New Tripoli National Bank, New Tripoli, PA (Charter 9656)
New Tripoli National Bank, New Tripoli, PA (Chartered 1910 - Open past 1935)
Town History
New Tripoli is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lynn Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census the population was 898.
New Tripoli is part of the Lehigh Valley metropolitan statistical area, which has a population of 861,899 and is the 69th most populated metropolitan area in the U.S. as of the 2020 census.
The name comes from Tripoli in Libya, in commemoration of the fighting in the Barbary Wars. The pronunciation of New Tripoli is with the stress on "PO" (trih-POH-lee), as many non-natives make the mistake of stressing the first syllable.
Saeger's mill was owned by Daniel Saeger in 1811. It was a stone grist mill, on the north east side of the Ontelaunee Creek, on the main thoroughfare of New Tripoli. In 1812 there was an English school at Saegersville (New Tripoli). A post office was established in 1823.
New Tripoli had one National Bank chartered during the Bank Note Era, and it issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized October 8, 1909
- Chartered February 5, 1910
- Bank was Open past 1935
- For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
- Still in business as New Tripoli Bank (May 2022)
On Saturday, August 21, 1909, the New Tripoli National Bank organized by electing the following officers and directors: Phaon W. Bittner, president; Dr. C.D. Werley, first vice president; Elmer J. Bachman, second vice president; Francis Harter, third vice president; James W. Loy, secretary; Meno O. Bachman, treasurer; directors, Meno O. Bachman, Joshua Oldt, James W. Loy, P.B. Oswald, Dr. C.D. Werley, P.W. Bitter, Nathan H. Snyder, Francis Harter, Gus E. Oswald, Dr. S.T. Zehner, Elmer J. Bachman and Jas. O. Ebert.
On September 6, 1909, the newly-organized bank began to break ground for the erection of a one-story cement block building at the corner of Market and Madison Streets, New Tripoli. The size was 30 by 54 feet accommodating a manganese safe and a strong iron vault. The cost was estimated at between $6,000 and $7,000. The lot was purchased from Dr. J.A. Kressley and opening was expected in December.
On September 6, 1909, the newly-organized bank began to break ground for the erection of a one-story cement block building at the corner of Market and Madison Streets, New Tripoli. The size was 30 by 54 feet accomodating a manganese safe and a strong iron vault. The cost was estimated at between $6,000 and $7,000. The lot was purchased from Dr. J.A. Kressley and opening was expected in December.
On February 5, 1910, Thomas P. Kane, Deputy and Acting Comptroller of the Currency, authorized the New Tripoli National Bank to commence the business of banking with capital of $25,000. This was Lehigh County's eleventh National Bank and fifteenth bank along with four trust companies. The directors elected Chas. F. Bretney who was assistant cashier of the First National Bank of Lehighton with ten year's banking experience. The Merchants National Bank of Philadelphia was its correspondent.
On March 1, 1910 the bank opened for business and total deposits were $26,913.69. If the weather had been more favorable, it is likely the sum would have been considerably higher. Nathan Handwerk of Saegersville was the first depositor and there were 152 depositors. A handsome purse was given to each depositors.
In January 1919, the well known hotel man at New Tripoli, Menno O. Bachman, was elected president of the New Tripoli National Bank. The other officers and employees were: vice presidents Elmer J. Bachman, C. Daniel Werley and Aaron J. Harter; cashier D.C. Kerstetter; secretary Elmer C. Kistler; teller Elmer W. Fisher; and bookkeeper H.J. Loy.
Menno O. Bachman, a life-long resident of New Tripoli and for the past 18 years proprietor of the New Tripoli store and hotel died on Tuesday night, December 12, 1922. He was the son of Phaon and Caroline (nee Weaver) Bachman, born June 9, 1866. He was president of the New Tripoli National Bank, a large landowner and a highly respected citizen.
In January 1930, the directors elected were Dr. C.D. Werley, Nathan H. Snyder, James O. Ebert, James W. Loy, Elmer J. Bachman, Charles S. Oswald, Aaron J. Harter, Elmer C. Kistler, John P. Gehringer, Robert D. Peters, George J. Bausch, and William B. Krause. In October, D.C. Kerstetter resigned as cashier to assume the treasureship of the Hamburg Savings and Trust Company with which the Kempton State Bank had recently merged. State banking department officials agreed that since so much business had left Kempton, it could no longer support its own bank. Kerstetter assumed the cashiership August 3, 1911 when he was 22 years old. In that time he had seen deposits grow from $146,000 to $1,600,000, much credit for which was assigned to his courtesy and obliging service.
In January 1960, the stockholders elected the following directors: Paul W. Krause, Amandus F. Bachman, George J. Bausch, Paul C. Snyder, and Ralph D. Weaver. Officers re-elected were Bausch, president; Snyder, vice president; Weaver, secretary; Clayton A. Werley, cashier; William A. Betz and Carl A. Ebert, assistant cashiers. The employees were LaRue L. Hausman, teller; Ann L. Green, bookkeeper; and LaRue M. Hoffman, clerk. At the end of 1959, the bank had Loans and Discounts of 1,079,043.86, Mortgages of 1,629,244.09, Capital of $75,000, Surplus of $300,000 and Undivided Profits of 388,500. The resources totaled $5,533,629.52.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The New Tripoli National Bank, New Tripoli, PA
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $324,250 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1910 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 26,043 notes (20,824 large size and 5,219 small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 1760 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 1761 - 5206 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 586 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 168 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 527 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 168
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1910 - 1936):
Presidents:
- Phaon W. Bittner, 1910-1918
- Menno O. Bachman, 1919-1922
- Dr. Calvin Daniel Werley, 1923-1935
Cashiers:
Other Bank Note Signers
- There are currently no known Vice President or Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.
Wiki Links
- Pennsylvania Bank Note History
- General information on New Tripoli (Wikipedia)
- General information on Lehigh County (Wikipedia)
- General information on Pennsylvania (Wikipedia)
Sources
- New Tripoli, 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
- Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, local history of Lynn Township.
- The Allentown Leader, Allentown, PA, Mon., Aug. 23, 1909.
- The Allentown Leader, Allentown, PA, Fri., Sep. 3, 1909.
- The Allentown Leader, Allentown, PA, Fri., Sep. 3, 1909.
- The Morning Call, Allentown, PA, Wed., Feb. 23, 1910.
- The Morning Call, Allentown, PA, Tue., Mar. 1, 1910.
- The Allentown Leader, Allentown, PA, Wed. Mar. 2, 1910.
- The Morning Call, Allentown, PA, Fri., Jan. 17, 1919.
- The Morning Call, Allentown, PA, Thu., Dec. 14, 1922.
- The Morning Call, Allentown, PA, Wed., Jan. 15, 1930.
- The Morning Call, Allentown, PA, Wed., Oct. 8, 1930.
- The Morning Call, Allentown, PA, Sat., Sep. 14, 1935.
- The Morning Call, Allentown, PA, Wed., Jan. 13, 1960.
- The Morning Call, Allentown, PA, Sat.., Jan. 16, 1960.