Peoples National Bank, Waynesburg, PA (Charter 5085)

Postcard of the Peoples Bank Building, 409 Woods Street, Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, ca1900s. W.T. Hays was a merchant in Waynesburg. Courtesy of Jerry Dzara

Peoples National Bank, Waynesburg, PA (Chartered 1897 - Closed 1923)

Town History

Picture of the Peoples National Bank of Waynesburg, Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh Daily Post, Mon., Oct. 23, 1922. The ad reads, "Our Endeavor is to promote the progress of Waynesburg and Greene County. We have been engaged in this endeavor for just a quarter of a century. Our accomplishments are well known to the people throughout this great community. The management feels that the daily advancement of the community opens the way for greater service on the part of this institution. We will be found keeping step with the march of progress. Hazardous investments have been the community's greatest enemy. We are glad to lend any assistance to correct this evil. Officers are listed in the bank history.

Advertisement from the Peoples National Bank of Waynesburg, Pennsylvania. The message was to warn against "Hazardous Investments." Pittsburgh Daily Post, Mon., Oct. 23, 1922.

Waynesburg is a borough in and the county seat of Greene County, Pennsylvania, located about 50 miles south of Pittsburgh. Its population was 4,176 at the 2010 census. In 1900 the population was 2,544 and it peaked in 1950 at 5,514.

The region around Waynesburg is underlaid with several layers of coking coal, including the Pittsburgh No. 8 seam, the Waynesburg seam, and the Sewickley (Mapletown) seam. The area is also rich with coalbed methane, which is being developed from the underlying Marcellus Shale, the largest domestic natural gas reserve. Early in the 20th century, four large gas compressing stations and a steam shovel factory were located in Waynesburg.

Waynesburg is named for General "Mad" Anthony Wayne, one of the top lieutenants of George Washington during the Revolutionary War (1776–81). In 1796, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed legislation to create Greene County, dividing Washington County into two parts with the lower part becoming Greene County. Part of the legislation required a city to take the county seat for the section of land. They chose Waynesburg as the place for the county seat because it was in the center of the county. Thomas Slater owned the land which is now Waynesburg. The borough is the location of Waynesburg University, and it is served by the Greene County Airport.

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

Bank History

Organized July 14, 1897
Chartered September 4, 1897
Closed June 18, 1923
Consolidated with 4267 June 18, 1923 (Citizens National Bank, Waynesburg, PA)
Circulation assumed by 4267 (Citizens National Bank, Waynesburg, PA)

On July 7, 1897, authority was granted from the Comptroller of the Currency for the organization of the Peoples' National Bank of Waynesburg with capital of $50,000. In London, Mark Twain finished his new book, "The Surviving Innocent Abroad," and started for the continent for a vacation. Also, the secret service made another arrest in the Costa Rica counterfeiting case. The prisoner, William H. Bohn, was the son of Herman Bohn. Young Bohn was employed in his father's lithographing shop and is thought to have helped his father make the plates. He was held under $3,000 bail for the grand jury.

On Sept. 6, 1912, Andrew Lantz, aged 73, died at his home on Church St., Waynesburg. Mr. Lantz was a prominent farmer and stock raiser and at one time owned 2,200 acres of farm land in Greene Township where he was born. He was a Democrat and served two years in the state legislature from 1882 to 1886 and was the president of the Peoples National Bank from the time of its organization in 1897 until 1906.

In October 1922, Officers of the Peoples National Bank included Dr. G.M. Scott, president; Hon. B.N. Freeland, vice president; J.D. Orndoff, cashier; J.R. Ledwith, assistant cashier; and John L. Meighen, 2nd assistant cashier. Greene County boasted eight banks: The Citizens National Bank, the Union Deposit and Trust Company, and the Peoples National Bank of Waynesburg; First National of Carmichaels; Farmers and Merchants National of Mt. Morris; Rices Landing National; First National, Jefferson, and Peoples Bank of Greensboro with a total capitalization of $650,000, surplus and profits of $1,779,641.40; resources of $13,228,520.21; loans and investments totaling $11,664,486.69 and $10,197,406.53 in deposits.

Also in October 1922, Officers of the Citizens National Bank included Davis W. Johns, president; T. J. Wisecarver, vice president; H. L. Abell, cashier; and William Bennett and Charles Smith, assistant cashiers; and E. M. Powell. Jr., trust officer.

On May 9, 1923, directors of the Citizens National Bank and the Peoples National Bank, both of Waynesburg, voted to submit to stockholders a proposition to combine the institutions. The Citizens had capital of $400,000 and resources amounting to $5,500,000 while the Peoples had capital of $100,000 and resources of $1,800,000. This consolidation occurred on June 18, 1923 and Greene County had one less bank. John D. Orndorff became the cashier of the Citizens National Bank until it entered receivership in 1927. Orndorff would be found on January 2, 1928, in the offices of George Elliott, an oil and gas operator, having been shot through the heart. Authorities believed that it was a suicide.

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The Peoples National Bank of Waynesburg, PA

Bank Note Types Issued

1882 Value Back $10 bank note with pen signatures of J.D. Orndoff, Cashier and G.M. Scott, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

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 - 4550
1882 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 6100
1882 Value Back	3x10-20	6101 - 6914
1902 Plain Back	3x10-20	1 - 6764

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1897 - 1923):

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

Waynesburg, PA, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waynesburg,_Pennsylvania
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 News-Journal, Lancaster, PA, Thu., July 8, 1897.
The Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA, Sat., Sep. 7, 1912.
Pittsburgh Daily Post, Pittsburgh, PA, Mon., Oct. 23, 1922.
Intelligencer Journal, Lancaster, PA, Wed., May 9, 1923.
Detroit Free Press, Detroit, MI, Tue., Jan. 3, 1928.