Monongahela National Bank, Brownsville, PA (Charter 648)
Monongahela National Bank, Brownsville, PA (Chartered 1864 - Receivership 1931)
Town History
Brownsville is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, first settled in 1785 as the site of a trading post. The Trading Post soon became a tavern and Inn, and was soon receiving emigrants heading west as it was located above the cut bank overlooking the first ford that could be reached to those descending from the Mountains. Brownsville is located 40 miles south of Pittsburgh along the east bank of the Monongahela River.
From its founding and well into the 19th century, as the first reachable population center west of the Alleghenies barrier range, the borough quickly grew into an industrial center, market town, transportation hub, outfitting center, and river boat-building powerhouse. It was a gateway destination for emigrants heading west to the Ohio Country, and the new Northwest Territory for travelers heading westwards on the various trails well into the 1850s. As outfitting center, the borough provided the markets for the small-scale industries in the surrounding counties—and also, quite a few in Maryland, shipping goods over the pass by mule-train via the Cumberland Narrows toll-route. Brownsville became a major center for building steamboats through the 19th century, producing 3,000 boats by 1888.
The borough developed in the late 19th century as a railroad yard and coking center, with other industries related to the rise of steel in the Pittsburgh area. It reached a peak of population of more than 8,000 in 1940. The restructuring of the railroad and steel industries caused a severe loss of jobs and population in Brownsville, beginning in the 1970s. The borough had a population of 2,331 as of the 2010 census.
Brownsville had four National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all four of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized December 10, 1864
- Chartered December 24, 1864
- Succeeded Monongahela Bank (1812-1864)
- Absorbed 2673 September 30 1930 (Second National Bank, Brownsville, PA)
- Receivership April 16, 1931
The Monongahela Bank was founded in 1812 and boasted that in its long history it had never suspended specie payment. Commissioners appointed by the Banking Act of 1814 were Jacob Bowman, Israel Gregg, Israel Miller, John McCadden, and Samuel Coope of Fayette County, and Reese Hill and Samuel Harper of Greene County, for the Monongahela Bank of Brownsville. Further, the bank was authorized 6,000 shares of capital stock at a par value of $50.
Jacob Bowman was born at Hagerstown, Maryland, on June 17, 1763 of German descent. He came to Brownsville and opened a store in 1787. He was for several years a contractor for the Government. The first load of merchandise which crossed the mountains on wheels was hauled by John Hayden for Mr. Bowman in 1789. It required a month to make the trip to and from Hagerstown. Mr. Bowman was Postmaster from the establishment of an office in 1795 until Andrew Jackson's administration, a period of thirty-four years. He was also president of the Monongahela Bank from its organization until 1843, a period of 29 years. His death occurred March 2, 1847, at the age of eighty-four. He had nine children, five daughters and four sons. Of the latter, two were presidents of the Monongahela Bank, James L. (1844-1857) and Goodlow H. (1857-1864), and one, Nelson B., was a cashier and director in the same institution.
On March 5, 1890, The banking building of the Monongahela National Bank was destroyed by a morning fire. The books, papers, and money of the bank were saved and the loss was covered by insurance. Most of the furniture belonging to the occupants of the building, Mr. Wm. M. Ledwith and family, was saved. All that remained of the beautiful banking house and residence was the charred walls. The origin of the fire was a defective flue. The bank would resume business in the Central Hotel building.
Merger of the Monongahela National Bank of Brownsville and the Second National Bank was announced on August 25, 1930. The merged institution was known as the Monongahela National Bank, occupying the quarters of that bank with resources of $7,112,538.72 and deposits of $5,910,498.13. C.L. Snowdon remained as head of the merged bank. The board consisted of Mr. Snowdon, George H. Snowdon, T.A. Waggoner, E.J. Seeman, and Newell A. Porter, the later two having been directors of the Second National Bank. The Monongahela National bank established in 1812 was the second oldest banking institution west of the Allegheny Mountains, and at the time of the merger, it had been paying dividends continuously for 117 years. The Second National bank was founded in 1882. Its president was Earl Huston.
An epidemic of bank failures occurred in Brownsville that reduced the number of operating banks from five to one. The most sensational was the closing of the big Monongahela National Bank; it closed in 1931 and never reopened. Mr. Snowdon was still president and following the closing of the bank, his other widespread business interests floundered in the sea of economic adversity. At the time of closing, the expectation of officers was that depositors would be paid in full and they directed affairs be turned over to B.J. Blakely, national bank examiner. The bank listed deposits of $13,245,536 and resources of $20,326,292 during the last bank call of Sept. 1929. By August of 1934, an 11% dividend was announced, the third, making a total of 36% paid since the bank closed in 1931. A plan to reopen the bank was announced Nov. 1932 and would have made 100% of small deposits representing 9,374 people available with large depositors receiving 70% with the balance held as outstanding debt, with 6% interest, paid when the bank was positioned to do so. This plan was never executed.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The Monongahela National Bank of Brownsville, PA
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $2,995,960 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1864 and 1931. This consisted of a total of 327,808 notes (306,592 large size and 21,216 small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments Original Series 4x5 1 - 3500 Original Series 3x10-20 1 - 5345 Series 1875 3x10-20 1 - 5100 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 11305 1902 Red Seal 4x5 1 - 3000 1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 2800 1902 Date Back 4x5 1 - 8700 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 7040 998,1250 Not issued 1902 Plain Back 4x5 8701 - 26760 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 7041 - 18838 1929 Type 1 6x5 1 - 2210 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 1066 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 260
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Monongahela National Bank of Brownsville Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1864 - 1931):
Presidents:
- Goodloe Harper Bowman, 1865-1873
- George Ewing Hogg, 1874-1888
- Gibson Binns, 1889-1892
- Charles Leidy Snowdon, 1893-1931
Cashiers:
- David Smythe Knox, 1865-1872
- William H. Parkhill, 1873-1879
- William Medkirk Ledwith, 1880-1887
- William A. Edmiston, 1888-1924
- Thomas A. Waggoner, 1925-1931
Other Bank Note Signers
- Louis Byron O'Donnell, Assistant Cashier 1929...1931
- There are currently no known Vice President bank note signers for this bank.
Wiki Links
- Pennsylvania Bank Note History
- General information on Brownsville (Wikipedia)
- General information on Fayette County (Wikipedia)
- General information on Pennsylvania (Wikipedia)
Sources
- Brownsville, PA, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownsville,_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
- Brownsville banking history of the Monongahela National Bank and Second National Bank on Abandoned (accessed June 15, 2022)
- Biography of Jacob Bowman from Historical Data from Christ Episcopal Church, Brownsville, PA.
- Carlisle Weekly Herald, Carlisle, PA, Fri., Apr. 1, 1814.
- The Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA, Wed., Mar. 5, 1890.
- Monongahela Valley Republican, Monongahela, PA, Thu., Mar. 6, 1890.
- The Wilkes-Barre Record, Wilkes-Barre, PA, Mon., Aug. 25, 1930