Keystone National Bank in Pittsburgh, PA (Charter 14210)

A 1950 advertisement for the Keystone National Bank in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Keystone National Bank in Pittsburgh, PA (No Issue) (Chartered 1934 - Open past 1935)

Town History

Photo of the old Keystone National Bank located at 333 Fourth Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, ca2020. The Colonial Trust Company operated its Keystone branch from this location. It is the building on the left. Courtesy of Google Maps

Pittsburgh is a city in the state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. As of the 2020 census, the population was 302,971 living within the city limits making it the 68th-largest city in the U.S. and the second-most populous city in Pennsylvania, behind Philadelphia. The Pittsburgh metropolitan area is the anchor of Western Pennsylvania; its population of 2.37 million is the largest in both the Ohio Valley and Appalachia, the second-largest in Pennsylvania, and the 27th-largest in the U.S.

Pittsburgh is located in the southwest of the state, at the confluence of the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River, forming the Ohio River. Pittsburgh is known both as "the Steel City" for its more than 300 steel-related businesses and as the "City of Bridges" for its 446 bridges. The city features 30 skyscrapers, two inclined railways, a pre-revolutionary war fortification and the Point State Park at the confluence of the rivers. The city developed as a vital link of the Atlantic coast and Midwest.

There were 54 note issuing banks in Pittsburgh counting those that were annexed and found themselves within the borders of the city. Many of these banks had more than one title and the officers of several banks adopted a modernized spelling for Pittsburgh, dropping the "h" just after the turn of the century. The h was dropped by the Post Office between about 1894 and 1911. This was due to a Federal Board of Geographic Names Commission's report published in 1892 which made recommendations for modernizing, standardizing and simplifying the spellings of geographic names throughout the country. On July 19, 1911, with an effective date of October 11, 1911, Pittsburgh was allowed to retake its h through the efforts of U.S. Senator George T. Oliver who took an appeal from the citizens of Pittsburgh to the Board of Geographic Names. During the period where the spelling was in transition, all city ordinances and council minutes retained the spelling Pittsburgh. Five banks adopted the modernized spelling: the Federal, Republic, Industrial, Keystone, and American Nationals, all organized between 1901 and 1905. Also organized during that period were the Cosmopolitan, Mellon, Colonial, and Washington National Banks, but they used the traditional spelling. The Federal National Bank, charter 6023, was the only bank to receive the Pittsburg spelling on Series of 1882 plates.

The Keystone National Bank in Pittsburgh, the subject of this history page, was the one national bank that did not issue bank notes. The predecessor to this bank was one of five that used a modernized version of Pittsburg, dropping the 'h'. Pittsburgh also had a number of Obsolete Banks that issued Obsolete Bank Notes during the Obsolete Bank Note Era (1782-1866).

Bank History

1950 advertisement for the newest branch of The Colonial Trust Company, the Keystone Branch at 333 Fourth Avenue, Pittsburgh.

Organized May 29, 1934
Chartered June 28, 1934 (Non-Issuing)
Succeeded 7560 (Keystone National Bank of Pittsburg, PA)
Bank was Open past 1935
Merged with The Colonial Trust Company in May 1950

On June 29, 1934, The Keystone National Bank reopened without any restrictions and with the new title "Keystone National Bank in Pittsburgh" and Charter 14210, releasing about $2,500,000 in deposits. This institution on Fourth Avenue paid off all depositors 100 per cent. A.S. Beymer, the former president and the new chairman of the board said, "The conservatorship ends tomorrow." S. Clark Reed, who had been receiver for seven Pittsburgh banks under the state banking department became the new president of the bank. The bank was closed during the holiday a year ago in March. Since that time Mr. Beymer and others have been laboring on plans for reorganization. The plans were approved some time ago by the comptroller of currency, but details of obtaining stockholders' consent, depositors' signatures and other technicalities caused the delay. Additional time was consumed in arranging the sale of preferred stock to the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, one of the means of strengthening the institution and qualifying it for Federal Deposit Insurance.

The Keystone National Bank in Pittsburgh became a branch of the Colonial Trust Company in May 1950. The two downtown banks were located near one another with the Keystone at 333 Fourth Avenue and the Colonial with its main entrance at 414 Wood Street. Upon approval of stockholders, the Keystone bank went into voluntary liquidation for the benefit of its shareholders. Colonial Trust had deposits of $80.6 million at the end of 1949 and the Keystone bank had capital of $500,000, surplus of $600,000, undivided profits of $111,000, and total deposits of $13.6 million at the end of 1949. With the acquisition the Colonial Trust established its third branch office joining the Bloomfield and Carrick branches. Mr. H.M. Schaefer, former president, and George A. Ittel, former vice president remained in charge of operations of the Keystone Office of The Colonial Trust Company. All former officers of the Keystone National remained in their customary stations. George A. Ittel was appointed Liquidating Agent for the Keystone National.

In April 1954, the Colonial Trust Company and the Fidelity Trust Company considered plans for a merger that would result in a bank with more than $225 million in assets. Colonial Trust was Pittsburgh's third largest bank with total assets of $137,469,585 and seven branch offices in addition to its main downtown bank. Fidelity was the sixth largest bank in the city with assets of $87,641,882 and one branch in Butler, Pa. The directors of the two banks approved a plan for the merger in July and stockholders voted at special meetings on July 29th. The stockholders approved and state banking authorities followed with their approval and the merger was was completed on Friday, August 6, 1954. When the bank and its branches opened on Monday, they were now the Fidelity Trust Company.

Official Bank Title

1: Keystone National Bank in Pittsburgh, PA

Bank Note Types Issued

No National Bank Notes were issued by this bank.

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1934 - 1936):

Presidents:

Samuel Clarke Reed, 1934-1935

Cashiers:

Herman M. Schaefer, 1934-1935

Other Bank Note Signers

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

Wiki Links

Sources

Pittsburgh, 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://spmc.org/bank-note-history-project
Huntoon, Peter; Liddell, Bob; and Hughes, James. "Pittsburgh Banks Offer Innumerable Twists," Chapter O07, Encyclopedia of U.S. National Bank Notes.
The Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA, Wed., June 27, 1934.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh, PA, Tue., Apr. 18, 1950.
The Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA, Tue., Apr. 18, 1950.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh, PA, Mon., May 15, 1950.
The Daily Notes, Canonsburg, PA, Fri., Apr. 9, 1954.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh, PA, Mon., Aug. 9, 1954.