Peoples National Bank, State College, PA (Charter 12261)
Peoples National Bank, State College, PA (Chartered 1922 - Closed (Merger) 1995)
Town History
State College evolved from a village to a town to serve the needs of Pennsylvania State College, which was founded in 1855 as Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania. State College was incorporated as a borough on August 29, 1896, and it has grown with the college, which was renamed The Pennsylvania State University in 1953.
State College is surrounded by large tracts of farmland, and an expanse of Appalachian Mountain ranges and forests. Its location within a valley makes it prone to frequent rain and snowfall. Nittany Mountain is part of Pennsylvania's geologic ridge-and-valley province of the Appalachian Mountains. It is located at the approximate geographic center of Pennsylvania.
State College had two National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and both of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized August 29, 1922
- Chartered October 17, 1922
- Bank was Open past 1935
- For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
- Acquired The Rebersburg National Bank (Charter 11789) with title change to Peoples National Bank of Central Pennsylvania, September 10, 1973
- Acquired Farmers Community Bank FDIC #11869) in State College, PA, April 1, 1985
- Merged into Omega Bank, NA in State College, PA, March 20, 1995
In July 1922, application was made to the comptroller of the currency for another bank in State College to be known as the Peoples National Bank, capitalized at $50,000. The promotors had an option on the Meek Building on Allen Street then occupied by the Smith Hardware Co. and the 20th Century Shoe Co. Once the charter was assured, the promoters would begin making changes necessary for a banking office.[1]
On Tuesday, August 28, 1922, the stockholders met in the Firemen's Hall and elected the following directors: E.J. Williams, F.P. Knoll, M.B. Meyer, E.S. Erb, A.H. Yocum, W.D. Custard, H.J. Behrer, B.F. Homan, and A. J. Hazel. After the election the directors orgaized and elected the following officers: E.J. Williams, President; H.J. Behrer, vice president; and D.G. Meek, cashier.[2]
On Tuesday, January 11, 1927, the annual meeting of the stockholders was held. The luncheon at the Blue Moon restaurant was attended by 59. Following the luncheon, Cashier Harry Gould gave his report for 1926. Then, stockholders held their annual election in the banking house and elected the following directors for 1927: E.J. Williams, M.B. Meyer, B.F. Homan, A.H. Yocum, J.L. Wilson, F.P. Knoll, J.P. Ritenour, H.H. Ishler, A.J. Hazel, R. Adams Dutcher, J.H. Musser, and W.E. Smith. The newly elected directors met that evening and organized by electing E.J. Williams, president; M.B. Meyer and B.F. Homan, vice presidents; and C.H. Gould, cashier.[3]
In January 1930, the directors were M.B. Meyer, H.J. Behrer, R. Adams Dutcher, R.D. Hetzel, F.P. Knoll, Guy Z. Stover, L.J. Wilson, A.E. Martin, J.P. Ritenour, B.F. Homan, and A.H. Yocum. The officers were M.B. Meyer, president; H.J. Behrer, vice president; R. Adams Dutcher, chairman of the board; C.H. Gould, cashier and trust officer; and Gilbert S. Butler, assistant cashier.[4]
Stockholders of the Peoples National Bank, State College, and the Rebersburg National Bank, in separate meetings voted to approve the proposal to merge into a new organization to be known as the Peoples National Bank of Central Pennsylvania. Approval from the comptroller of the currency was expected in about 30 days. Peoples National had three offices in State College, one in Bellefonte and one in Snow Shoe. If approved the Rebersburg bank would become another branch under the new institution. Rebersburg was located in Centre County, just across the county line from the Loganton area of Clinton County.[5]
In 1980, Farmers Community Bank was formed from the merger of Community Bank of Port Matilda, established in 1921, and Farmers National Bank and Trust Company of Millheim (Charter 9511) with its headquarters located at 1480 E. College Avenue, State College.[6]
On March 6, 1985, stockholders met to vote on the proposal to merge the Farmers Community Bank with the Peoples National Bank of Central Pennsylvania.[7] The merger came nearly two years after the original announcement, according the Charles H. Zendt, Jr., president of Farmers Community Bank. As both banks were located in Centre County, opposition was faced from the Justice Department due to competition considerations. The two banks engaged a Washington, DC, law firm and filed a lengthy supplement detailing all of the services available in Centre County, maintaining they would actually compete against more than 100 major bank holding companies, securities firms and others with combined assets of $1 trillion. The new financial institution would have $206 million in total assets, $180 million in total deposits and nearly $118 million in gross loans. The following officers would lead the bank: John R. Miller, Jr., Chairman; Eugene F. Lee, vice chairman; Mr. Lee, president and chief executive officer; and Mr. Zendt, executive vice president. The following would comprise the board of directors: Raymond F. Agostinelli, Richard L. Campbell, Ned C. Cummings, Steve A. Garban, H. Richard Ishler, Gordon D. Kissinger, Nathan H. Krauss, George R. Lovett, Don C. Meyer, George G. Neff, Jr., Robert A. Szeyller, Grey W. Tressler, and Mr. Zendt.[8] Peoples National with its main office at 117 S. Allen Street, State College, operated nine offices and four ATMs in central Pennsylvania prior to the merger.
In March 1995, Peoples Bank and Russell Bank merged forming Omega Bank, an affiliate of Omega Financial Corporation. Omega Bank had 24 offices in Centre, Clinton, Juniata and Mifflin Counties.[9]
- 03/20/1995 Merged and became part of Omega Bank, National Association (7575) in State College, PA.
- 03/20/1995 Changed Institution Name to Omega Bank, National Association.
- 10/19/2001 Merged and became part of Omega Bank, National Association (7533) in Huntingdon, PA.
- 10/19/2001 Changed Institution Name to Omega Bank, National Association.
- 06/29/2006 Changed Institution Name to Omega Bank.
- 04/01/2008 Merged and became part of First National Bank of Pennsylvania (7888) in Greenville, PA.
Official Bank Title
1: The Peoples National Bank of State College, PA
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $727,560 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1922 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 92,651 notes (35,948 large size and 56,703 small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments 1902 Plain Back 4x5 1 - 5167 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 1 - 3820 1929 Type 1 6x5 1 - 4266 3921 Not issued 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 2346 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 438 1929 Type 2 5 1 - 8914 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 4240 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 1249
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1922 - 1935):
Presidents:
Cashiers:
- David George Meek, 1923-1924
- Charles Henry Gould, 1925-1930
- Gilbert Sylvester Butler, 1931-1934
- Eugene Fitzhugh Lee, 1935-1935
Other Known Bank Note Signers
- No other known bank note signers for this bank
Bank Note History Links
- Peoples National Bank, State College, PA History (NB Lookup)
- Pennsylvania Bank Note History (BNH Wiki)
Sources
- State College, 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
- ↑ Centre Daily Times, State College, PA, Sat., July 1, 1922.
- ↑ Centre Daily Times, State College, PA, Sat., Sep. 2, 1922.
- ↑ Centre Daily Times, State College, PA, Fri., Jan. 14, 1927.
- ↑ Centre Daily Times, State College, PA, Mon., Jan. 23, 1950.
- ↑ Centre Daily Times, State College, PA, Wed., June 27, 1973.
- ↑ Centre Daily Times, State College, PA, Fri., Aug. 8, 1980.
- ↑ Centre Daily Times, State College, PA, Wed., Feb. 6, 1985.
- ↑ Center Daily Times, State College, PA, Thu., Mar. 7, 1985.
- ↑ Centre Daily Times, State College, PA, Tue., Mar. 7, 1995.