First National Bank, Sharpsville, PA (Charter 6829)
First National Bank, Sharpsville, PA (Chartered 1903 - Open past 1935)
Town History
Sharpsville is a borough in Mercer County, Pennsylvania along the Shenango River. It is 2 miles from the Pennsylvania/Ohio border, 72 miles north of Pittsburgh, and 17 miles northeast of Youngstown, OH. Sharpsville was founded by James Sharp in 1874. The population was 2,970 in 1900 and it peaked in 1970 at 6,126. As of the 2010 census the population was 4,415.
Sharpsville had two National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and both of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized April 22, 1903
- Chartered June 10, 1903
- Opened for business June 15, 1903
- Succeeded Iron Banking Company
- Bank was Open past 1935
- Absorbed 1963 by The McDowell National Bank of Sharon, Charter 8764
The Iron Banking Company was opened for business April 10, 1873 with Gen. James Pierce as president and Lycergus "Kirk" Hefling as cashier and capital of $100,000. On Monday night, October 26, 1891, safe crackers attempted to break open the vault at the bank in Sharpsville, drilling four holes and exploding a large charge of powder. They only managed to spring the door and the noise evidently frightened the robbers away. No clues were discovered the next day.
On March 26, 1900, the Comptroller of the currency approved the application of Frank Pierce, James B. Pierce, C.E. Agnew, A. Pierce and Mary Pierce for authority to organize the Iron National Bank of Sharpsville, with capital of $50,000. This attempt to organize a national bank in Sharpsville was not successful.
On April 24, 1903, the directors of the First National Bank of Sharpsville elected these officers and directors: Frank Pierce, president; Peter J. Pierce, vice president; C.E. Agnew, cashier; J.A. Langfitt, president Federal National Bank of Pittsburgh, P.J. Pierce, cashier of the First National Bank of Wilkinsburg, Frank Pierce, W.J. Kranz, H.J. Filer, Jas. Blaney, James B. Pierce, directors. The business and the three-story banking house of the Iron Banking Company was assumed by the First National. It had capital stock of $80,000 and a surplus of $8,000.
In January 1954, the officers were T.F. Wickerham, president; Wade D. Mertz, vice president, D.R. Davies, vice president and cashier; and A.C. Wickerham, assistant cashier.
In November 1963, The McDowell National Bank of Sharon applied to the Comptroller of the Currency for permission to absorb the First National Bank of Sharpsville.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The First National Bank of Sharpsville, PA
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $1,179,880 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1903 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 145,736 notes (110,204 large size and 35,532 small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments 1902 Red Seal 4x5 1 - 1100 1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 1785 1902 Date Back 4x5 1 - 4850 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 3380 1902 Plain Back 4x5 4851 - 14839 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 3381 - 9827 1929 Type 1 6x5 1 - 2054 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 1070 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 294 1929 Type 2 5 1 - 9144 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 4392 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 1488
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1903 - 1936):
Presidents:
- Frank Pierce, 1903-1926 NOTE: A featured biography is available
- James R. Gemmill, 1927-1935
Cashiers:
Other Bank Note Signers
- There are currently no known Vice President or Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.
Wiki Links
- Pennsylvania Bank Note History
- General information on Sharpsville (Wikipedia)
- General information on Mercer County (Wikipedia)
- General information on Pennsylvania (Wikipedia)
Sources
- Sharpsville, PA, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharpsville,_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 Pittsburgh Daily Gazette, Pittsburgh, PA, Fri., Apr. 11, 1873.
- Pittsburgh Dispatch, Pittsburgh, PA, Wed., Oct. 28, 1891.
- The Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA, Mon., Mar. 26, 1900.
- The Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA, Sat., Apr. 25, 1903.
- The Record-Argus, Greenville, PA, Wed., Apr. 29, 1903.
- The Record-Argus, Greenville, PA, Wed., Jan. 13, 1954.
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh, PA, Thu., Nov. 14, 1963.