Lynchburg National Bank/Lynchburg NB & TC, Lynchburg, VA (Charter 1522)
Lynchburg National Bank/Lynchburg NB & TC, Lynchburg, VA (Chartered 1865 - Open past 1935)
Town History
Lynchburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner John Lynch, the city's population was 79,009 at the 2020 census, making Lynchburg the 11th most populous city in Virginia. Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains along the banks of the James River, Lynchburg is known as the "City of Seven Hills" or the "Hill City". In the 1860s, Lynchburg was the only city in Virginia that was not recaptured by the Union before the end of the American Civil War. In 1860 the population was 6,853, growing to 40,661 by 1930.
Lynchburg lies at the center of a wider metropolitan area close to the geographic center of Virginia locally known as “the Lynchburg area”. It is the fifth-largest MSA in Virginia, with a population of 261,593. It is the site of several institutions of higher education, including Virginia University of Lynchburg, Randolph College, University of Lynchburg, Central Virginia Community College and Liberty University. Nearby cities include Roanoke, Charlottesville, and Danville.
In 1786, Virginia's General Assembly recognized Lynchburg, the settlement by Lynch's Ferry on the James River. The James River Company had been incorporated the previous year (and President George Washington was given stock, which he donated to charity) in order to "improve" the river down to Richmond, which was growing and was named as the new Commonwealth's capital. Shallow-draft James River bateau provided a relatively easy means of transportation through Lynchburg down to Richmond and eventually to the Atlantic Ocean. Rocks, downed trees, and flood debris were constant hazards, so their removal became expensive ongoing maintenance. Eventually the state built a canal and towpath along the river to make transportation by the waterway easier, and especially to provide a water route around the falls at Richmond, which prevented through navigation by boat. By 1812, U.S. Chief Justice John Marshall, who lived in Richmond, reported on the navigation difficulties and construction problems on the canal and towpath.
The General Assembly recognized the settlement's growth by incorporating Lynchburg as a town in 1805; it was not incorporated as a city until 1852. In between, Lynch built Lynchburg's first bridge across the James River, a toll structure that replaced his ferry in 1812. A toll turnpike to Salem, Virginia was begun in 1817. Lynch died in 1820 and was buried in the burial ground of the South River Friends Meetinghouse. Quakers later abandoned the town because of their moral opposition to slave-holding. Presbyterians took over the grounds of the meetinghouse in 1899, and adapted it as a church, later building a new church adjacent to the site, and restoring the Quaker meetinghouse to the buildings historical appearance. The meeting house and burial ground are now preserved as a historic site.
Lynchburg had five National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all five of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized August 3, 1865
- Chartered August 11, 1865
- 1: Assumed 2506 by consolidation April 8, 1913 (National Exchange Bank, Lynchburg, VA)
- 1: Assumed its circulation
- Bank was Open past 1935
On August 3, 1865 only three months after the end of the Civil War, nine men gathered in Richmond for the purpose of organizing a bank in Lynchburg which they proposed to call The Lynchburg National Bank. A week later the certificate to begin business had been issued by the Comptroller of the Currency and before the month was out a building had been purchased at 914 Main Street and a staff had been hired. The bank was capitalized at $100,000 with all of the Stock held by the nine organizers.
On Tuesday, January 16, 1866, stockholders met at their banking house and elected C.K. Bingham of Richmond president; John M. Warwick, vice president; and Lorenzo Norvell, cashier. The following directors were chosen: J.M. Warwick, D.W. Burton, W.D. Miller, C.K. Bingham, J.J. Irby, W.H. Hall, Ro. L. Owen, John T. Smith, and Lo. Norvell.[1]
It was a bleak time to undertake a banking venture. But the new bank prospered from the beginning surviving Reconstruction and the myriad panics and depressions that have periodically plagued the nation since that time. Much of Lynchburg National’s success in those early troubled years was due to the men who as directors or bank officers administered the bank’s affairs. Among them were such well-known figures as Lorenzo Norvell, Max Guggenheimer, Jr., John W. Carroll, Peter J. Otey, Maurice Moore, John M. Warwick, and C.W. Button. These men and their successors oversaw the operation of the bank so well that by 1913 the bank was ready to expand in two directions. The first move was a consolidation with the National Exchange Bank. The merged bank was capitalized at $500,000 and retained the name of Lynchburg National Bank. The second expansion was accomplished with construction of a new bank building on the comer of Ninth and Main Streets designed by the distinguished British architect Alfred C. Bossom. When the building was completed in 1916, it was described in The News as “a gem in the heart of Lynchburg.”
In April 1916, the directors of the Lynchburg National Bank were J.W. Bell, president, First National Bank of Abingdon; R.A. Carrington, vice present, Lynchburg Shoe Co.; John W. Craddock, president, Craddock-Terry Co.; Allen CuCullu, vice president and cashier; F.G. Davidson, Jr., Davidson Brothers; John E. Gannaway, John E. Gannaway & Co.; James R. Gilliam, president, Lynchburg Trust and Savings bank; T.W. Gilliam, retired; James R. Gilliam, Jr., assistant secretary and treasurer, Lynchburg Trust and Savings Bank; Richard Hancock, Hancock brothers & Co.; Frank P. Harman, president, Guggenheimer & Co., Inc.; R.J. Hancock, Hancock Brothers & Co.; E.C. Ivey, president, Standard Ice Co.; S.V. Kemp, attorney-at-law; N.C. Manson, Jr., attorney-at-law; W.H. Miller, president, Lynchburg Shoe Co.; Dr. James Morrison, physician; Jno. M. Otey, Jno. M. Otey & Co.; Alfred B. Percy, attorney-at-law; R.C. Scott, president, Lynchburg Milling Co.; Walter Smith, stocks and bonds; Johannes Suhling, Suhling & Co.; George P. Watkins, retired; Wm. V. Wilson, Jr., attorney-at-law; and George D. Witt, retired. The bank had capital and surplus of $1,000,000.[2] On Thursday, August 24, 1916, the Lynchburg National Bank moved into its new home at Ninth and Main Streets and opened for business the next morning. Money and securities valued at several million dollars were moved in an automobile under heavy guard and the equipment necessary to conduct business was transferred in wagons.[3] The building and equipment cost the bank about $225,000.Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, VA, Sun., Aug. 27, 1916. The officers were Wm. V. Wilson, Jr., president; Allen Cucullu, vice president and cashier; J.B. Gilliam, vice president; and B.F. Cousins, assistant cashier.[4]
The bank was granted full trust powers in 1927 and the following year in recognition of the importance of trust business to the total operation, its name was changed to The Lynchburg National Bank and Trust Company. After the end of World War II as the country entered upon a period of economic prosperity, Lynchburg National began to expand by branching first in Lynchburg, then out into the Central and Southside areas of the state. In 1963 when it was evident that the bank had become a regional rather than a one-city bank, its name was changed to Fidelity National Bank.
On Tuesday, September 3, 1963, stockholders of the Lynchburg National Bank and Trust Co. and the Campbell County Bank voted overwhelmingly in favor of the proposed merger of the two institutions. The comptroller of the currency approved the proposed merger and the name, The Fidelity National Bank. The name originally submitted by the two banks was the State National Bank of Virginia. When the comptroller refused to accept the first name sent, the banks came up with several others and The Fidelity National Bank was the one accepted by the Government.[5] Lynchburg National had deposits of about $54 million and the Campbell County Bank had deposits of about $15 million.[6]
By 1967 the bank had acquired through mergers branch banks in Altavista, Amelia, Amherst, Appomattox, Blackstone, Brookneal, Chase City, Clarksville, Drakes Branch, Armville, Halifax, Kenbridge, and Rustburg. Additional branches also were opened in Lynchburg and by 1980, there were 10 Fidelity locations scattered over the city in addition to the main office. Other innovations were undertaken in the 1960’s in order to accommodate the growth and complexity of the bank's business. In 1967 Fidelity installed its first computer in a building at 1010 Atherholt Road. Announcement was made recently of the purchase of a highly sophisticated IBM computer that would permit the bank to offer a greater variety of customer services, especially in the area of deposit accounts.
On Tuesday, January 21, 1969, shareholders met for their annual meeting at the bank's data center, 1010 Atherholt Road. J. Lyons Davidson, Fidelity president, announced that total assets of the bank climbed to $207 million from $168 million at the end of 1967 and deposits on December 31, 1968, were up to $184 million, an increase of $33 million over the previous year. Two mergers were completed during 1968. Planters Bank and Trust co. of Farmville consolidated with Fidelity in February and the Bank of Charlotte County at drakes Branch was merged into the Fidelity system in March. In August, Fidelity became a charter member of the Atlantic Bankcard Association, a consortium of over 30 banks in a three-state area including Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. E.R. Harris, Jr., senior vice president, addressed the proposal to form a registered bank holding company with American National Bank, Portsmouth. The holding company would be named Fidelity-American Bankshares, Inc.[7]
A major step was taken in 1970 when Fidelity which had the year before formed a multi-bank holding company with American National Bank of Portsmouth began construction of a 20-story headquarters building across Main Street from the old bank building. This building was completed in 1973 and opened officially with a week-long open house that April. Three years later all the affiliate banks of Fidelity American Bankshares Inc., including the lead bank, Fidelity National, adopted the name Fidelity American Bank in order to give uniformity of identification throughout the company’s market area. At the end of 1978 five regional holding company affiliates were merged into Fidelity as a result of the organization of a new holding company by Fidelity American Bankshares and Central National Corp. of Richmond. The recently merged banks which gave Fidelity a total of 33 bank locations in 18 Virginia cities and towns, including those in Roanoke, Chatham, Natural Bridge, Buena Vista, and Halifax. In May 1980, holding company banks throughout the state adopted the uniform name of Central Fidelity Bank. By 1980, what started as a small, new bank 115 years ago was one of the state’s major financial institutions with total assets of more than $698 million and total deposits in excess of $505 million. By Laura Rimer, Assistant Vice President, Central Fidelity Bank.[8]
Official Bank Titles
1: The Lynchburg National Bank, Lynchburg, VA
2: The Lynchburg National Bank and Trust Company, Lynchburg, VA (4/21/1928)
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $16,699,290 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1865 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 1,690,206 notes (1,352,026 large size and 338,180 small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments 1: Original Series 4x5 1 - 7500 1: Series 1875 4x5 1 - 11515 1: Series 1875 3x20-50 1 - 690 1: 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 9157 1: 1882 Brown Back 50-100 1 - 2315 1: 1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 8000 1: 1902 Date Back 4x5 1 - 33165 1: 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 21900 1: 1902 Plain Back 4x5 33166 - 136205 1: 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 21901 - 140686 2: 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 1 - 23096 2: 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 36202 2: 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 10150 2: 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 46669 2: 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 13399
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1865 - 1935):
Presidents:
- Charles K. Bingham, 1865-1871
- Thaddeus C. S. Ferguson, 1872-1878
- Judge David Edley Spence, 1879-1884
- John Wesley Carroll Sr., 1885-1886
- James Clark, 1887-1891
- William Alexander Carpenter, 1892-1893
- William Venable Wilson, Jr., 1894-1930
- Allen Cucullu, 1931-1935
Cashiers:
- John W. Hall, 1865-1865
- Capt. Lorenzo Norvell, 1866-1879
- Peter Johnston Otey, 1880-1886
- George W. Moore, Jr. , 1887-1908
- Allen Cucullu, 1909-1919
- Giles Henry Miller, 1920-1934
- Thomas West Gilliam, 1935-1935
Other Known Bank Note Signers
- No other known bank note signers for this bank
Bank Note History Links
Sources
- Lynchburg, VA, 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
- ↑ The News and Advance, Lynchburg, VA, Wed., Jan. 17, 1866.
- ↑ The News and Advance, Lynchburg, VA, Sat., Apr. 29, 1916.
- ↑ The News and Advance, Lynchburg, VA, Fri., Aug. 25, 1916.
- ↑ The News and Advance, Lynchburg, VA, Tue., Aug. 29, 1916.
- ↑ The Roanoke Times, Roanoke, VA, Wed., Sep. 4, 1963.
- ↑ The Richmond News Leader, Richmond, VA, Wed., Aug. 28, 1963.
- ↑ The Daily Advance, Lynchburg, VA, Tue., Jan. 21, 1969.
- ↑ The News and Advance, Lynchburg, VA, Thu., Aug. 7, 1980.