Orange National Bank, Orange, TX (Charter 6050)

Postcard of the Orange National Bank. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

Orange National Bank, Orange, TX (Chartered 1901 - Closed (Merger) 1997)

Town History

A 1966 advertisement for the Orange National Bank, recognizing John W. Simmons of the Sabine River Authority.

Orange is a city and the county seat of Orange County, Texas. It is the easternmost city in Texas, located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, and is 113 miles from Houston. Orange is part of the Beaumont−Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. Founded in 1836, it is a deep-water port to the Gulf of Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 19,324. In 1900 the population was 3,835, growing to 9,212 by 1920.

This community was originally called Greens Bluff after a man named Resin Green, a Sabine River boatman, who arrived at this location sometime before 1830. A short time later, in 1840, the town was renamed Madison in honor of President James Madison. To resolve the frequent post-office confusion with another Texas community called Madisonville, the town was renamed "Orange" in 1858. The area experienced rapid growth in the late 19th century due to 17 sawmills within the city limits, making Orange the center of the Texas lumber industry.

The harbor leading into the Port of Orange was dredged in 1914 to accommodate large ships. Ship building during World War I contributed to the growth in population and economy. The Great Depression, not surprisingly, affected the city negatively, and the local economy was not boosted again until World War II. A U.S. Naval Station was installed and additional housing was provided for thousands of defense workers and servicemen and their families. The population increased to just over 60,000 residents. USS Aulick was the first of 300 ships of various types built in Orange during the war.

Orange had three National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all three of those banks issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

Organized December 2, 1901
Chartered December 16, 1901
Bank was Open past 1935
For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
Converted to a state charter with title change to Orange Bank on December 31, 1970
Merged into Hibernia National Bank of Texas in Texarkana, TX on November 7, 1997

The application of W.D. Bettis and associates to organize the Orange National Bank of Orange, Texas, with $50,000 capital, was approved by the comptroller of the currency. This application was in place of one approved April 15 for title "The City National Bank of Orange."

In June 1904, the directors elected Mr. E.W. Bancroft as vice president, succeeding George M. Sells in that position.

On Tuesday, January 8, 1907, stockholder met and re-elected the same board of directors. The directors were George W. Bancroft, A.J. Bancroft, E.W. Bancroft, S.W. Sholars, and G.M. Sells. The officers were George W. Bancroft, president; A.J. Bancroft, vice president; and H.B. Jackson, cashier.

On February 24, 1911, fire broke out in the ceiling of the second story of the Bancroft building on Front Street around 4 o'clock. The Orange National Bank, the Elks club room, numerous offices, barber shop and a clothing store were located in the building and all were more or less damaged by the fire and water with the exception of the bank. The damage was estimated between $1,500 and $3,000.

In February 1922, orders were placed for new furniture and fixtures to be installed in the new stone front structure under construction for the bank. The cost of the furnishings was $20,000. The fixtures would be made of Tennessee marble and mahogany. May 15 was the date set for the bank to be in its new, two-story home on Main and Fifth Streets. In June, the opening was pushed back to July due to delays in setting of marble and drying of walls. Early in August, J.E. Harrison, cashier, reported the bank would move into its new quarters on August 15. An all-day reception would be held by bank officials. The new building represented an outlay of $80,000.

On Tuesday, January 15, 1924, at the annual meeting of stockholders the following were elected directors: H.L. Brown, B.F. Brown, George W. Bancroft, S.A. Emerson, J.E. Harrison, F.W. Hustmyre, R.A. Moore, G.M. Sells, S.M. White, Mrs. E.W. Brown. The directors elected the following officers, G.W. Bancroft, chairman of the board; H.L. Brown, president; F.W. Hustmyre, B.F. Brown, R.A. Moore, vice presidents; G.M. Sells and J.E. Harrison, active vice presidents; A.W. Campbell, cashier; J.H. David, R.C. Mash, and C.D. Wilson, assistant cashiers. C.D. Wilson was a new assistant cashier.

Howard S. Peterson, 54, president of the Orange National Bank and long a civic leader died Friday, November 8, 1963, of an apparent heart ailment. He was the immediate past president of the Orange Chamber of Commerce and formerly was vice president of the Texas Creosoting Company of Orange and Houston.

In December 1970 State Bank Commissioner Robert E. Stewart said the Orange National Bank received a charter as a state bank to be known in the future as the Orange Bank. Stewart estimated about 36 national banks in Texas had converted to state banks in the last several years. The name change was effective on December 31st, 1970.

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The Orange National Bank, Orange, TX

Bank Note Types Issued

1902 Plain Back $10 bank note with printed signatures of W.A. Campbell, Cashier and E.W. Brown, Jr., President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

1929 Type 1 $20 bank note with printed signatures of W.A. Campbell, Cashier and E.W. Brown, Jr., President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $935,140 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1901 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 75,416 notes (60,664 large size and 14,752 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 - 3260
1882 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 2720
1882 Value Back	3x10-20	2721 - 6111
1902 Plain Back	3x10-20	1 - 5795
1929 Type 1	6x10	1 - 1616
1929 Type 1	6x20	1 - 388
1929 Type 2	10	1 - 2124
1929 Type 2	20	1 - 604

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1901 - 1935):

Presidents:

Cashiers:

Other Bank Note Signers

There are currently no known Vice President or Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.

Wiki Links

Sources

Orange, TX, 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 Houston Post, Houston, TX, Wed., Oct. 16, 1901.
The Houston Post, Houston, TX, Thu., June 16, 1904.
The Houston Post, Houston, TX, Wed., Jan. 9, 1907.
The Houston Post, Houston, TX, Sat., Feb. 25, 1911.
The Houston Post, Houston, TX, Thu., Feb. 2, 1922.
The Houston Post, Houston, TX, Sat., June 10, 1922.
The Houston Post, Houston, TX, Sat., Aug. 5, 1922.
The Houston Post, Houston, TX, Wed., Jan. 16, 1924.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, TX, Sat., Nov. 9, 1963.
Longview News-Journal, Longview, TX, Sat., Jan. 1, 1966. January 01, 1966
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, TX, Fri., Dec. 11, 1970.