Union National Bank, Huntingdon, PA (Charter 4965)

Postcard of the First National Bank and Union National Bank of Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, ca1900s. The Union National Bank is on the corner of Fifth and Penn Streets. Courtesy of Adam Stroup

Union National Bank/Union NB & TC, Huntingdon, PA (Chartered 1894 - Closed (Merger) 1995)

Town History

Photo of the old Union National Bank on Fifth and Penn Streets, ca2021. Courtesy of Google Maps

Huntingdon is the county seat of Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. It is located along the Juniata River, approximately 32 miles east of Altoona and 92 miles west of Harrisburg. In 1768, Rev. Dr. William Smith began selling lots on the Standing Stone Tract along the Juniata, land he had recently acquired. The tract's two prior owners had not attempted to lay out a town, so Dr. Smith is considered the founder. Huntingdon sits at the site where Standing Stone Creek flows into the Juniata River. It was once a port on the Main Line of the Pennsylvania Canal.

With a population of 7,093 at the 2010 census, Huntingdon is the largest population center near Raystown Lake, a winding, 28-mile-long recreational and flood-control reservoir managed by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. The borough is located on the main line of the Norfolk Southern (formerly Pennsylvania) Railroad, in an agricultural and outdoor recreational region with extensive forests and scattered deposits of ganister rock, coal, fire clay, and limestone. Historically, the region surrounding Huntingdon was dotted with iron furnaces and forges, consuming limestone, iron ore and wood (for charcoal production) throughout the 19th century. Dairy farms dominate the local agriculture. Huntingdon is home to Juniata College, a private liberal arts college originally known as Brethren's Normal School as it was founded by members of the Church of the Brethren in 1876.

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

Bank History

• Organized May 19, 1894
• Chartered June 27, 1894
• 1: Succeeded Union Bank
• 1: Assumed 6090 by consolidation January 2, 1923 and its circulation (Standing Stone National Bank, Huntingdon, PA)
• Bank was Open past 1935
• For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
• Merged into First Commonwealth Bank, Indiana, PA, November 13,1995

In June 1894, the Comptroller of the Currency authorized the Union National Bank of Huntingdon to begin business with capital of $50,000. The Union Bank of Huntingdon thereafter was known as the Union National Bank. The following were the officers: H.J. McAteer, president; H.B. Brumbaugh, vice president; K. Allen Lovell, J.C. Hazlett, and Calvin Greene, directors. Mr. R.J. Mattern, cashier of the Union Bank continued in the same position with the new national bank.

On December 26, 1922, stockholders of The Standing Stone National Bank and The Union National Bank ratified the action of a joint committee recommending a merger of the two banks under the name of the latter. The consolidation was effective January 1, 1923. The capital stock was $175,000 and the new bank was expected to pay shareholders a 10% dividend from the start.

The Union National Bank had 50 shareholders and capital of $125,000 and resources of over a million dollars. The Standing Stone National had 58 shareholders and capital of $50,000 and over a half million in resources.

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The Union National Bank of Huntingdon, PA

2: Union National Bank and Trust Company of (2/1/1930), Huntingdon, PA

Bank Note Types Issued

1882 Brown Back $10 bank note with pen signatures of R.J. Mattern, Cashier and J.C. Hazlett, Vice President. Courtesy of Lyn Knight Auctions, www.lynknight.com

1929 Type 1 $10 bank note with the bank's first title and printed signatures of R.M. Watson, Cashier and John White, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

1929 Type 1 $10 bank note with the bank's second title and printed signatures of R.M. Watson, Cashier and John White, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $2,458,010 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1894 and 1995. This consisted of a total of 197,785 notes (150,984 large size and 46,801 small size notes).

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

Series/Type	Sheet/Denoms	Serial#s	Sheet Comments
1: 1882 Brown Back	3x10-20	1 - 5560
1: 1882 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 2680
1: 1902 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 1000
1: 1902 Plain Back	3x10-20	1001 - 29506
1: 1929 Type 1	6x10	1 - 1224
1: 1929 Type 1	6x20	1 - 414
2: 1929 Type 1	6x10	1 - 3972
2: 1929 Type 1	6x20	1 - 1056
2: 1929 Type 2	10	1 - 5355
2: 1929 Type 2	20	1 - 1450

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1894 - 1995):

Presidents:

• Henry J. "Harry" McAteer, 1894-1894
• Kenzie Allen Lovell, 1895-1905
• John Frank Schock, 1906-1907
• John Charles Hazlett, 1908-1918
• John White, 1919-1935

Cashiers:

• Robert Jones Mattern, 1894-1921
• Robert Metcalfe Watson, 1922-1935

Other Bank Note Signers

• John Charles Hazlett signed as Vice President
• There are currently no known Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.

Wiki Links

• Pennsylvania Bank Note History
• General information on Huntingdon (Wikipedia)
• General information on Huntingdon County (Wikipedia)
• General information on Pennsylvania (Wikipedia)

Sources

• Huntingdon, PA, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntingdon,_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://bbdata.banknotehistory.com
• The Hazleton Sentinel, Hazleton, PA, Thu., June 28, 1894.
• Mount Union Times, Mount Union, PA, Fri., July 13, 1894.
• Altoona Tribune, Altoona, PA, Tue., Nov. 28, 1922.
• Pittsburgh Daily Post, Pittsburgh, PA, Wed., Dec. 27, 1922.
• Lebanon Daily News, Lebanon, PA, Fri., Dec. 29, 1922.