Juniata County, PA Bank Note History

$5 Series of 1882 Brown Back, issued by The First National Bank of Mifflintown, signed by Ezra C. Doty, Cashier and J. Banks Wilson, President. Courtesy of Lyn Knight Auctions, www.lynknight.com

The old Juniata Valley National Bank building in Mifflintown, Pennsylvania, ca2022.  Courtesy of Google Maps

The National Banks, Bankers and Bank Notes of Juniata County, PA (1889-1935) Juniata County was historically a part of Cumberland County and later Mifflin County. Juniata County was formed on March 2, 1831, from parts of Mifflin County. It is named after the Juniata River. The word "juniata" itself is a Seneca word that means either "people of the standing stone" or "blue waters". The first boroughs in the county to be settled were Mifflintown and Thompsontown, which were settled in 1790. Port Royal and Mifflin were settled in 1812 and 1848, respectively. The Pennsylvania Canal began serving Juniata County in 1826 and closed in 1900. The Pennsylvania Railroad reached the county in the late 1840s. The Tuscarora Valley Railroad was also in the county until it closed in 1934.

'Hometown' National Bank Notes showing the bank's name, and signed by local bank officers, were issued by most National Banks during the National Bank Note Era (1863-1935). Juniata county had seven National Banks in operation between 1889 and 1935, and all seven of those banks issued National Bank Notes.

National Banks of Juniata County

Interior of The Port Royal National Bank on Market Street, ca1919. Courtesy of the Juniata County Historical Society

McAlisterville

• Farmers National Bank (Charter 9526) (1909-1965) (Merged into Juniata Valley National Bank in Mifflintown Feb. 18, 1965)

Mifflintown

• First National Bank (Charter 4039) (1889-1936+) (Open past 1935)
• Juniata Valley National Bank (Charter 5147) (1898-1978) (Converted to a State bank Sep 21, 1978 Changed bank name to The Juniata Valley Bank Sep 21, 1978)

Patterson/Mifflin

• Peoples National Bank (Charter 9678) (1910-1936+) (Merged into The Russell National Bank of Lewistown July 31, 1964)

Port Royal

• First National Bank (Charter 11369) (1919-1965) (Merged into Juniata Valley National Bank in Mifflintown Feb. 18, 1965)
• Port Royal National Bank (Charter 11373) (1919-1965) (Merged into Juniata Valley National Bank in Mifflintown Feb. 18, 1965)

Thompsontown

• Farmers National Bank (Charter 10211) (1912-1961) (Merged into the Peoples National Bank of Mifflin forming the Peoples-Farmers National Bank July 1961)

Juniata County Banker Biographies

• Louis Evans Atkinson, Juniata Valley National Bank, Mifflintown (Charter 5147; also 5133, and 5245)
• David Murry Hetrick, Peoples National Bank, Patterson/Mifflin, PA (Charter 9678)
• William Culbertson Pomeroy, (Charter 5133 and 5147)

National Bank Notes

$10 Series 1902 Plain Back bank note issued by The Peoples National Bank of Mifflin with pen signatures of D.M. Hetrick, Cashier and E.M. Guss, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

$5 Series 1929 Type 2 bank note issued by The Juniata Valley National Bank of Mifflintown with printed signatures of J. Lloyd Hartman, Cashier and George W. WIlson, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

National Bank Ephemera

Juniata Valley Bank 150th Anniversary coin, 1867-2017. Courtesy of the JVB Millerstown Branch

Wiki Links

• Pennsylvania Bank Note History
• Information on the origin and history of National Bank Notes (Wikipedia)
• General information on Juniata County (Wikipedia)
• General information on Pennsylvania (Wikipedia)

Sources

• Juniata County Historical Society
• 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