First & Farmers National Bank, Forest City, PA (Charter 14205)
First & Farmers NB, Forest City, PA (Chartered 1934 - Open past 1935)
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, The 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 April 19, 1934
- Chartered June 25, 1934
- Succeeded 5518 The First National Bank of Forest City & 9248 The Farmers & Miners National Bank of Forest City, PA
- Bank was Open past 1935
On Tuesday, January 8, 1935, stockholders of the First & Farmers at their annual meeting re-elected their six directors and at the reorganization meeting of the board, there were no changes made in the officers. They were George C. Bartholomay, president; Dr. H.R. Bell, vice president; H.L. Bayless, cashier; and F.W. Darrow, assistant cashier. Members of the board of directors were George C. Bartholomay, Dr. H.R. Bell, E.A. Bloxham, Dominick Franceski, Leo J. Kennedy, and J.M. McCormick.[2]
On Tuesday, January 9, 1940, the officers re-elected were George C. Bartholomay, president; Dr. H.R. Bell, vice president; C. Edwin Payne, cashier; Frank Darrow, assistant cashier. The directors re-elected were Mr. Bartholomay, Dr. Bell, Joseph McCormick, E.A. Bloxham, Leo J. Kennedy and Dominick Franceski.[3]
In February 1972, Benjamin Franceski, president of the First & Farmers National Bank stated a possible split of its common shares of stock was under consideration. He also disclosed that ground-breaking for a branch office in Simpson would take place as soon as permission was received from the state comptroller of currency. The branch would be located on the lower end of Main Street in Simpson and would be erected at a cost of approximately $250,000. Tentatively, the opening would be in the Fall. Other officers of the bank were J. Thomas Cribbs, vice president; Miss M. Evelyn Pantzer, cashier; Thomas M. Chesnick, assistant cashier; and Edwin Bloxham, secretary. George C. Bartholomay was chairman and directors included William C. Konchar, E.A. Bloxham, Walter I. Davies, Atty. Ulric J. McHale, William Farber, and Messrs. Cribbs and Franceski.[4]
The Grand Opening of the new Simpson branch of the Community National Bank of Forest City was held Saturday, March 10, 1973. Mr. Thomas Chesnick was manager and cashier of the new facility located on Main Street, Simpson. The new branch of the Forest City Community National Bank, successor to the old First Farmers National Bank, was a complete banking facility, including a drive-in window. Drawings for cash awards and free gifts for depositors were just a few of the festivities taking place.[5]
On August 8, 1980, Benjamin A. Franceski, president of Community National Bank of Forest City and Simpson since 1966, died at home after a prolonged battle against cancer. He was a lifelong resident of Forest City, the son of Dominick and Serafina Franceski. He served in Italy during World War II. His banking career began in 1936 as a bookkeeper for what then was known as the First and Farmers National Bank. He was elected to the board of directors in 1943, became the assistant cashier in 1948, the executive vice president in 1955, and the president in 1966. A former instructor of the American Institution of Banking, he served as member and officer of many banking organizations and was president of the Susquehanna Bankers' Association, the Northern Anthracite Bankers' Association, the Northeast Chapter of the American Institution of Banking, Group III of the Pennsylvania Bankers' Association, and was a member of the National Governing Council of the American Bankers' Association.[6]
Official Bank Title
1: The First & Farmers National Bank of Forest City, PA
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $69,650 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1934 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 5,660 notes (No large size and 5,660 small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 4355 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 1305
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1934 - 1935):
Presidents:
Cashiers:
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 Scranton Times, Scranton, PA, Sun., Jan. 8, 1995.
- ↑ The Scranton Times, Scranton, PA, Wed., Jan. 9, 1935.
- ↑ The Scranton Times, Scranton, PA, Wed., Jan. 10, 1940.
- ↑ The Scrantonian, Scranton, PA, Sun., Feb. 6, 1972.
- ↑ The Miner, Carbondale, PA, Thu., Mar. 1, 1973.
- ↑ The Scranton Times, Scranton, PA, Fri., Aug. 8, 1980.