National Bank, Westfield, NY (Charter 3166)

A photo of the Westfield National Bank building from The Buffalo Times, Nov. 11, 1906.

National Bank, Westfield, NY (Chartered 1884 - Open past 1935)

Town History

Westfield, established in 1828, is a town in the western part of Chautauqua County, New York. The population was 4,896 at the 2010 census. Westfield is also the name of a village within the town, containing 65% of the town's population.  The area was first settled in 1802 by James McMahan, formerly of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. McMahan established a mill near the mouth of Chautauqua Creek, where it empties into Lake Erie. The mill was later dismantled in advance of the War of 1812 to prevent it falling into the hands of the British. Today some of the millstones from McMahan's mill rest outside the Patterson Library in Westfield village.  The Barcelona Lighthouse was constructed in 1829 to overlook Barcelona Harbor and aided sailors on Lake Erie until being deactivated in 1859. It was the first lighthouse in the world to be powered by natural gas.

In 1897, the founder of Welch's Grape Juice, Charles E. Welch, moved his company to Westfield from New Jersey to take advantage of the ideal climate for the cultivation of grapes, particularly of Concord grapes. The region soon became noted for the growing of grapes for both wine and grape juice.

Westfield had three National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all three of those banks issued National Bank Notes. Westfield also had two Obsolete Banks that issued Obsolete Bank Notes during the Obsolete Bank Note Era (1782-1866).

Bank History

• Organized April 8, 1884
• Chartered April 24, 1884
• Succeeded 504 (First National Bank, Westfield, NY)
• Absorbed 12476 April 13, 1931 (Grape Belt National Bank, Westfield, NY)
• Bank was Open past 1935

The charter for The First National Bank of Westfield, NY was set to expire in July 1884. The bank was reported as being in a very healthy condition. The officers chose the title of The National Bank of Westfield to succeed the First National Bank with Mr. E.A. Skinner, president, C.P. Skinner, vice president, and J.R. Skinner, cashier. At that same time, the private banking house of L.F. Phelps located in Westfield failed and it was thought that fifty to seventy-five cents on the dollar would be paid.

A registered mail pouch containing $50,000 in new ten and twenty dollar bills issued to the Westfield National Bank was ground beneath the wheels of a passing freight train on October 27, 1928. It was tossed off at Westfield station. Some of the money was chewed up or scattered by the wind, but the bulk of it was saved. The bank increased its circulation by $50,000 between Oct 1927 and Dec 1928 to $150,000.

On December 18, 1930, The board of directors of the Grape Belt National Bank at Westfield, NY announced the merger with the National Bank of Westfield, the business to be continued under the name of the latter. The Grape Belt National Bank had deposits of about $325,000 and capital stock of $50,000 while the National Bank of Westfield had deposits of more than $3,000,000 and capital stock of $150,000.

On Monday, February 24, 1940, The Union Trust Company of Jamestown, a Marine Midland affiliate, began operating the former National Bank of Westfield and the Bank of Brocton as branch banks. Stockholders of the two banks approved the acquisition on Friday as had State and Federal banking authorities. Resources of the Union Trust exceeded 7,500,000 with capital over $800,000. The Union Trust acquired all assets of the two banks, including cash, notes, bonds and mortgages, and became responsible for all liabilities. Title to the bank building in Westfield passed to the Union Trust which also leased the quarters of the Brocton bank. G. Patterson Crandall, president of the Westfield bank was elected a member of the board of directors and a vice president of the Union Trust and would have charge of the Westfield office with Ralph G. Keopka as assistant vice president. Merle N. Lawson was designated manager of the Brocton branch.

In August 1959, B. Patterson Crandall became headmaster of DeVeaux School at Niagara Falls. He was a former president of the National Bank of Westfield and the National Bank of Fredonia, a former director of the State Bank of Mayville and the Union Trust Co. of Jamestown. He left banking to teach and work with boys, having taught at Darrow School, New Lebanon before going to Westminster School, Simsbury, Connecticut.

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The National Bank of Westfield, NY

Bank Note Types Issued

1882 Brown Back $5 bank note with pen signatures of J.A. Skinner, Cashier and C.P. Skinner, Vice President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

1929 Type 1 $5 bank note with printed signatures of Edward D. Reagan, Cashier and Frank W. Crandall, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $2,140,670 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1884 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 348,136 notes (213,472 large size and 134,664 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	4x5	1 - 1500
1882 Brown Back	3x10-20	1 - 4703
1902 Red Seal	4x5	1 - 1250
1902 Red Seal	3x10-20	1 - 2000
1902 Date Back	4x5	1 - 4050
1902 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 3100
1902 Plain Back	4x5	4051 - 37285
1902 Plain Back	3x10-20	3101 - 6630
1929 Type 1	6x5	1 - 18290
1929 Type 2	5	1 - 24924

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

The National Bank of Westfield Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1884 - 1936):

Presidents:

• Edward A. Skinner, 1884-1912
• Frank William Crandall, 1913-1935

Cashiers:

• John Arthur Skinner, 1884-1891
• Frank William Crandall, 1892-1905
• Grant Sidney Flagler, 1906-1920
• Edward D. Reagan, 1920-1932
• Edgar A. Rouse, 1933-1935

Other Bank Note Signers

• Charles Patterson Skinner, Vice President 1884-1888
• Ralph Glenn Wright, Vice President 1903-1905
• Frank Peter Wolfe, Assistant Cashier 1920...1935
• Ralph G. Keopka, Assistant Cashier 1925...1935

Wiki Links

• New York Bank Note History
• General information on Westfield (Wikipedia)
• General information on Chautauqua County (Wikipedia)
• General information on New York (Wikipedia)

Sources

• Westfield, NY, 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://bbdata.banknotehistory.com