Masontown National Bank, Masontown, PA (Charter 6528)
Masontown National Bank, Masontown, PA (Chartered 1902 - Liquidated 1931)
Town History
Masontown is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The population of the borough was 3,450 at the 2010 census. Masontown is a small crossroads in a rural section of western Fayette County. The borough's western border is the Monongahela River, which forms the Greene County line, but the main settled part of the borough is 1 mile east of and 200 feet higher than the river.
Fort Mason was built as a blockhouse from 1774 to 1778 by John Mason, also known as Johannes Phillip Maurer (1730-1812). Masontown became a town in 1798. He later moved to Ohio and is buried on a family farm in Columbiana County.
Pennsylvania Route 21 passes through the northern and western part of the borough, leading east 12 miles to Uniontown, the Fayette county seat, and west across the Monongahela 16 miles to Waynesburg. Pennsylvania Route 166 passes through the center of Masontown as Main Street and leads south 10 miles to Point Marion at the confluence of the Monongahela and Cheat Rivers.
Masontown had three National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and two of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized November 19, 1902
- Chartered December 13, 1902
- Opened for business Jan 27, 1903
- Liquidated January 22, 1931
- Absorbed by 5441 (First National Bank, Masontown, PA)
- Receivership October 24, 1932
Bank officers in February 1930 were W.L. Graham, president; Dr. E.R. Ingraham, vice president; and W. Orin Johnson, cashier; E.S. Graham, Stephen E. Peters, and Joseph Rafael, directors. The bank, located on the corner of Main and Church Streets, had capital of $100,000 and surplus of $150,000.
On Saturday, December 6, 1930, The First National Bank acquired all the assets of the Masontown National Bank. The consolidated institution will conduct business in the quarters of the First National Bank with officers and directors of R.B. Hays, president; Joseph G. Cover, vice president; Charles H. Harbison, cashier. Mr. Hays, Mr. Cover and Mr. Harbison along with Dr. John L. Messmore and Frank J. Connell constituted the board of directors. Directors of the Masontown National bank were W.L. Graham, Dr. E.R. Ingraham, Dr. S.E. Peters, and W. Orin Johnson. The new bank had total assets of approximately $2.8 million.
On April 17, 1931, the First National Bank of Masontown was in the hands of National Bank Examiner C.E. Underwood. The board of directors voted the day prior to close the doors because of heavy withdrawals. The statement issued said the step was taken to "conserve the assets for benefits of the loyal depositors." The bank would soon be in the hands of receiver Jesse R. Scott and would not reopen.
On November 3, 1933, Edward W. McShane was made receiver of the First National Bank and Masontown National Bank. He tendered his resignation in May 1934 to the comptroller of the currency, the affairs of the two closed banks reaching the point where the policies of the Comptroller necessitated consolidation with other closed national banks in the vicinity.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The Masontown National Bank, Masontown, PA
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $1,223,430 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1902 and 1931. This consisted of a total of 110,352 notes (99,756 large size and 10,596 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 - 1330 1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 1004 1902 Date Back 4x5 1 - 2350 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 1680 1902 Plain Back 4x5 2351 - 3750 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 1681 - 18855 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 1384 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 382
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1902 - 1931):
Presidents:
Cashiers:
- Solomon Fischer Hogue, 1903-1904
- William Lawrence Graham Sr., 1905-1918
- William Orin Johnson, 1919-1929
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 Masontown (Wikipedia)
- General information on Fayette County (Wikipedia)
- General information on Pennsylvania (Wikipedia)
Sources
- Masontown, PA, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masontown,_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 Morning Herald, Uniontown, PA, Thu., Feb. 13, 1930.
- The Evening Herald, Pottsville, PA, Fri., Apr. 17, 1931.
- The Evening Standard, Uniontown, PA, Wed., May 8, 1935.