First National Bank, Coaldale, PA (Charter 9739)

Photo, ca2020, of the old First National Bank of Coaldale constructed in 1910 and located at Third and Ruddle Streets.

First National Bank, Coaldale, PA (Chartered 1910 - Open past 1935)

Town History

NEEDED: a contemporary photo of the bank or a postcard.

Coaldale is a borough in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. Initially settled in 1827, it was incorporated in 1906 from part of the former Rahn Township; it is named for the coal industry as it was one of the principal early mining centers. Coaldale is in the southern Anthracite Coal region in the Panther Creek Valley, a tributary of the Little Schuylkill River, along which U.S. Route 209 was eventually built between the steep climb up Pisgah Mountain from Nesquehoning (easterly) and its outlet in Tamaqua, approximately five miles to the west. In 1910 the population was 5,154, peaking in 1930 at 6,921. At the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 2,432.

Coaldale (alternatively known in the 19th century as Coal Dale) developed from scattered villages. Coal Dale received a post office in 1871, thereby formalizing the name. The Greenwood breaker burned down in 1874 and in 1878 the Lehigh Navigation and Coal Co. purchased this property.

The town is virtually joined at the hip to nearby Lansford, to its immediate east, as both were founded as company towns on lands owned by and mined by the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company (LC&N) while technically on opposite sides of the county lines. The history, business situation, and fortunes of not just the two, but of three towns, the third being the nearby Summit Hill, located a few thousand feet upslope, were tied in decades of co-development because the LC&N had built the western terminus of the nation's second gravity railroad, the Summit Hill and Mauch Chunk Gravity Railway to ship coal out, and opened multiple mines throughout Coaldale and Lansford and the rest of the Panther Creek Valley in the days when railroads were coming into their own. The town has a bus stop with a mural on one side reading: "Everybody's Goal Is Mine More Coal" and the other side reading: "A Car More a Day Means More Pay". The area on the western border of the borough is known as Seek.

There is a historical marker for Mother Jones located in Coaldale, as she organized many strikes and protests on behalf of coal miners around the country for improved pay, safer work environment and child labor laws. She organized a march for child workers that started in Coaldale and proceeded to McAdoo. At one trial for Mary Jones, a prosecution lawyer famously said, "There sits the most dangerous woman in America. She comes into a state where peace and prosperity reign... crooks her finger, [and] twenty thousand contented men lay down their tools and walk out".

Coaldale (Schuylkill County) had one National Bank chartered during the Bank Note Era, and it issued National Bank Notes.

NOTE: there is a second borough named Coaldale in Bedford County, PA, that had one National Bank, The Broad Top National Bank of Coaldale (Charter 11188), that also issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

Organized Jan 12, 1910
Chartered Apr 26, 1910
Bank was Open past 1935

In May 1910, the First National Bank of Coaldale opened for business with capital $25,000. John R. Boyle was president; Evan G. Evans and W.H. Kohler, vice presidents; and H.F. Blaney, cashier. C. Messersmith, a builder of Pottsville, received the contract for the First National Bank building. He would build the Union National Bank building at Minersville, the First National Bank building at Frackville, the school house at Fishbach as well as a number of school buildings and residences in the surrounding districts.

In March 1926, Miss Margaret Heenan, Trevorton, was named to succeed T.C. Leddy as cashier of Trevorton National Bank.  Leddy resigned his position to become cashier of Coaldale National Bank. Mr. Leddy had been at Trevorton for about a year and under his guidance the people invested and deposited more money than ever known before in the Trevorton bank.  Miss Heenan had been working in the Trevorton bank for several years and would be the first woman cashier in the history of Trevorton.

On Tuesday, January 14, 1930, the stockholders re-elected the old board. The directors were J.R. Boyle, president; John McTague, vice president; Con Bonner, secretary; Thomas Leddy, cashier; Walter Evans, assistant cashier. The other members of the board were Charles Melley, Burt Harvey, Evan Evans, Jr., John Coll, Daniel Boyle, Atty. Edward Cavanaugh, Joseph Shigo, Mark Sarlash, and C.J. McGeehan.

Also on Tuesday, January 14, 1930, the Coaldale State Bank stockholders elected the following board of directors:  Attorney B.J. Duffy, W.J. Clements, Andrew Ardos, Joseph Biasi, Patrick Bonner, James Bynon, M.J. Clarke, Dr. William Clewell, M.A. Gallagher, D.J. Maloy, Anthony J. Polansky, Charles Watkins, Thomas J. West and David Yemm.  G. Russell Yemm, former cashier, was indicted on 13 counts by a grand jury in Schuylkill County.  There were six true bills returned on charges of forgery, a like number charging fraudulent conversion and one alleging the making of false entries. In September 1930, he was sentenced by Judge Houck to not less than four, nor more than 10 years in jail for forgery and embezzlement.  Yemm used $3,000 of depositor's funds, but returned it after being discovered.

On January 21, 1932, the consolidation of the First National Bank and the Coaldale State Bank became effective and the resources of the combined institution amounted to $1,160,698.00. The business would be under the charter of the First National where it would be conducted. Depositors of the Coaldale State Bank would be credited on the books of the First National with the full amount of their deposits. The consolidation was made to effect economies and to better serve the interests of Coaldale residents. Ultimately the State Bank Building was expected to be used as it was a more modern structure. By February, the First National Bank in Coaldale would shortly occupy their new quarters on the corner of Third and Phillip Streets. The present home of the bank which was established in 1910 would be abandoned. The inscription on the stone over the entrance to the new building would be changed from "The Coaldale State Bank" to "The First National Bank." Cashier Thomas C. Leddy and Assistant Cashier Walter Evans stated that all records would be ready for transfer within a few weeks.

In January 1939 at a special meeting of the stockholders of the closed Coaldale state bank, William Clements of Coaldale announced assets totaling $52,000 would be disposed of to the best advantage of stockholders and the affairs liquidated.

On the night of June 25, 1949, faulty electrical wiring was cited as the cause of an hour long blaze that swept the Coaldale First National Bank building. Firemen from the Coaldale Hose Company on Phillips St. adjacent to the bank building answered the alarm. Wilbur Berger, acting fire chief, reported considerable damage done to roof, floors and walls of the directors' room. Damage was estimated at $10,000. Mr. John Gildea who lived across the street noticed the smoke coming from the building and telephoned T.C. Leddy, cashier. No records were lost as they were in the vault, but damage from the chemical used in extinguishing the blaze was considerable.

In January 1955, Evan Evans was re-elected president of the First National Bank of Coaldale. Other officers were Norman Richards, vice president; Walter Evans, cashier; and Michael Holoviak, assistant cashier. Directors renamed were C.J. Clements, R.B. Harvey, Kermit Hoffman, Norman Richards, and Walter Evans.

In January 1959, all officers and directors were re-elected. Directors were Evan Evans, Norman Richards, Randolph Harvey, Joseph Biasi, W.J. Clements, Walter Evans and Kermit Hoffman. The officers were Evan Evans, president; Richards, vice president; and Harvey secretary. Walter Evans was re-elected cashier and Michael Holowiak, assistant cashier. Stephen Radocha, who had been with the bank since 1926 was elected an assistant cashier. Other bank personnel included James Melley and Mrs. Theresa Bianchi, tellers, and Miss Thelma Jones and Mrs. Beatrice Ross, clerks.

In January 1965, the officers were Evan Evans, Norman Richards, vice president; Atty. Paris DeSantis, solicitor; Kermit Hoffman, secretary; Walter Evans, cashier; Michael S. Holowiak and Steve Radocha, assistant cashiers. Directors were Evan Evans, Joseph A. Biasi, W.J. Clements, Walter Evans, Richards and Hoffman.

On August 2, 1965 bank officials announced the proposed merger of the First National Bank of Coaldale and the American Bank & Trust Co. of Reading, was approved by shareholders of the respective banks. The merger was subject to approval by the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. On June 30, the American Bank had deposits of $219,480,000 and total assets of $250,053,000, while the Coaldale bank had deposits of $3,000,000 and assets of $3,330,000. According to terms of the merger, shareholders of the Coaldale bank would receive 1 1/4 shares of the common stock of the Reading bank for each share of First National stock. The American Bank had 13 offices serving Berks, Lancaster and Schuylkill Counties. In December, Sidney D. Kline, president of the American bank announced that the merger was approved by federal and state authorities. He said the merger would take place after the close of business on December 31st. The Coaldale bank would open for business on January 3 and would be known as the 15th office of the American Bank & Trust Co. All officers and employees of the Coaldale bank would be retained and directors would be named to an advisory committee for the Coaldale office. The directors were Evan Evans, Norman Richards, Walter Evans, Joseph A. Biasi, Jr., Kermit L. Hoffman, and William J. Clements. Evan Evans who served as president of the First National would become a director of the American bank and Walter Evans would become manager of the Coaldale office.

On December 6, 1966, Evan G. Evans, 71, who rose from a water carrier in the coal mines to president and chairman of the Lehigh Navigation Coal (LNC) Co. died in the Coaldale Hospital. Evans, following the path of his grandfathers in Wales, went to work in the Coaldale breaker in 1909 after finishing high school. During the next two years, he worked as a laborer and machinist helper. With a token education obtained through correspondence courses, he left mining for about nine years to be the Coaldale borough engineer. By 1923 he had returned to mining and was assistant superintendent of the Alliance Coal Colliery. Two years later he was named to the same post at the huge Coaldale colliery before becoming superintendent at the Rahn and Coaldale collieries. In 1947, the year the company moved its offices from Philadelphia to Lansford, he was promoted to president. In 1953 he became chairman of LNC's board of directors. As a business leader in later years, he was vice president of the American Bank & Trust Co. of Reading at Coaldale, president of the former Coaldale First National Bank and a director of other Panther Valley financial institutions and utilities.

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The First National Bank of Coaldale, PA

Bank Note Types Issued

1902 Plain Back $10 bank note with printed signatures of T.C. Leddy, Cashier and Jno. R. Boyle, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

1929 Type 2 $20 bank note with printed signatures of T.C. Leddy, Cashier and Evan Evans, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $502,240 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1910 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 40,353 notes (31,164 large size and 9,189 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 - 2460
1902 Plain Back	3x10-20	2461 - 7791
1929 Type 1	6x10	1 - 774
1929 Type 1	6x20	1 - 220
1929 Type 2	10	1 - 2465
1929 Type 2	20	1 - 760

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1910 - 1935):

Presidents:

Cashiers:

Other Bank Note Signers

There are currently no known Vice President or Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.

Wiki Links

Sources

Coaldale, 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 Wall Street Journal, New York, NY, Mon., May 2, 1910.
The Pottsville Republican, Pottsville, PA, Wed., Apr. 19, 1916.
Shamokin News-Dispatch, Shamokin, PA, Wed., Mar. 31, 1926.
The Morning Call, Allentown, PA, Tue., Jan. 14, 1930.
The Morning Call, Allentown, PA, Fri., Jan. 17, 1930.
Intelligencer Journal, Lancaster, PA, Tue., Sep. 23, 1930.
Mauch Chunk Times-News, Mauch Chunk, PA, Fri., Jan. 22, 1932.
Republican and Herald, Pottsville, PA, Fri., Jan. 22, 1932.
Republican and Herald, Pottsville, PA, Thu., Feb. 25, 1932.
The Morning Call, Allentown, PA, Fri., Jan. 20, 1939.
The Morning Call, Allentown, PA, Sun., June 26, 1949.
Pottsville Republican, Pottsville, PA, Tue., June 28, 1949.
The Morning Call, Allentown, PA, Thu., Jan. 15, 1959.
The Pottsville Republican, Pottsville, PA, Thu., Jan. 13, 1955.
The Morning Call, Allentown, PA, Wed., Jan. 13, 1965.
The Morning Call, Allentown, PA, Tue., Aug. 3, 1965.
The Morning Call, Allentown, PA, Wed., December 8, 1965.
The Morning Call, Allentown, PA, Wed., Dec. 7, 1966.