank and Trust Company, August 1961
The Grange National Bank formally opened on Tuesday, July 9, 1907. Many Grangers and other preeminent citizens from all parts of the county attended. Chadwick's Orchestra furnised excellent music and the new and beautiful building was thronged all day. The local Grange served a dinner to their visiting brothers and sisters in I.O.O.F. hall followed by a public meeting at the court house at which speeches were made by D.C. Young, president of the new institution; Congressman John G. McHenry, superintendent of the Pennsylvania Grange banking department as well as a director of the new bank; Distric Attorney Guy B. Mayo, E.R. Mayo, and J.H. Smith. The speeches were in reference to banking in general and the McKean County Grange bank in particular. The new bank had a fully paid up capital stock of $100,000 with a $10,000 bonus for building and furnishings. The board of directors consisted of the best known Grangers and businessmen in the county with the following Officers: D.C. Young, president; A.B. Armstrong, vice president; J.W. Lee, cashier; and Fred W. Brownell, assistant cashier. D.C. Young was a pioneer businessman and farmer of Smethport while Fred W. Brownell was one of Smethport's highly respected citizens, grocery store keeper, and an ex-postmaster.
On Tuesday, January 8, 1918, stockholders elected the following directors: A.A. Abbey, M.S. Comes, F.A. Gallup, F.L. Holmes, T.F. Hungiville, G.B. Mayo, Eugene McCarey, W.A. Ostrander, J.B. Oviatt, M.M. Quinn, Geo. Richards, H.W. Hubin, E.A. Studholme, J.C. Stull, and W.H. Gallup. The directors elected E.A. Studholme, president; F.L. Holmes, vice president; E.E. Drake, cashier; Jno. A. Carlson, assistant cashier; and W. L. Means, teller.
E.A. Studholme, who was doing YMCA work in Europe for the past ten months sailed from Bordeaux, France on the steamship Chicago, arriving in New York on Saturday April 26, 1919. Mr. Studholme was active in general business and agricultrue affairs in civil life, but left them all to do his duty as he saw it when the country asked for able men in the YMCA service. McKean County Miner, Smethport, PA, Thu., Jan. 10, 1918. McKean County Miner, Smethport, PA, Thu., Apr. 17, 1919.
On Tuesday, January 13, 1920, stockholders elected the following directors: E.A. Studholme, Guy B. Mayo, M.S. Comes, A.A. Abbey, H.W. Rubin, J.B. Oviatt, George Richards, F.A. Gallup, F.L. Holmes, T.F. Hungiville, W.H. Gallup, Eugene McCarey, W.A. Ostrander, M.M. Quinn, W.F. Specht. The officers were all re-elected with the addition of teller Mary Kleisath who replaced Mr. Means.
On January 1, 1943, the total resources of the bank were $1,160,000 with E.J. Conwell, merchant and oil producer of Cyclone, serving as president since that date. Earl R. Gallup of Smethport was vice president; A. Elmer Quirk was cashier, and John W. Comes was assistant cashier. The board of directors consisted of E.J. Conwell, Earl R. Gallup, Frank C. Raymond, C.L. Burt, W.J. Burns, Jr., H.A. Satterwhite, Albert W. Johnson, and Lieutenant Joseph P. Willson, attorney and on leave of absence from the armed forces. In July 1944, the comptroller of the currency authorized a change in the title of the bank to Smethport National Bank. Shareholders felt this name would more closely identify the bank with the business community of the Borough of Smethport and McKean County.
In August 1961, a merger between Producers Bank and Trust Co. and the Smethport National Bank was announced in a joint statement. W.F. Grow, chairman of Producers Bank and Trust Co., and E. J. Conwell, president of the Smethport National Bank, issued the joint announcement in which they stressed that all employees of both institutions would be retained. Producers Bank purchased all the assets and assumed all of the liabilities of the Smethport National Bank. The consolidation was subject to the approval of state and federal agencies. In the new organization, Mr. Conwell and A. Elmer Quirk became vice presidents of Producers Bank and Trust Company. J.W. Cones was named assistant treasurer. Mr. Grow said the Smethport office would be run as a completely local institution and the present directors would be invited to serve on its advisory board. He added, the merger would provide this bank a fully equipped office in the county seat and would bring to the Smethport area active installment loan and trust departments, in addition to all other banking services. Producers Bank, in 1948, was the first bank in the county to initiate an installment loan department, and since that time had lent over $15 million in loans of this type.
For more information on the Grange National Banks in Pennsylvania, this article provides a brief history of those twelve banks, why they were formed, and the men and women behind them.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The Grange National Bank of McKean County at Smethport, PA
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $1,969,970 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1907 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 245,862 notes (196,916 large size and 48,946 small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments 1902 Red Seal 4x5 1 - 2500 1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 2000 1902 Date Back 4x5 1 - 8450 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 6100 1902 Plain Back 4x5 8451 - 26578 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 6101 - 18151 1929 Type 1 6x5 1 - 3964 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 1864 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 506 1929 Type 2 5 1 - 6312 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 3478 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 1152
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1907 - 1936):
Presidents:
- Dewitt Clinton Young, 1907-1912
- Alvin Backus Armstrong, 1913-1913
- Horace Hamlin Redfield, 1914-1914
- Alvin Backus Armstrong, 1915-1915
- Edward Allen Studholme, 1916-1935
Cashiers:
Other Bank Note Signers
- Franklin Leroy Holmes, Vice President 1919...1921 Signature
- There are currently no known Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.
Wiki Links
- Pennsylvania Bank Note History
- General information on Smethport (Wikipedia)
- General information on McKean County (Wikipedia)
- General information on Pennsylvania (Wikipedia)
Sources
- Smethport, PA, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smethport,_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
- McKean County Miner, Smethport, PA, Thu., July 11, 1907.
- McKean County Miner, Smethport, PA, Thu., Jan. 10, 1918.
- McKean County Miner, Smethport, PA, Thu., Apr. 17, 1919.
- McKean County Miner, Smethport, PA, Thu., Jan. 15, 1920.
- The Bradford Evening Star, Bradford, PA, Wed., July 12, 1944.
- The Kane Republican, Kane, PA, Fri., Aug. 11, 1961.