Planters National Bank, Richmond, VA (Charter 1628)

Postcard with an Interior view of The Planters National Bank of Richmond, Virginia. Courtesy of Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries

Planters National Bank, Richmond, VA (Chartered 1866 - Liquidated 1926)

Town History

The Planters National Bank, Richmond, Virginia, ca1903. Constructed in 1893 at 1200 East Main Street. The architect was Charles H. Read, Jr.

Richmond is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It was incorporated in 1742 and has been an independent city since 1871. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 204,214; in 2020, the population grew to 226,610, making Richmond the fourth-most populous city in Virginia. The Richmond Metropolitan Area has a population of 1,260,029, the third-most populous metro in the state.

Richmond is at the fall line of the James River, 44 miles west of Williamsburg, 66 miles east of Charlottesville, 91 miles east of Lynchburg and 92 miles south of Washington, D.C. Surrounded by Henrico and Chesterfield counties, the city is at the intersections of Interstate 95 and Interstate 64 and encircled by Interstate 295, Virginia State Route 150 and Virginia State Route 288. Major suburbs include Midlothian to the southwest, Chesterfield to the south, Varina to the southeast, Sandston to the east, Glen Allen to the north and west, Short Pump to the west and Mechanicsville to the northeast.

The site of Richmond had been an important village of the Powhatan Confederacy, and was briefly settled by English colonists from Jamestown from 1609 to 1611. The present city of Richmond was founded in 1737. It became the capital of the Colony and Dominion of Virginia in 1780, replacing Williamsburg. During the Revolutionary War period, several notable events occurred in the city, including Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty or give me death" speech in 1775 at St. John's Church, and the passage of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom written by Thomas Jefferson. During the American Civil War, Richmond was the capital of the Confederacy.

The Main Street Banking Historic District is a national historic district located in downtown Richmond, Virginia.

Richmond had 11 National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all 11 of those banks issued National Bank Notes. Richmond also had one Obsolete Bank that issued Obsolete Bank Notes during the Obsolete Bank Note Era (1782-1866).

Bank History

The old Planters National Bank building on the corner of Twelfth and Main Streets, Richmond, Virginia. Courtesy of Google Maps

A 1913 advertisement for the Planters National Bank of Richmond.

Organized December 6, 1865
Chartered January 15, 1866
Liquidated February 27, 1926
Absorbed by State-Planters Bank & Trust Co., Richmond

On January 15, 1866, Freeman Clarke, Comptroller of the Currency, authorized the Planters National Bank of Richmond, Virginia to commence business with an authorized capital of $500,000. The officers were S.C. Robinson, president, and J.M. Goddin, cashier. The directors were S.C. Robinson, D. Von Groning, Alfred Moses, J.B. Dupuy, J.A. Belvin, George S. Palmer, W.Y. DeFord, William W. Crump, William S. Donnan, L.H. Frayser, N.M. Wilson, Joseph Rosenbaum, and C.E. Whitlock. The new bank was the successor to the old Farmers' Bank of Virginia.

On 19 January, 1867, the Farmers' Bank of Virginia (Lynchburg) made a deed of trust assigning all its assets for the benefit of its creditors, giving preference to note-holders, if it be lawful. If not, then the assignment was for all creditors to share equally. The trustees were Messrs. John M. Goddin and Samuel C. Robinson, cashier and president of the Planters National Bank of Richmond.

In February 1867, The Planters National Bank of Richmond, notified customers of its move to new fire-proof quarters northeast corner of Main and Twelfth Streets. Richmond Dispatch, Richmond, VA, Wed., Feb. 13, 1867.

In January, John M. Goddin, cashier, resigned. His name was mentioned in connection with the establishment of a state bank with capital of $1 million. John C. Davis was elected cashier in place of Mr. Goddin. A charter for the State Bank of Virginia located in Richmond was obtained with a capital of not less than $250,000 nor more than $1,000,000, and with the following officers: William H. Macfarland, president; John M. Goddin, cashier. The directors were Franklin Stearns, Richard B. Haxall, George S. Palmer, Charles, M. Wallace, James B. Dupuy, Peter W. Grubbs, William E. Tanner, Albert Ordway, John L. Bacon, William S. Donnan, Alexander Cameron and Joseph R. Anderson.

On April 8, 1893, the bank vacated the four story banking house at 1209 Main Street and moved into its handsome new quarters at 1200 Main, at the corner of Twelfth and Main Streets.

On December 22, 1893, the Circuit Court granted a charter to the Columbian Building and Loan Association. The object of the association was to buy and sell real estate and conduct a general building and loan business. The capital stock was to be not less than $25,000 nor more than $10,000,000, and the principal office was in Richmond. The officers were J.B. Pace, president; Thomas Potts, vice president and treasurer; Jo Lane Stern, general attorney; T.A. Weller, secretary and general manager. The board of directors consisted of the above officers and W.S. Forbes, T. William Pemberton, M.B. Rosenbaum, J.D. Patton, and J.J. Montague. The Columbian Building and Loan would locate in the new Planters National Bank building.

In January 1895, the following officers were elected: J.B. Pace, president; J.J. Montague, W.J. Westwood, T. William Pemberton, and Morton B. Rosenbaum, directors. J.B. Pace, founder and president of the Virginia Trust Co., president of the Planters National Bank, and interested in various manufacturing and business concerns in Richmond and Danville, filed a deed of assignment with liabilities amounting to $1,000,000. His failure was announced on December 14, 1895. His visible assets were estimated at $1,800,000. Mr. Pace was a large operator in stocks and was known as a bold speculator. The Planters bank of which he was president was his creditor for $250,000 and was secured by a special deed covering real estate valued at $280,000. Mr. Pace resigned the presidency of the bank when he made the assignement. J.J. Montague succeeded him as president and N. Williams succeeded him as a director. The property transferred to secure the bank included his $100,000 mansion and the Pace block.

In 1913 the officers were James N. Boyd, president; J.J. Montague, vice president; Richard H. Smith, vice president and cashier; R. Latimer Gordon and Conway H. Gordon, assistant cashiers. The bank had capital $300,000, and surplus and profits $1,444,000.

In September 1920, Richard H. Smith was made chairman of the board and W. Meade Addison, formerly first vice president of the First National Bank, assumed the presidency formerly held by Mr. Smith.

On August 17, 1922, The National State and City Bank of Richmond merged with the State and City Bank and Trust Company.

On September 4, 1923, the new Broad Street office of the Planters National Bank opened its doors under the management of Mr. Paul Mayo.

In January 1926, the directors of the State and City Bank & Trust Company and the Planters National Bank authorized the merger of the institutions, subject to the approval of the stockholders of the respective banks. A similar consolidation was recently approved in the case of the First National Bank and the Merchants National Bank. Under the banking laws, banks and banking institutions were restricted as to their loans in that only a certain percentage of the capital and surplus was available for loans to any one person or corporation. The merger of the State and City Bank & Trust Company and the Planters National Bank would very largely increase the lending capacity of the resulting institution. The new institution would be known as the State-Planters Bank and Trust Company.

The effective date of the merger was March 1st, 1926. W. Meade Addison, Julien H. Hill and Thomas B. McAdams would be the executives in charge of active management of the State-Planters Bank and Trust Company with assets of approximately $50 million. About a year ago, the State and City Bank & Trust Co. completed the construction of a fourteen-story building at Ninth and Main Streets, and this would be used as the offices of the consolidated bank. At the time of construction, provision was made for future expansion and adequate facilities were available to handle the increased business upon completion of the merger.

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The Planters National Bank of Richmond, VA

Bank Note Types Issued

1882 Brown Back $5 bank note with pen signatures of Richard H. Smith, Cashier and James N. Boyd, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

1902 Date Back $20 bank note with an inverted back error and printed signatures of Richard H. Smith, Cashier and James N. Boyd, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

1902 Date Back $10 bank note with printed signatures of W.M. Goddard, Cashier and W.M. Addison, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $5,201,780 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1866 and 1926. This consisted of a total of 610,238 notes (610,238 large size and No small size notes).

This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:

Series/Type	Sheet/Denoms	Serial#s	Sheet Comments
Original Series	4x5	1 - 5510
Original Series	4x10	1 - 4910
Original Series	4x20	1 - 1575
Series 1875	4x10	1 - 4704
Series 1875	4x20	1 - 1948
1882 Brown Back	4x5	1 - 37898
1882 Brown Back	3x10-20	1 - 9793
1882 Brown Back	50-100	1 - 2247
1902 Red Seal	4x5	1 - 6500
1902 Red Seal	3x10-20	1 - 4400
1902 Date Back	4x5	1 - 37000
1902 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 31500
1902 Plain Back	4x5	37001 - 40646
1902 Plain Back	3x10-20	31501 - 33552

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1866 - 1926):

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

Richmond, VA, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richmond,_Virginia
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
Richmond Dispatch, Richmond, VA, Tue., Feb. 13, 1866.
The Staunton Spectator, Staunton, VA, Tue., Jan. 29, 1867.
The Norfolk Virginia, Norfolk, VA, Wed., Jan. 12, 1870.
Richmond Dispatch, Richmond, VA, Thu., Jan. 13, 1870.
The Daily Times, Richmond, VA, Sat., Apr. 8, 1893.
Richmond Dispatch, Richmond, VA, Sat., Dec. 23, 1893.
The Times Dispatch, Richmond, VA, Wed., Jan. 9, 1895.
The Roanoke Times, Roanoke, VA, Sun., Dec. 15, 1895.
The Bankers' Magazine, Vol. 52, Jan. 1896-June 1896, p. 97.
The Times Dispatch, Richmond, VA, Sun., Jan. 21, 1923.
The Times Dispatch, Richmond, VA, Tue., Sep. 4, 1923.
The Times Dispatch, Richmond, VA, Fri., Jan. 22, 1926.
The Times Dispatch, Richmond, VA, Fri., Jan. 22, 1926.