First National Bank, Forest City, PA (Charter 5518)
First National Bank, Forest City, PA (Chartered 1900 - 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, 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 June 4, 1900
- Chartered July 26, 1900
- Conservatorship June 29, 1933
- Receivership August 10, 1934
On March 29, 1926, James J. Walker, cashier of the First National Bank, Forest City, and one of the most prominent men of the upper valley, died suddenly at the family home after a brief illness. Mr. Walker was born in Carbondale on September 29, 1866, a son of John J. and Mary Walker, moving at an early age to Forest City. In 1884 he became connected with the Hillside Coal and Iron Company and continued in various capacities, until 1904, at which time he resigned as chief clerk. On January 1, 1905, he became cashier of the First National Bank, after having been active in its organization and being elected a director of the institution. Having served one term as burgess of Forest City, Mr. Walker in 1916 was named delegate of the 14th Congressional district to the Democratic National Convention at St. Louis and again in 1920. He was for several years a member of the executive board of Group 3, State Bankers' Association.[1]
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The First National Bank of Forest City, PA
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $1,011,645 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1900 and 1934. This consisted of a total of 81,533 notes (67,628 large size and 13,905 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 3x10-20 1 - 1800 1882 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 5700 1882 Value Back 3x10-20 5701 - 8300 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 1 - 6807 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 1688 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 426 1929 Type 2 5 1 - 211 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 736 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 274
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1900 - 1934):
Presidents:
- Victor Louis Petersen, 1900-1901
- James J. Walker, 1902-1904
- John Lynch, 1905-1927
- William John Maxey, 1928-1932
Cashiers:
- Truman Arnold Surdam, 1900-1904
- James J. Walker, 1905-1925
- Thomas P. McCormick, 1926-1927
- John Lynch, 1928-1932
Other Known Bank Note Signers
- No other known bank note signers for this bank
Bank Note History Links
- First National Bank, Forest City, PA History (NB Lookup)
- 1st National Bank of Forest City, PA, Charter 5518 (SPMC PM#332)
- Pennsylvania Bank Note History (BNH Wiki)
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 Republican, Scranton, PA, Tue., Mar. 30, 1926.