Farmers & Miners NB, Forest City, PA (Charter 9248)
Farmers & Miners NB, Forest City, PA (Chartered 1908 - Receivership 1934)
Town History
Forest City is a borough in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, situated at the corner of Susquehanna, Lackawanna and Wayne counties and is designated by a marker which is located in the Forest City Industrial Park. The land that would become Forest City had been known as "Forest Mills" since the 1850s. From 1879 to 1886, the post office was called "Pentecost". It was named after one of the first local settlers, William Pentecost, who had started the lumbering and milling industries in the area. The post office was renamed Forest City in 1886, and the Forest City borough was formed in 1888. At its height in the early twentieth century, between the timber, silk, lumber and coal industries, the population was close to 6,000. The population since has been in decline with the 2020 census reporting a population of 1,780.
Between 1866 and 1871, the Jefferson Branch, a railroad spur of the D & H Canal Company, was built in Forest Mills. It ran between Susquehanna Depot and Carbondale, transporting the harvested lumber. Lumbering was the only industry of this area, with the exception of a small mining operation run by William Pentecost, which supplied only sufficient coal to neighboring farmers with winter fuel.
In 1871, an outcropping of coal was discovered. The Hillside Coal and Iron Company bought large tracts of land in the area, and by 1872 the first commercially profitable coal mining enterprise was established at North Railroad Street. A small breaker erected on Railroad Street processed the 75-ton daily output from this operation until 1883.
Forest City had three National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, First National Bank (Charter 5518), The Farmers & Miners National Bank (Charter 9248), and The First & Farmers National Bank (Charter 14205), and all three of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized August 18, 1908
- Chartered October 5, 1908
- Opened for business October 14, 1908
- Conservatorship April 14, 1933
- Receivership August 10, 1934
Application was made to organize the Farmers and Miners National Bank at Forest City, Pennsylvania with capital of $50,000. H.P. Johns, Martin Muchitz, H.W. Brown, T.J. Pentecoste, E.A. Bloxham, of Forest City; George H. Reynolds of Tirzah, and W.F. Hill of Huntingdon. Correspondent was Hon. John G. McHenry of Benton. Mr. Hill was president of the Pennsylvania Grange.[1][2] It was understood the proposed bank would be one of the chain of Grange Banks recently located all through the state.[3] In August the promoters of the new national bank announced that the stock was now nearly subscribed. Alfred McHenry of Bloomsburg, had been making the canvass for subscriptions.[4] With the stock all subscribed, the following subscribers were selected to serve as directors until the regular meeting in January: H.P. Johns, Martin Muchitz, G.H. Reynolds, H.W. Brown, George Moase, F.M. Gardiner, H.H. Curtis, Charles Obelinis, Max Heller, William Sredenschek, E.A. Bloxham, J.R. Bell, H.F. Aldrich, Alfred McHenry, M.J. Murphy. Mr. Johns was selected by the directors as president and F.M. Gardiner as secretary. A call was issued for the payment of 50% of the stock and the bank would begin in temporary quarters until the matter of a permanent business places was decided.[5]
- Note: Featured biographies are available for Willim F. Hill and Hon. John G. McHenry
- For more information on the Grange National Banks in Pennsylvania, this article provides a brief history of those twelve banks, why they were formed, and the men and women behind them.
- A Brief History of the Grange National Banks in Pennsylvania
In September 1908, Henry C. Miller of Susquehanna who was elected cashier of the Farmers and Miners Bank was induced to remain with the Susquehanna institution and on Monday, September 28th, the board of directors of the Farmers and Miners elected R.R. Zarr, teller of the First National Bank of Bloomsburg, as cashier. Mr. Zarr was about 30 years old, married with two children and was well-recommended as a gentleman and a businessman.[6]
In October 1910, Mr. and Mrs. H.P. Johns departed from Forest City. They had purchased a home on Belmont Street, Carbondale, and would reside there. Mr. and Mrs. Johns have been residents of Forest City for many years. Mr. Johns' father lumbered here when Forest City was but a lumber camp, and Howard cracked the whip over an ox team while still wearing knickerbockers. Later he went into the mercantile business, which he continued until he sold out to Heller & Company, so that he could devote his entire time to his lumber business. Mr. Johns, at the organization of the F. & M. bank, was chosen president, a position he has filled very acceptably.[7]
In October 1910, R.R. Zarr resigned as cashier to accept the same position with the newly chartered Peoples National Bank of Edwardsville which opened on the 13th on the corner of Main and Hillside Avenue.[8]
On Tuesday, January 14, 1913, shareholders elected the following directors: H.F. Aldrich, Martin Muchitz, F.M. Gardner, George E. Moaes, J.A. Brennan, George H. Reynolds, H.W. Bomm, H.V. Johns, H.T. O'Neill, Max Zeller, E.A. Bloxham, A.H. Curtis, Martin Girchman, and John R. Bell. The directors re-elected the officers as follows: H.P. Johns, president; E.A. Bloxham, first vice president; Martin Muchitz, second vice president; and Alfred McHenry, cashier.[9]
In January 1925, W.T. Davies was elected to the board of directors of the Farmers and Miners National Bank, Forest City. The other directors re-elected were: H.P. Johns, F.M. Gardner, Martin Muchitz, E.A. Bloxham, Max Heller, J.D. Brennan, J.C. Brown, G.H. Reynolds, A.H. Curtis, and Joseph Miluszusky. A gain of $214,000 was made in deposits during the year. Deposits at the close of business on December 31st totaled $964,000. The board met on January 26 for reorganization.The Scranton Times, Scranton, PA, Wed., Jan. 14, 1925. At the reorganization meeting the following officers were elected: H.P. Johns, Sr., president; E.A. Bloxham, first vice president; Martin Muchitz, second vice president; and F.M. Gardner, secretary.[10]
On Tuesday, January 8, 1929, new directors of the Farmers and Mechanics National were D.B. Gibson of Uniondale and Dr. H.R. Bell of Forest City. Other directors re-elected were H.P. Johns, Honesdale, E.A. Bloxham, Martin Muchitz, F.M. Gardner, W.T. Davies, Isidore Alexander, and Joseph Miluszusky, Forest City; A.H. Curtis, Waymart; J.D. Brennan, Pleasant Mount; G.H. Reynolds, Uniondale. The directors reorganized and elected the following officers: H.P. Johns, president; E. Bloxham and Martin Muchitz, vice presidents; H.L. Bayless, cashier; and F.M. Gardner, secretary. The bank had capital of $50,000, surplus $50,000, and undivided profits of $69,000.[11]
Official Bank Title
1: The Farmers & Miners National Bank of Forest City, PA
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $959,080 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1908 and 1934. This consisted of a total of 77,031 notes (62,660 large size and 14,371 small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 5200 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 5201 - 15665 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 1632 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 446 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 1367 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 536
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1908 - 1934):
Presidents:
Cashiers:
- Robert Rush Zarr Sr., 1909-1910
- Alfred McHenry, 1911-1913
- James Warren Lee, 1914-1914
- Henry Leroy Bayless, 1915-1933
Other Known Bank Note Signers
Bank Note History Links
Sources
- Forest City, PA, 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
- ↑ The Pittsburgh Post, Pittsburgh, PA, Thu., July 23, 1908.
- ↑ The Carbondale Leader, Honesdale, PA, Fri., July 31, 1908.
- ↑ Pittston Gazette, Pittston, PA, Thu., Aug. 13, 1908.
- ↑ Wayne County Herald, Honesdale, PA, Tue., Aug. 11, 1908.
- ↑ The Tribune, Scranton, PA, Fri., Aug. 21, 1908.
- ↑ Wayne County Herald, Honesdale, PA, Tue., Sep. 29, 1908.
- ↑ Wayne County Herald, Honesdale, PA, Tue., Oct. 11, 1910.
- ↑ Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, the Evening News, Wilkes-Barre, PA, Mon., Oct. 3, 1910.
- ↑ The Tribune-Republican, Scranton, PA, Wed., Jan. 15, 1913.
- ↑ The Scranton Republican, Scranton, PA, Thu., Jan. 29, 1925.
- ↑ The Scranton Times, Scranton, PA, Wed., Jan. 9, 1929.