National Bank, Ligonier, PA (Charter 6832)

The National Bank of Ligonier Building ca1910s. The building was later used by the First National Bank in Ligonier. Courtesy Adam Stroup

National Bank, Ligonier, PA (Chartered 1903 - Liquidated 1930)

Town History

National Bank of Ligonier on Market Street/PA-711 ca2021. Courtesy of Google Maps

Ligonier is a borough in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. The population was 1,573 at the 2010 census. Ligonier was settled in the 1760s. The borough is well known for nearby Idlewild Park (est. 1878), one of the oldest amusement parks in the country, and nearby Seven Springs Mountain Resort.

In 1758, when British forces launched a major campaign to remove French forces from the forks of the Ohio, now Pittsburgh, this spot on Loyalhanna Creek was the site of their westernmost camp before reaching the Ohio. The British maintained a large army, a virtual moving city of 6,000 people, that temporarily made Ligonier the second-most populated spot in Pennsylvania, second only to Philadelphia. Fort Ligonier was named after John Ligonier, a British noble of French origin who held the rank of Field Marshal in the British Army. Eventually, the name of the settlement that grew up around the fort was shortened to Ligonier.

In 1817, the Philadelphia-Pittsburgh Turnpike was completed, a gravel road that was the precursor to today's US Route 30. Fort Ligonier was a logical place for travelers to break their journey, and with such commercial opportunities in mind, a local resident named John Ramsay (sometimes spelled Ramsey) laid out the street plan, including the space now known as the Diamond. He initially called the town Ramseytown, later changed to Wellington (after the Duke of Wellington), and finally the name was changed to Ligonier. On April 10, 1834, Ligonier was incorporated as a borough.

Ligonier had four National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all four of those banks issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

Organized June 2, 1903
Chartered June 11, 1903
Succeeded Bank of Ligonier
Liquidated March 3, 1930
Succeeded by 13432 (Ligonier National Bank, Ligonier, PA)
Circulation assumed by 13432 (Ligonier National Bank, Ligonier, PA)

On February 27, 1930, plans for merging the National Bank of Ligonier and the First National Bank of the same place into a new bank known as the Ligonier National bank were completed at separate meetings of the boards of directors of the two banks. The location of the new bank would be the National Bank of Ligonier building on Market street with a planned opening date of March 3, 1930.

Officers were elected for the new Ligonier National Bank as follows: G.C. Frank, president; R.B. Weaver and C.G. Conder, vice presidents; R.S. Keffer, cashier; E.C. McKelvey, J.W. Clopp, and T.O. Seaton, assistant cashiers; L.R. Schmertz, R.B. Weaver, H.J. Phillippi, Jacob E. Keffer, Dr. J.W. Barkley, J.M. Davis, C.G. Gonder, G.C. Frank, R.S. Keffer, H.S. Lohr, H.E. Marker, Lemon Byers, L.W. Darr, L.B. Weller, directors.

Officers of the National Bank of Ligonier were G.C. Frank, president; J.W. Barclay, vice president; R.S. Keffer, cashier; E.C. McKelvey and T.O. Seaton, assistant cashiers; H.S. Denny, L.R. Schmertz, Dr. J.W. Barclay, Jacob E. Keffer, G.C. Frank, R.S. Keffer, H.S. Lohr, directors.

Officers of the First National bank were: R.B. Weaver, president; L.B. Weller, vice president; C.G. Gonder, cashier; J.W. Clopp and Clyde Weller, assistant cashiers; R.B. Weaver, Lemon Byers, James M. Davis, C.G. Gonder, H.E. Marker, H.J. Phillippi, and L.B. Weller, directors.

The Ligonier National Bank became the only bank in Ligonier after the merger.

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The National Bank of Ligonier, PA

Bank Note Types Issued

Image of a large size note with nice signatures needed.

1929 Type 1 $10 bank note with printed signatures of R.S. Keffer, Cashier and G.C. Frank, President. Courtesy of Lyn Knight Auctions, www.lynknight.com

A total of $800,030 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1903 and 1930. This consisted of a total of 64,354 notes (61,276 large size and 3,078 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	3x10-20	1 - 2520
1902 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 4400
1902 Plain Back	3x10-20	4401 - 12799
1929 Type 1	6x10	1 - 458
1929 Type 1	6x20	1 - 55

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1903 - 1930):

Presidents:

Cashiers:

Other Bank Note Signers

There are currently no known Vice President or Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.

Wiki Links

Sources

Ligonier, PA, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ligonier,_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
Latrobe Bulletin, Latrobe, PA, Fri., Feb. 28, 1930.