National Bank, Manassas, VA (Charter 5032)
National Bank, Manassas, VA (Chartered 1896 - Open past 1935)
Town History
Manassas (/məˈnæsəs/), formerly Manassas Junction, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 42,772 at the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of Prince William County and is part of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. In 1900 the population was 817, growing to 1,215 by 1930.
In July 1861, the First Battle of Bull Run (also known as the Battle of First Manassas) was fought nearby, the first major land battle of the American Civil War. The Second Battle of Bull Run (or the Battle of Second Manassas) was fought near Manassas on August 28–30, 1862. At that time, Manassas Junction was little more than a railroad crossing, but a strategic one, with rails leading to Richmond, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and the Shenandoah Valley. Despite these two Confederate victories, Manassas Junction was in Union hands for most of the war.
Following the war, the crossroads grew into the town of Manassas, which was incorporated in 1873. In 1894, Manassas was designated the county seat of Prince William County, replacing Brentsville. In 1975, Manassas was incorporated as an independent city, and as per Virginia law, was separated from Prince William County. Manassas is about 32 miles west of Washington, DC.
Manassas had two National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, the National Bank of Manassas (Charter 5032) and the Peoples National Bank (Charter 6748), and both of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized July 27, 1895
- Chartered January 31, 1896
- Bank was Open past 1935
In July 1895, citizens of Prince William and Loudoun counties contemplated the establishment of a National Bank at Manassas. The necessary capital had been subscribed.[1] On August 10th, the comptroller of the currency approved the application of Westwood Hutchinson and associates to organize the National Bank of Manassas.[2] On Saturday, September 28th, 1895, at a meeting of the stockholders, the contract for the erection of the building was awarded to Mr. John A. Cannon, the lowest bidder, at $3,728. The work commenced with completion expected by the first of January at which time the new bank planned to open for business.[3] In November the position of teller was tendered to Mr. Thomas H. Lion.[4]
On January 31, 1896, the Treasury Department authorized the National Bank of Manassas to begin business, but the bank was not ready due to the fact the bank building was not yet in readiness.[5]
On Tuesday, January 12, 1897, stockholders held their annual meeting. H.F. Lynn was re-elected president; R.H. Lynn, vice president; Westwood Hutchinson, cashier; A.T. Clapham, teller; and Thos. H. Lion, attorney.[6]
In November 1904, there was a daring, but unsuccessful attempt to rob the National Bank of Manassas. The vault was entered and the smaller of two safes broken open. The larger safe, however, proved too strong for the burglars. This safe contained $15,000. Robbers secured $300 worth of stamps belonging to the postmaster and rifled some private boxes, but obtained very little money.[7]
On February 22, 1906, Frank Burns who was sentenced on the 12th on his plea of guilt to the charge of burglarizing the National Bank of Manassas on the night of November 11, 1904, was pardoned by the governor and was released from jail. Burns pleaded guilty after two mistrials on condition that petition for pardon be signed by the court and jury.[8]
In January 1909, the directors elected were H.F. Lynn, W.W. Wagener, T.B. Putnam, C.A. Heineken, Westwood Hutchison, C.L. Hynson, Thomas H. Lion, C.E. Nash, W.F. Hale, John R. Hornbaker, James E. Beale, Abram Conner, E.R. Conner, and R.H. Lynn.[9] On Friday morning, December 3, 1909, R.H. Lynn, president of the American National Bank of Washington, DC, and president of the Chesapeake & Potomac Steamboat Company was drowned in about 5 feet of water on the Susquehanna Flats near Turkey Point, Cecil County, Maryland. An accidental discharge of a shotgun blew a hole in his sink box used for duck hunting.[10]
In February 1915, A.A. May accepted a position with the Peoples National Bank of Manassas made vacant by promotions attending the resignation of Harry P. Davis, assistant cashier, who became the assistant cashier of the National Bank of Manassas.[11] L. Frank Pattie, assistant cashier was promoted to cashier, succeeding Captain Westwood Hutchinson. Directors created a new office of solicitor which Mr. Hutchinson would fill.[12]
In June 1921, the officers of the National Bank of Manassas were Charles R. McDonald, president; Westwood Hutchison, vice present; Harry P. Davis, cashier. The directors were R.H. Davis, C.E. Nash, E.R. Conner, R.A. Hutchison, H.W. Herring, O.C. Hutchison, T.H. Lion, B. Lynn Robertson, Charles R. McDonald, George H. Smith, R.S. Hynson, W. Hutchison, T.O. Latham, and O.E. Newman. C.C. Cushing was teller, Mrs. O.J. Davis, bookkeeper and John T. Broaddus, assistant bookkeeper. The resources of the bank on June 30, 1920 were $662,407.63.[13]
In January 1956, stockholders elected William H. Leachman, Washington lumberman, to the board of directors and later he was named chairman of the board. Mr. Leachman was following in the footsteps of his father who was board chairman from 1915 to 1928. He had extensive lumber interests and was a member of the advisory board of the National Metropolitan Bank of Washington. In Virginia, he was president of the Manassas Lumber Co., the Ashland Lumber Co., and the Berryville Lumber Co.[14]
The National Bank of Manassas became a member of the First Virginia Corp. in January 1957.
In May 1969, the Justice Department filed suit to block the merger of First National Bank of Quantico and the National Bank of Manassas. The Manassas bank was a member of First Virginia Bankshares Corp.[15]
On April 1, 1970, a gunman held up the Haymarket branch of the National Bank of Manassas shortly after noon and fled on foot with an undetermined amount of money. Police said the man armed with a 38 caliber pistol walked in the bank about 12:45 p.m. and forced the manager to open the vault and took money from there, a teller's cage and cash drawers at the drive-in window. The man then walked out of the bank unnoticed by any customers.[16]
For the past century a bank was located on the corner of Center and Main Streets in Manassas. That ended on Friday, March 21, 1997, when First Virginia Bank closed its doors and moved to a new facility in the Wellington Station Shopping Center. The staff was increased to 11 and Mary Pforr as promoted to manager.[17]
Official Bank Title
1: The National Bank of Manassas, VA
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $542,990 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1896 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 43,772 notes (35,820 large size and 7,952 small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 2790 1882 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 1401 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 1 - 4764 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 796 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 196 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 1604 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 396
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1896 - 1935):
Presidents:
- Henry Fairfax Lynn, 1896-1914
- Charles Russell McDonald, 1915-1918
- Thos. R. McDonald, 1919-1919
- Charles Russell McDonald, 1920-1928
- Thomas Harlan Lion, 1929-1935
Cashiers:
- Westwood Hutchison, 1896-1914
- Lewis Frank Pattie, 1915-1917
- Harrison Purcell "Harry" Davis, 1918-1935
Other Known Bank Note Signers
Bank Note History Links
Sources
- Manassas, 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 Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg, VA, Fri., July 12, 1895.
- ↑ The News and Advance, Lynchburg, VA, Sun., Aug. 11, 1895.
- ↑ Alexandria Gazette, Alexandria, VA, Sat., Oct. 5, 1895.
- ↑ Alexandria Gazette, Alexandria, VA, Sat., Nov. 23, 1895.
- ↑ The Daily Star, Fredericksburg, VA, Fri., Feb. 7, 1896.
- ↑ Alexandria Gazette, Alexandria, VA, Sat., Jan. 16, 1897.
- ↑ The Atlanta Journal, Atlanta, GA, Mon., Nov. 14, 1904.
- ↑ The Roanoke Times, Roanoke, VA, Fri., Feb. 23, 1906.
- ↑ The Washington Herald, Washington, DC, Thu., Jan. 14, 1909.
- ↑ The Midland Journal, Rising Sun, MD, Fri., Dec. 10, 1909.
- ↑ Evening Star, Washington, DC, Sun., Feb. 7, 1915.
- ↑ The Farmville Herald, Farmville, VA, Fri., Jan. 29, 1915.
- ↑ Evening Star, Washington, DC, Sun., June 19, 1921.
- ↑ Evening Star, Washington, DC, Sun., Jan. 15, 1956.
- ↑ Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, VA, Fri., July 11, 1969.
- ↑ Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, VA, Thu., Apr. 2, 1970.
- ↑ News and Messenger, Woodbridge, VA, Fri., Mar. 21, 1997.