Third National Bank, Columbus, GA (Charter 3937)

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The old Columbus Bank and Trust Company building on Broadway and 12th Street, ca2022. Construction was on the site of the old Third National Bank, opening on December 9, 1957. Courtesy of Google Maps

Third National Bank, Columbus, GA (Chartered 1888 - Liquidated 1930)

Town History

An 1886 advertisement for the Eagle and Phenix Manufacturing Company and Eagle and Phenix Savings Bank. The mills were the largest cotton and woolen mills in the South with 1,800 operatives, 100 varieties of goods, taking cotton grown at home, spun at home by Georgia operatives, and sold all over the Union.[1]
Eagle and Phenix Manufacturing Company Certificate of Deposit of March 1, 1873, signed by G. Gunby Jordan, Secretary and Treasurer and Dr. N.J. Bussey, President. Central vignette of a wagon load of cotton being off-loaded on a wharf with a side-wheel steamboat in the background. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it officially merged in 1970; the original merger excluded Bibb City, which joined in 2000 after dissolving its own city charter.

Columbus is the second most populous city in Georgia (after Atlanta), and fields the state's fourth-largest metropolitan area. At the 2020 U.S. census, Columbus had a population of 206,922, with 328,883 in the Columbus metropolitan statistical area. The metro area joins the nearby Alabama cities of Auburn and Opelika to form the Columbus–Auburn–Opelika combined statistical area, which had a population of 563,967 in 2020.

Columbus lies 100 miles southwest of Atlanta. Fort Moore, the United States Army's Maneuver Center of Excellence and a major employer, is located south of the city in southern Muscogee and Chattahoochee counties. Columbus is home to museums and tourism sites, including the National Infantry Museum, dedicated to the U.S. Army's Infantry Branch.

Founded in 1828 by an act of the Georgia Legislature, Columbus was situated at the beginning of the navigable portion of the Chattahoochee River and on the last stretch of the Federal Road before entering Alabama. The city was named for Christopher Columbus. The plan for the city was drawn up by Dr. Edwin L. DeGraffenried, who placed the town on a bluff overlooking the river. Edward Lloyd Thomas (surveyor) was selected to lay out the town on 1,200 acres. Across the river to the west, where Phenix City, Alabama, is now located, lived several tribes of the Creek and other Georgia and Alabama indigenous peoples.

The Columbus Historic Riverfront Industrial District encompasses one of the most significant assemblages of 19th-century waterpowered mill technology in the American South. A National Historic Landmark District, it includes five historic industrial complexes dating back to the 1830s, including the Eagle and Phenix Mills, once the South's largest textile operation. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1978.

Columbus had four National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, the Chattahoochee National Bank (Charter 1630), the National Bank/First National Bank (Charter 2338), the Third National Bank (Charter 3937), and the Fourth National Bank (Charter 4691), and all four of those banks issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

  • Organized October 1, 1888
  • Chartered October 31, 1888
  • Liquidated May 31, 1930
  • Absorbed by Columbus Bank & Trust Company

In September 1888, application was made to the Comptroller of the Currency for the Third National Bank of Columbus. The application was signed by G. Gunby Jordan, Louis Hamburger, Jno. W. Murphey, Jno. H. Bass, Jas. A. Lewis, W.R. Moore, and W.A. Little, all of Columbus; R.H. Richards of Atlanta; and A. Backer of New York. Mr. R.H. Richards was a director of the Eagle and Phenix Manufacturing Company and was vice president and manager of the Atlanta National Bank. Mr. A. Backer was described as a strong capitalist in New York, having lived in Columbus a good many years ago. He also was a director in the National Bank of Savannah. It had been about 16 years since any bank started business in Columbus and in that time the population increased by an estimated 12,000. The last bank organized in Columbus in 1873 was the Eagle and Phenix Savings Bank and it had been eminently successful. Since that time the Eagle and Phenix Mill had spent over a million dollars expanding their mills. Muscogee No. 2 and 3 were built. The Swift Manufacturing Co. and Paragon Manufacturing Co., Pearce & Co's mill, Clegg's new mill, the oil factory, barrel factory, plow works, water works, electric light, Exposition Co. and ice manufacturing company all began business. The Columbus and Western Railroad had been completed to Birmingham giving Columbus a through line to the West.[2]

On October 31, 1888, Jesse D. Abrahams, Deputy and Acting Comptroller of the Currency, authorized the Third National Bank of Columbus, in the County of Muscogee and State of Georgia, to commence the business of banking. The bank announced its opening on December 1st with an elegant folder with a beautifully engraved frontispiece.[3] G. Gunby Jordan was president and J.W. Murphey, cashier. The directors were Geo W. Woodruff, Louis Hamburger, James A. Lewis, W.C. Bradley, G. Gunby Jordan, J.W. Murphey, and A. Backer. The banking house was located at No. 1119 Broad Street, telephone 179.[4]

1920 advertisement for the Third National Bank and the Columbus Savings Bank and Trust Company, located on the southeast corner of Broad at 12th Street.[5]
On Friday, March 15, 1889, the Columbus Savings Bank organized with a paid-up capital of $50,000 and privilege of increasing that sum to $200,000. The charter for the bank was obtained at the last session of the Legislature with G. Gunby Jordan, J.W. Murphey, and W.A. Little as charter members. It was a liberal and comprehensive charter and authorized the bank to do a general banking business, a Savings bank business, and to act as trustee, assignee or agent.  The directorate consisted of George W. Woodruff, proprietor, Empire Flour Mills, James A. Lewis, Lewis & Gregory, wholesale dry goods; G. Gunby Jordan, general manager, Georgia Midland and Gulf Railroad; Louis Hamburger, Swift Hamburger & Co., cotton manufacturers; W.C. Bradley, Carter & Bradley, cotton warehouse and commission; J.W. Murphey, formerly assistant treasurer, State of Georgia; A. Backer, 39 Worth Street, New York, capitalist; L.H. Chappell, real estate agent; J.D. McPhail, master mechanic.[6] The Officers were G. Gunby Jordan, president; James A. Lewis, vice president; J.W. Murphey, treasurer; and J.C. Beck, assistant treasurer.[7] The savings bank began at 1119 Broad Street, Columbus, but in October would relocate to the same building at Broad and Twelfth Street as the Third National, immediately to the rear of it. In July 1920, its name changed to the Columbus Savings Bank and Trust Company.[8]

In January 1891, the following gentlemen were elected directors: G. Gunby Jordan, J.W. Murphey, W.C. Bradley, James A. Lewis, Louis Hamburger, J.S. Garrett, of Columbus; and A. Backer of New York. At a subsequent meeting of the directors, Mr. G. Gunby Jordan was re-elected president; Capt. J.W. Murphey, cashier; J.W. Murphey, Jr., teller; and P.T. Shutz, bookkeeper.[9]

On Tuesday, January 8, 1901, at the annual meeting the old directors were re-elected as follows: G. Gunby Jordan, W.C. Bradley, J.B. Hoist, J.A. Lewis, E.T. Comer, D.A. Andrews, and E.P. Dismukes. The directors re-elected the old officers as follows: Mr. G. Gunby Jordan, president; W.C. Bradley, cashier; C.E. Beach, assistant cashier; George C. Bates and A.W. Hale, paying tellers; H. Stivarius, general bookkeeper; and George S. Pecot, collector.[10]

On Tuesday, January 10, 1911, at the annual meeting shareholders elected directors as follows: E.P. Dismukes, D.A. Andrews, G. Gunby Jordan, Robert Joerg, E.F. Lummus, W.C. Bradley, Dan Joseph, J.B. Holst, James A. Lewis, J.P. Illges, R.E. Dismukes, and R.C. Jordan. At a subsequent meeting of the directors, the following officers were re-elected: G. Gunby Jordan, president; W.C. Bradley, vice president; A.W. Hale, cashier; Alvan Howard and W.H. Young, assistant cashiers.[11]

In January 1919, the directors were D.A. Andrews, planter; W.C. Bradley, president, W.C. Bradley Co.; R.E. Dismukes, lawyer; J.P. Illges, treasurer, Golden's Foundry Co.; G. Gunby Jordan, president of the bank; R.C. Jordan, vice president, Perkins Hosiery Mills; Dan Joseph, president, Dan Joseph Co.; James A. Lewis, capitalist; J.D. Massey, vice president, Eagle & Phenix Mills, Andrew Prather, bond broker; and D.A. Turner, vice president, Columbus Grocery Co. The bank had capital, surplus and profits $650,000; deposits $1,500,000; and assets of over $2,500,000.[12] Lieutenant Jack J. Pease, recently of the aviation service with "Uncle Sam" received his honorable discharged and was back in his old place at the Third National Bank where he could be found at teller's window L to Z. Mr. Pease was one of five brothers who volunteered early in the war. He was made a lieutenant in the flying branch of the Army and served with distinction. Several of the former employees of the Third National volunteered their services during the war and each one was promised due consideration upon his return.[13]

On January 11, 1921, at the annual meeting of the Third National Bank, W.C. Bradley was elected president succeeding G. Gunby Jordan. Toombs Howard was named vice president succeeding Mr. Bradley, and J.E. Flowers was elected cashier succeeding W.H. Young who had been with the bank for the past eighteen years and with the Columbus Clearing House nearly ten years. Other officers elected included J.J. Pease, second vice president; H. P. Mullins and J.A. Lewis, assistant cashiers. Among the impressive incidents of the retirement of Mr. G. Gunby Jordan from the presidency of the Third National Bank and the Columbus Savings Bank and Trust Company, was the presentation by Mr. H.B. Crowell of a beautiful silver salver and half a dozen silver goblets suitably engraved with the following: "Presented to G. Gunby Jordan by the officers and employees of Third National Bank and Columbus Savings Bank and Trust company on the occasion of his retiring from the presidency of these institutions, January 11, 1921.[14]

On Saturday, March 15, 1930, the boards of directors of the Third National Bank of Columbus and the Columbus Bank & Trust Company announced the approval of a plan to merge the two banks. Assets and resources of the Third National would be merged into the Columbus Bank & Trust Company and the main office on the corner of Broadway and Twelfth Street, the location of the Third National, would be maintained by the continuing bank. The three branches of the Columbus Bank & Trust Company, the Tenth Street branch, the Fourteenth Street branch and the North Highlands branch, would be retained. The capital stock of the continuing bank would be $850,000 with surplus and undivided profits of $880,703.26. All directors of the Third National who were not already directors of the Columbus Bank & Trust Company would be added to the new directorate. The charter of the Columbus Bank & Trust Company would be amended so as to increase its capital from $25,000 to $850,000.[15] The officers of the Third National Bank were W.C. Bradley, president; J.J. Pease, vice president; Jas. A. Lewis, cashier; W.M. Dimon and W.H. Chandler, assistant cashiers. The directors were W.C. Bradley, A.H. Bickerstaff, J.H. Dimon, R.E. Dismukes, John F. Flournoy, T. Hicks Fort, L.D. Hill, Howell Hollis, A. Illges, J.P. Illges, R.C. Jordan, J. Dupont Kirven, Jas. A. Lewis, J.J. Pease, Claude G. Scarbrough, D.A. Turner, and Geo. C. Woodruff. Officers of the Columbus Bank and Trust Company were W.C. Bradley, J.J. Pease, vice president; H.B. Patterson, vice president and trust officer; H.P. Mullin, vice president; H.M. Herin, treasurer and assistant trust officer; H.L. Chandler, assistant treasurer; M.A. Pearce, vice president, North Highlands branch; John C. Cook, vice president, Fourteenth Street branch; L.R. Alsobrook, cashier, Fourteenth Street branch; P.L. Borom, cashier, Tenth Street branch; Miss Addie Mae O'Neal, assistant cashier, Tenth Street Branch. The directors were W.C. Bradley, J.M. Baird, E.P. Dismukes, J.B. Everidge, T.E. Golden, J.P. Illges, R.C. Jordan, Herman Julius, Robert M. Lewis, James A. Lewis, Claude G. Scarbrough, Clifford H. Swift, D.A. Turner, and Geo. C. Woodruff.[16] The merger was effective Sunday, June 1st and the new banking institution would open for business on Monday morning.[17] The Columbus Bank & Trust Company's history dated back to 1888 when the Third National Bank was organized. A year later the Columbus Savings Bank was formed.[18] 

On Friday, May 9, 1930, G. Gunby Jordan died of heart trouble at his home, Green Island Ranch, four miles north of Columbus. Mr. Jordan who was 84 years old was a pioneer citizen of Columbus. He was born in Sparta, Georgia, on June 19, 1846, the son of Sylvester Franklin and Rachel (Gunby) Jordan. At the age of 17, the joined the Confederate Army as a private in the Nelson Rangers, a volunteer company from Georgia. At the end of the war, Mr. Jordan came to Columbus as a clerk in a wholesale grocery firm in 1866. A year later he was elected treasurer of the Eagle and Phenix Mills.  In 1875 he was elected cashier of the Eagle and Phenix Savings Bank that was operated in connection with the mills.  He served in that position until 1887.  He was president of the Georgia Midland Construction Co. and an organizer and president of the Third National Bank of Columbus holding the office of president until 1921.  He was organizer and president of the Columbus Savings Bank in 1888, holding the office of president until 1921. He was president of the Eagle and Phenix Mills, 1898-1916; president of the Bibb Manufacturing Co. of Macon, 1909-1913, president of the Jordan Realty Co.; and president of the Perkins Hosiery Mills of Columbus. In 1882 he was a member of the staff of Governor Alexander H. Stephens among other important positions.[19]
The new Columbus Bank and Trust Company building at Broadway and Twelfth Street which opened on Monday, December 9, 1957.[20]

On Monday, December 9, 1957, the new Columbus Bank and Trust Company building at Broadway and Twelfth Street opened for business. The bank's exterior was of marble, granite, glass and aluminum trim with a glass-doored entrance on both the Broadway and 12th Street sides. The bank would use about half of the building's 54,000 square feet of floor space. The first or street floor was the main banking area and main lobby. This area combined rich walnut paneling, glass and marble construction with carpeted areas edging an expanse of terrazzo flooring. On the south wall of the main floor were sculptured pieces of the Nina, Pinta, and the Santa Maria, vessels used by Christopher Columbus for his voyage to the new world. There were also two large medallions of the Santa Maria, flagship for the voyage and trademark for Columbus Bank and Trust Co. The second floor housed the trust department and the directors' room. The building was served by three elevators and was completely air conditioned. In 1927, the bank adopted its present name. Present officers were James W. Blanchard, president; James A. Lewis, W.H. Chandler, and M.C. Terry, vice presidents; H.M. Herin, vice president and trust officer; George M. Brown, vice president; James F. Park, vice president and cashier; M.A. Pearce and C.G. Scarbrough, Jr., vice presidents; H.C. Goetting, cashier; Jack B. Parker, cashier; Roby B. Revell, cashier; A.O. Bragg, Jr., assistant trust officer; H.L. Chandler, Ralph F. King, Howard R. Park, Robert Miller, J.H. Mainor, Parley E. Davis, Jack P. Mickle and Weyman T. Jones, assistant cashiers. The chairman of the board was D.A. Turner who held that post since 1947. J.J. Pease was vice chairman of the board.[21]

On January 13, 1964, Jack J. Pease, 72, retired president of Columbus Bank and Trust Company died at St. Francis Hospital after an illness of several weeks. He was born in Columbus on June 8, 1891, son of James Norman and Anna Jones Pease. He became associated with Columbus Savings Bank on January 1, 1914, becoming assistant cashier in 1919, vice president in 1927, and president of January 21, 1948. He was president when Columbus Bank and trust Co. built its main office on the site of the old bank at Broadway and 12th Street in 1957. In September 1957, Mr. Pease was named vice chairman of the board of directors, retiring on July 1, 1961. During World War I, he was with the Air Corps. A descendent of old and prominent Columbus families, his mother, born at historic St. Elmo in 1863, was the daughter of Col. John A. Jones of the 17th Georgia Volunteers who was killed at the Battle of Gettysburg. She was a cousin of General Henry Benning for whom Fort Benning was named.[22]

Official Bank Title

1: The Third National Bank of Columbus, GA

Bank Note Types Issued

1882 Brown Back $100 bank note with pen signatures of J.W. Murphey, Cashier and G. Gunby Jordan, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com
1902 Date Back $10 bank note with stamped signatures of W.H. Young, Cashier and G. Gunby Jordan, President. Courtesy of Lyn Knight Auctions, www.lynknight.com
1902 Plain Back $5 bank note with stamped signatures of J.E. Flowers, Cashier and W.C. Bradley, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $4,742,180 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1888 and 1930. This consisted of a total of 576,880 notes (576,880 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
1882 Brown Back 4x5 1 - 9028
1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 9600
1882 Brown Back 50-100 1 - 1278
1902 Date Back 4x5 1 - 18500
1902 Date Back 4x10 1 - 36500
1902 Plain Back 4x5 18501 - 55410
1902 Plain Back 4x10 36501 - 69543

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1888 - 1930):

Presidents:

Cashiers:

Other Known Bank Note Signers

  • No other known bank note signers for this bank

Bank Note History Links

Sources

  • Columbus, GA, 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
  1. ↑ Ledger-Enquirer, Columbus, GA, Sun., Oct. 10, 1886.
  2. ↑ Ledger-Enquirer, Columbus, GA, Tue., Sep. 11, 1888.
  3. ↑ Ledger-Enquirer, Columbus, GA, Sat., Dec. 1, 1888.
  4. ↑ Ledger-Enquirer, Columbus, GA, Sun., Dec. 30, 1888.
  5. ↑ Ledger-Enquirer, Columbus, GA, Wed., Oct. 13, 1920.
  6. ↑ Ledger-Enquirer, Columbus, GA, Sat., Mar. 16, 1889.
  7. ↑ Ledger-Enquirer, Columbus, GA, Tue., Apr. 2, 1889.
  8. ↑ The Columbus Ledger, Columbus, GA, Sun., July 25, 1920.
  9. ↑ Ledger-Enquirer, Columbus, GA, Wed., Jan. 14, 1891.
  10. ↑ Ledger-Enquirer, Columbus, GA, Wed., Jan. 9, 1901.
  11. ↑ Ledger-Enquirer, Columbus, GA, Wed., Jan. 11, 1911.
  12. ↑ Ledger-Enquirer, Columbus, GA, Sun., Jan. 19, 1919.
  13. ↑ The Columbus Ledger, Columbus, GA, Fri., Jan. 24, 1919.
  14. ↑ The Columbus Ledger, Columbus, GA, Tue., Jan. 11, 1921.
  15. ↑ The Atlanta Journal, Atlanta, GA, Sun., Mar. 16, 1930.
  16. ↑ The Columbus Ledger, Columbus, GA, Sun., Mar. 16, 1930.
  17. ↑ Columbus Ledger, Columbus, GA, Sun., June 1, 1930.
  18. ↑ Ledger-Enquirer, Columbus, GA, Sun., Mar. 27, 1938.
  19. ↑ Ledger-Enquirer, Columbus, GA, Sat., May 10, 1930.
  20. ↑ Ledger-Enquirer, Columbus, GA, Fri., Dec. 6, 1957.
  21. ↑ Ledger-Enquirer, Columbus, GA, Fri., Dec. 6, 1957.
  22. ↑ The Columbus Ledger, Columbus, GA, Mon., Jan. 13, 1964.
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