Port Royal National Bank, Port Royal, PA (Charter 11373)
Port Royal National Bank, Port Royal, PA (Chartered 1919 - Open past 1935)
Town History
Port Royal is a borough in Juniata County, Pennsylvania. The population was 925 at the 2010 census. In 1910, the population was 535 and by 1930 it had grown to 579.
Port Royal used to be named Perrysville, after Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry. Port Royal (and Perrysville before it) once was a stop on the old main line of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR). Port Royal was, in fact, one of the first towns to be linked to the Pennsylvania Railroad system, as it lay along the Lewistown-to-Harrisburg stretch of the railroad—the first leg constructed after the new railroad was chartered. Located along the Juniata River, many forms of transportation including the Pennsylvania Canal passed through the small town as a result of the river being an essential transportation highway. The Pennsylvania Railroad station no longer exists. Port Royal was also the northern terminus of the Tuscarora Valley Railroad, a narrow-gauge railroad serving southern Juniata and northern Franklin counties. The railroad was decommissioned in the 1930s.
From the PRR station during the Gettysburg Campaign of the Civil War, Union scout, Stephen W. Pomeroy, telegraphed the vital news to Governor Andrew Curtin that Robert E. Lee was concentrating the Army of Northern Virginia at Gettysburg. This was how state officials came to know of this vital intelligence, which Pomeroy had carried for nearly sixty miles from near Lee's headquarters in Chambersburg. He had sewn the message into his belt strap of his pants.
Port Royal had two National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era and both of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized June 7, 1919
- Chartered June 13, 1919
- Succeeded The Port Royal Bank
- Bank was Open past 1935
The bank was founded in 1868 as the Perryville branch of the Juniata Valley Bank of Mifflintown. It became the Port Royal Bank in 1894 and a national bank in 1919. On January 17, 1914, stockholders of the Port Royal Bank elected the following officers and directors: William Swartz, president; J.G. Hertzler, vice president; D.C. Pomeroy, cashier; W.R. Wharton, assistant cashier; W.C. Stimmel, second assistant; Dr. J.G. Heading, H.H. Barton, William Swartz, S.E. Pennebaker, J.G. Hertzler, S.B. Crawford, and D.C. Pomeroy, directors.
In 1922, the Newport News noted that four Juniata County bank presidents were from two families. John G. Hertzler, merchant at Old Port, was the president of the Port Royal National Bank. His brother, former Senator Wm. Hertzler, was president of the First National Bank of Mifflintown. Judge J.M. Nelson and his brother, Wm. H. Nelson, both of Thompsontown, were presidents of banks; the former of the Juniata Valley National Bank of Mifflintown and the latter of the Farmers National Bank of Thompsontown.
On June 27, 1926, The Port Royal National Bank moved to its new quarters and held an informal reception for the general public. The new building was made of brick and granite.
In January 1929, officers elected were S.B. Crawford, president; S.R. Bashore, vice president; D.C. Pomeroy, cashier; and S.R. Bashore, J. Frank Barton, George Swartz, Lester S. Moyer, and P.F. McClure, directors.
On February 18, 1965, four Pennsylvania bank merger applications were approved by the comptroller of the currency to allow the Juniata Valley National Bank of Mifflintown to absorb the Farmers National Bank of McAlisterville, the Port Royal National Bank and the First National Bank of Port Royal. The mergers were to meet the needs and better serve the people of the area. On September 25, 1965, the two Port Royal offices were combined and the former Port Royal National Bank was used as the Port Royal Office of the Juniata Valley National Bank. Charles H. Zendt of Mexico, former cashier of the First National Bank of Port Royal, was appointed manager for the combined office to succeed the late Paul R. McClure, former cashier of the Port Royal National Bank. Besides Mr. Zendt, the following persons were employed in the Port Royal office: Mrs. Kathryn Neff, Darwin H. Kohler, Mrs. Doris Armstrong, Mrs. Helen G. Beers, Mrs. Blanche C. Moyer, John Rizman, Sandra M. Zendt, and Mrs. Alma Groninger.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The Port Royal National Bank, Port Royal, PA
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $607,510 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1919 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 105,734 notes (71,128 large size and 34,606 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 - 17782 1929 Type 1 6x5 1 - 3440 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 1114 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 324 1929 Type 2 5 1 - 3112 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 1713 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 513
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1919 - 1936):
Presidents:
- Frederick William Swartz, 1919-1921
- John Garman Hertzler, 1922-1924
- Samuel Brown Crawford, 1925-1935
Cashiers:
Other Bank Note Signers
- There are currently no known Vice President or Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.
Wiki Links
- Juniata County Bank Note History
- Pennsylvania Bank Note History
- General information on Port Royal (Wikipedia)
- General information on Juniata County (Wikipedia)
- General information on Pennsylvania (Wikipedia)
Sources
- Port Royal, PA, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Royal,_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
- Harrisburg Telegraph, Harrisburg, PA, Sat., Jan. 17, 1914.
- The News, Newport, PA, Tue., Oct. 17, 1922.
- Altoona Tribune, Altoona, PA, Mon., June 28, 1926.
- Harrisburg Telegraph, Harrisburg, PA, Sat., Jan. 26, 1929.
- Standard-Speaker, Hazleton, PA, Thu., Feb. 18, 1965.
- The Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA, Thu., Feb. 18, 1965.