Johnsonburg National Bank, Johnsonburg, PA (Charter 4544)
Johnsonburg National Bank, Johnsonburg, PA (Chartered 1891 - Open past 1935)
Town History
Johnsonburg is a borough in Elk County, Pennsylvania, 124 miles northeast of Pittsburgh and 115 miles south of Buffalo, New York, in a productive farming and lumbering region. It is the oldest settlement in Elk County, first settled in 1810. Paper mills were once common in the borough, with the Domtar mill still operating. In 1910, 4,334 people lived here. The population was 2,404 at the 2020 census.
Johnsonburg had one National Bank chartered during the Bank Note Era, and it issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized January 10, 1891
- Chartered April 6, 1891
- Bank was Open past 1935
On April 6, 1891, the comptroller of the currency authorized the Johnsonburg National Bank to begin business with a capital of $50,000.
In January 1952, the directors selected were R.N. Jones, G.K. Karson, G.L. Mosebarger, H.S. Oliver, A.G. Paine, II, V.N. Stouck, E.N. Wallace, E.F. O'Hara, and N.R. Gradner. The officers were V.N. Stouck, president; R.N. Jones, and H.S. Oliver, vice presidents, N.R. Gardner, cashier; Joseph J. Bliskey and Lyle E. Anderson, assistant cashiers.
When Cecilia Bush, the bank's janitress, arrived at 5 AM the morning of February 15, 1952, she was surprised by two masked youths who seized her and told her to shut her mouth and be quite. They proceeded to gag and tie her securely and seat her on a wax can in the furnace room of the bank. When Mr. Anderson, the bank's assistant cashier arrived, he was greeted with "Don't move or you're a dead man." He was faced by the two masked men each holding an old-fashioned revolver, and told to "open the vault and be quick about it." After he had tried to stall for time, one of the men prodded him with the gun and said, "Open it! If you get funny, we'll let you have it!" Finally throwing the doors open, Mr. Anderson told the bandits there was no money there. "Where is it?" they demanded, and learning it was in what was known as the front vault, they led him there and told him to go to work. Again he stalled for time and had just opened the second double door when Miss Beatrice McAlee, bookkeeper, came into the bank through the Market Street entrance, saw Mr. Anderson's predicament, and started to scream. The bandits threatened her, but even before they could take money from the vault, Miss Hazel V. Florin, the secretary, appeared at the Bridge Street door of the bank, saw the masked bandits inside and started to scream outside the bank. One of the bandits using a dirty white sack the size of a pillow case, dashed into the vault, scooped ready cash into it and the two demanded Mr. Anderson to open the Bridge Street door. He opened the doors and they dashed through a crowd of school children and across Bridge Street to a Buick sedan pared in front of the office of Dr. J.C. Micks, and sped out of town. The abandoned car was found a short time later a half mile south of Johnsonburg by Pennsylvania State Patrolman Harold Galloway of the Ridgway sub-station. It had been stolen during the night from Harold W. Roth of Ridgway. An estimate of $9,000 had been mentioned as taken; however, a bag containing $50,000 was overlooked by the bandits there to pay the 1,300 employees of the New York and Pennsylvania Co., the mammoth paper concern in Johnsonburg. That the young robbers knew it was pay day was not in doubt. Mr. Anderson said that this was the first hold-up in the bank's history. The banking house was in the business section of Johnsonburg, facing on Market street at the corner of Bridge Street.
In December 1952, Thomas D. McMahon, defendant and key government witness in the trial growing out of the $7,011 robbery of the Johnsonburg National Bank, lost his life in a dock accident. McMahon, who was under a three-year suspended sentence for his part in the robbery was drowned when he fell from the Great Lakes freighter Lagonda into the harbor at the Bethlehem Steel Co. dock in Lackawanna, New York. McMahon, 23, was one of six persons arrested following the robbery. He pleaded guilty and said he got only $15 for helping the two gunmen who staged the robbery flee. The gunmen and three Johnsonburg men accused of helping plan the robbery were convicted. They were Anthony Avellino and Vito J. Rossello, Brooklyn; and Anthony Asti, 48, his son, Frank A. Asti, 24, and a son-in-law, Kenneth D. Croyle, 22, all of Johnsonburg.
On September 11, 1963, officers and directors of the Warren National Bank announced that an agreement had been completed with the Johnsonburg National Bank to merge the two financial institutions, subject to approval by the comptroller of the currency and the shareholders. Total assets of the combined institution would be approximately $59 million. The Warren National Bank was chartered on February 23, 1893. Since then the bank grew steadily as had the community of Warren. Assets of the Warren National were listed at $53,455,154.17 as of June 28, 1963. The directors were D.C. Smith, W.M. Cashman, W.F. Swanson, A.L. Rasmussen, E.T. Lundahl, D.S. Mervine, R.Y. Kopf, J.S. Beckley, N.D. Paterson, H.W. Conarro, J.W. Moll, J.L. Blair, W.F. Crossett, S.J. Myers, H.R. Lauffenburger, D.A. Anderson, D.E. Conaway, and J.A. Loranger. Clare J. Crary was honorary chairman and Albert L. Rasmussen, president. Assets of the Johnsonburg National were slightly over $5 million. the directors were L.E. Anderson, H.H. Bell, F.W. Crowe, N.R. Gardner, R.K. Guinard, G.L. Mosebarger, A.G. Paine, V.M. Stouck, and H.L. Wallis. The officers were V.M. Stouck, chairman of the board; N.R. Gardner, president; H.H. Bell and A.G. Paine, vice presidents; L.E. Anderson, cashier; and Hazel V. Florin, assistant cashier.
On November 29, 1963, the Warren National Bank received permission from the comptroller of the currency, James Saxon, to merge with the Johnsonburg National Bank. The acquisition allowed the Warren National to expand into another county. It operated three offices in Warren as well as offices in Sheffield, Tionesta, Tidioute, Kane and now Johnsonburg.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The Johnsonburg National Bank, Johnsonburg, PA
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $772,810 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1891 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 99,811 notes (85,964 large size and 13,847 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 4x5 1 - 5275 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 2080 1882 Date Back 4x5 1 - 708 1882 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 579 1902 Date Back 4x5 1 - 2000 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 1600 1902 Plain Back 4x5 2001 - 7787 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 1601 - 5062 1929 Type 1 6x5 1 - 1016 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 652 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 176 1929 Type 2 5 1 - 1846 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 733 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 204
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1891 - 1935):
Presidents:
- F. S. Johnson, 1891-1902
- Meylert Melville Armstrong, 1903-1910
- Augustus Gibson Paine, Jr., 1911-1929
- Edward Lyman Myers, 1930-1934
- Vinson Murray Stouck, 1935-1935
Cashiers:
Other Known Bank Note Signers
- No other known bank note signers for this bank
Bank Note History Links
- Johnsonburg National Bank, Johnsonburg, PA History (NB Lookup)
- Pennsylvania Bank Note History (BNH Wiki)
Sources
- Johnsonburg, 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
- Altoona Tribune, Altoona, PA, Tue., Apr. 7, 1891.
- The Bradford Era, Bradford, PA, Fri., Jan. 11, 1952.
- Warren Times Mirror, Warren, PA, Fri., Feb. 15, 1952.
- The News-Herald, Franklin, PA, Tue., Dec. 16, 1952.
- Warren Times Mirror, Warren, PA, Wed., Sep. 11, 1963.
- The Kane Republican, Kane, PA, Fri., Nov. 29, 1963.
- Warren Times Mirror, Warren, PA, Wed., Dec. 4, 1963.