First National Bank, Spangler, PA (Charter 7181)
First National Bank, Spangler, PA (Chartered 1904 - Closed (Merger) 1999)
Town History
Spangler, Pennsylvania was a town, since merged, and former borough that is located in the northwest corner of Cambria County, Pennsylvania. It is nestled in the valley of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River between hills of the Appalachian Mountains of the Eastern United States. Located about 35 miles north of Johnstown, State route 219 runs through town. In 2000 it merged with the adjacent borough of Barnesboro to create the Borough of Northern Cambria.
This area was first settled by Europeans during the early to mid-nineteenth century. The West Branch of the Susquehanna River enabled loggers to move their lumber harvests down river. Small farms subsequently developed and the town then came into existence in 1892 when mining of extensive bituminous coal fields in the area became the dominant industry.
In 1886 a group of men, all from Bellefonte, except B.K. Martin of Lancaster, became interested in the rich coal lands of northwestern Cambria County. This group was composed of Governor James Beaver, Daniel Hastings, Col. J.L. Spangler, J.A. McClain, and B.K. Martin. In a few months the Bluebaker Coal Company was formed, with the largest number of shares going to the Lancaster millionaire Robert Coleman, Adjutant General Hastings, and J. L. Spangler, each 1550 shares of stock. Plans were made by these men and in 1890 a large parcel of land was purchased from Joseph Gray. Shortly after this, the Spangler Land and Improvement Company was formed and James A. McClain was made Trustee.
On June 14, 1892 the first of the 250 lots were sold for $200 to $250. Buildings soon began to spring up and by 1893 the town had a large enough population to become a borough. This new borough was named after Col. J.L. Spangler. The rapid influx of miners caused a housing shortage, but this was soon alleviated. Spangler quickly developed into a boom-town. Many houses were built and a large number of businesses were established. The Pennsylvania Railroad built an extension of the Cambria & Clearfield Railroad to Spangler to haul coal, freight, and to carry passengers. The first coal shipment was made on December 12, 1892. The First National Bank of Spangler was organized in 1904. In 1906 the Spangler post office became a third class post office with Mrs. Eliza Kirkpatrick as the first postmaster.
A mining disaster occurred on November 6, 1922, at Reilly No. 1 Mine. Seventy-nine miners were killed when an explosion occurred at 7:20 a.m. after 112 men had begun work.
Spangler had one National Bank chartered during the Bank Note Era, and it issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized March 1, 1904
- Chartered March 22, 1904
- Bank was Open past 1935
- For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
- Merged into County National Bank, Clearfield, PA, August 18, 1999
In May 1903, the comptroller of the currency authorized the organization of the First National Bank of Spangler, capital $30,000, by M.C. Wertener, John B. Reed, E.P. Reed, Joseph O. Gray and Thomas B. McClain.The Pittsburgh Post, Pittsburgh, PA, Wed., May 20, 1903.
The following officers were elected for the proposed new bank: J.L. Spangler of Bellefonte, president; John B. Reed of Bakerton, vice president; James A. McLain of Spangler, cashier. The directors were L.S. Sims of Philadelphia, J.L. Spangler of Bellefonte, Philip Doherty of Latrobe, H.S. Bigler of Clearfield, John B. Reed of Bakerton, Dr. P. Orlando Heltrick, H.J. Hinterleiter, Henry Holtz and James A. Gray, all of Spangler.[1]
On Tuesday, January 15, 1907, the directors re-elected were Col. J.L. Spangler, H.F. Bigler, John B. Reed, Joseph A. Gray, Dr. T.O. Helfrick, Giles Schirf, H.G. Hinterleitner, Philip Dougherty and Henry Holtz.[2]
In 1916, officers of the Blubaker Coal Co. were J.L. Spangler, president; Ross A. Hickok, vice president and secretary; James A. McClain, treasurer; Thomas Deavor and Joseph Riley, directors.[3]
In 1986, shareholders re-elected as directors John P. Lantzy, John H. Dumm, Allan J. Kirsch, John G. Emerick and Andrew J. Kuzneski, Jr. For 1985, Kuzneski said the bank earned $85.53 per share and paid a dividend of $18 a share. At the re-organization meeting, Kuzneski was re-elected board chairman, John P. Lantzy, president; John G. Emerick, secretary; Allan J. Kirsch, executive vice president and cashier; Nancy J. Krug vice president and assistant cashier; and Margaret Tronzo, Nellie Rematter, Loretta Krug, Carol Duman and Cindy Bodeck, tellers.[4]
In February 1999, during the annual meeting of CNB Financial Corp. of Clearfield, Andrew J. Kuzneski, Jr., Chairman of the First National Bank of Spangler announced the bank had agreed to a letter of intent concerning the acquisition of the First National Bank by CNB. The shareholders of Spangler would receive 95 shares of CNB common stock in exchange for each share of First National Stock. The banks would then merge as County National Bank. County National would thus acquire an additional $32 million in assets.[5]
Official Bank Title
1: The First National Bank of Spangler, PA
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $1,178,810 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1904 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 144,413 notes (120,604 large size and 23,809 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 - 1650 1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 2440 1902 Date Back 4x5 1 - 5225 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 3520 1902 Plain Back 4x5 5226 - 15622 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 3521 - 10439 1929 Type 1 6x5 1 - 1852 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 964 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 308 1929 Type 2 5 1 - 3110 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 1559 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 396
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1904 - 1935):
Presidents:
- Jackson Levi Spangler, 1904-1924
- James Augustine McClain, 1925-1927
- Dr. Thomas Orlando Helfrick, 1928-1928
- Joseph Harrison Westover, 1929-1935
Cashiers:
Other Known Bank Note Signers
Bank Note History Links
Sources
- Spangler, 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
- First National Bank Building, Spangler, PA (Postcard, Front). no date. Walter J. Bearer, Spangler, PA, 1911 Feb.
- History of Spangler