Second National Bank, Uniontown, PA (Charter 5034)
Second National Bank, Uniontown, PA (Chartered 1896 - Open past 1935)
Town History
Uniontown is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, 46 miles southeast of Pittsburgh and part of the Greater Pittsburgh Region. The population was 10,372 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat and largest city of Fayette County. Popularly known as "Beesontown", the "town of Union" was founded by Henry Beeson on July 4, 1776, the same day the Declaration of Independence was adopted.
In the late nineteenth century, the town grew based on the development of coal mines and the steel industry. Uniontown was the site of violent clashes between striking coal miners and guards at the local coke works during the bituminous coal miners' strike of 1894. Fifteen guards armed with carbines and machine guns held off an attack by 1,500 strikers, killing five and wounding eight.
As with most of Western Pennsylvania, Uniontown's economy waned during the region's deindustrialization of the late 20th century, when the steel industry restructured and many jobs went elsewhere, including offshore. This decline continued into the 21st century, and the population is about half its peak of 1940.
In 1967, Uniontown was the birthplace of the McDonald's Big Mac sandwich. In 2007, the Big Mac Museum was opened in North Huntingdon Township in Westmoreland County, to the disappointment of some Uniontown residents. For a list of notable persons from Uniontown, including General of the Army George C. Marshall, see the wiki links section below.
Uniontown had five National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and four of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized November 30, 1895
- Chartered March 5, 1896
- Absorbed 12500 and its circulation September 20, 1930 (Uniontown NB & TC, Uniontown, PA)
- Assumed 13485 by consolidation Oct 1, 1930 (Third National Bank (No Issue), Uniontown, PA)
- Bank was Open past 1935
- For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
- Acquired the First National Bank of New Salem, PA (Charter 6599) on October 20, 1936
In November, 1895, the Comptroller of the Currency authorized the organization of the Second National Bank of Uniontown with a capital of $100,000. Subscribers were limited to $2,000 each and $50,000 had been taken. Daniel M. Hertzog was president and Fayette County Register and Recorder, W.H. Binns, vice president. Authority to begin business with $50,000 in capital came on March 6, 1896.
On July 1, 1902, the doors of the newly finished Second National Bank building at Uniontown were opened. The location at 19W Main Street (the corner of Beeson Blvd. and Main) was unsurpassed by any in town for a business block and it was the first building to be finished for business purposes in Uniontown beyond the usual 3-story structure and included elevator services for its tenants and patrons. The Second National was eight stories high, finished in marble, mahogany and art glass.
On August 12, 1930, the merger of two Uniontown banks with aggregate deposits of $8 million and the purchase of a substantial interest in the consolidated institution by the Mellbank Corporation was announced. The Second National Bank merged with the Uniontown National Bank and Trust Company. Mellbank Corp. purchased about 50% of the resulting stock of the Second National. No immediate representation was had by the Mellon interests on the Board of Directors of the Second National, but it was anticipated that Richard K. Mellon and Frank R. Denton, vice president and secretary of the Mellbank Corp. would become associated with the directorship. Officers of the Second National were D.M. Hertzog, president, James R. Cray, vice president, and Robert J. Arnett, cashier.
On October 2, 1930, the Comptroller of the Currency approved the consolidation of the Second and Third National banks of Uniontown with the name of the resulting institution becoming The Second National Bank of Uniontown.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The Second National Bank of Uniontown, PA
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $2,270,140 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1896 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 182,287 notes (116,844 large size and 65,443 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 3x10-20 1 - 2600 1882 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 8095 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 1 - 18516 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 6900 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 2172 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 8527 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 2484
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Second National Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1896 - 1936):
Presidents:
Cashiers:
- William H. Binns, 1896-1896
- George Shallenberger Harah, 1897-1911
- Isaac Jackson, 1912-1923
- Robert John Arnett, 1924-1935
Other Bank Note Signers
- George Shallenberger Harah, Vice President (1912...1930) Signature
- There are currently no known Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.
Wiki Links
- Pennsylvania Bank Note History
- General information on Uniontown (Wikipedia)
- General information on Fayette County (Wikipedia)
- General information on Pennsylvania (Wikipedia)
Sources
- Uniontown, PA, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniontown,_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 Times, Philadelphia, PA, Sun., July 28, 1895.
- The Daily Republican, Monongahela, PA, Fri., Mar. 6, 1896.
- Monongahela Valley Republican, Monongahela, PA, Thu., July 3, 1902.
- The Daily Republican, Monongahela, PA, Tue., Aug. 12, 1930.
- Reading Times, Reading, PA, Fri., Oct. 3, 1930.