Grange National Bank, Tioga, PA (Charter 8092)

NEEDED: a contemporary postcard or photo of the bank.

Grange National Bank, Tioga, PA (Chartered 1906 - Open past 1935)

Town History

Tioga is a borough in Tioga County, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located north of Tioga and Hammond Lakes along the Tioga River. The name "Tioga" is borrowed from Native American tribes who lived in the area at the time of the arrival of European colonists; it means "at the forks".

Tioga is located about 17 miles northeast of Wellsboro, 60 miles north of Williamsport and 12 miles north of Mansfield. Tioga County was formed on March 26, 1804 from parts of Lycoming County. Wellsboro, the county seat, lies just 12 miles east of the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, one of state’s most spectacular natural attractions.

The population was 666 at the 2010 census. In 1910 the population was 533.

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

Bank History

• Organized January 29, 1906
• Chartered February 15, 1906
• Opened for business April 3, 1906
• Bank was Open past 1935
• Acquired April 1, 1943 by The First National Bank of Wellsborough, Charter 328

C.D. Kingsley, master of the local Grange, participated in the festivities incident to the opening of the Grange National Bank in Tioga on Tuesday, April 3, 1906. The State Grange Master W.F. Hill of Chambersburg also attended and reported the first day's deposits amounted to over $75,000. Farmers attended from miles around and it was made a gala occasion with a cornet band, a free banquet and speech making. Master Hill delivered an address on the advantages of farm banks to rural communities.

John G. McHenry of Benton and W.F. Hill of Chambersburg were elected vice presidents of this first bank of its kind. Grangers who heretofore kept their insurance policies, deeds and receipts in insecure drawers or boxes at home now had access to rent safe deposit boxes in the new grange bank. Much attention was upon the first Grange bank as far as the business proposition. The price of a bank share was kept low, and the number to be held by one person was limited. The desire of the officers and directors of the new bank was to have bank stock in every Granger's family.

On January 7, 1943, cashier F. Leonard Olson reported the bank had $25,000 in Capital Stock, $29,958.79 in Surplus and undivided profits and total assets of $388,958.49.

On April 1, 1943, The Grange National Bank of Tioga was sold to the First National Bank of Wellsborough. Gladys S. Worrall, president of The Grange National Bank, published the notification to depositors of the bank's closing. At the time Mrs. Worrall was the only woman national bank president in Pennsylvania. Her husband, Dr. Worrall, was rector of St. John's Episcopal church at Mansfield and later of St. Andrews Episcopal Church at Tioga.

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.

• A Brief History of the Grange National Banks in Pennsylvania

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The Grange National Bank of Tioga, PA

Bank Note Types Issued

Series of 1902 $10 Proof from the E Plate approved June 24, 1924 despite two issues noted with penciled marks.  Courtesy of the Smithsonian Archives

1929 Type 1 $20 bank note with printed signatures of Cecile M. Camp, Cashier and R.J. Camp, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $465,550 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1906 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 37,459 notes (31,024 large size and 6,435 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	3x10-20	1 - 960
1902 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 2360
1902 Plain Back	3x10-20	2361 - 6796
1929 Type 1	6x10	1 - 648
1929 Type 1	6x20	1 - 180
1929 Type 2	10	1 - 1207
1929 Type 2	20	1 - 260

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1906 - 1936):

Presidents:

• Dr. Solomon Philo Hakes, 1906-1914
• Rufus J. Camp, 1915-1930
• Dr. Solomon Philo Hakes, 1931-1935

Cashiers:

• Edward Brown Dorsett, 1906-1907
• Fred L. Nearing, 1908-1914
• John Henry Eick, 1915-1916
• Russell Richard Camp, 1917-1927
• Cecile M. (Smith) Camp Loveless, 1929-1929
• Melvin A. Barrett, 1931-1933
• Gladys Phelps (Smith) Worrall, 1934-1935

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 Tioga (Wikipedia)
• General information on Tioga County (Wikipedia)
• General information on Pennsylvania (Wikipedia)

Sources

• Tioga, PA, 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://bbdata.banknotehistory.com
• Republican News Item, Laport, Pennsylvania, Thu., May 3, 1906.
• People's Register, Chambersburg, PA, Fri., July 27, 1906.
• Mansfield Advertiser, Mansfield, PA, Wed., Jan. 13, 1943.
• The Wellsboro Gazette Combined with Mansfield Advertiser, Wellsboro, PA, Thu., Feb. 23, 1961