National Bank of Lawrence County - New Castle PA

The Bank of New Castle, the first official bank in the city, was established in March 1855 by several men including rising industrialist William “Billy” Patterson (1824-1905). The institution initially struggled and two years later was reorganized as the Bank of Lawrence County. It became the country’s eighth “national bank” in 1865 – and second in the county – and was renamed as the National Bank of Lawrence County. Patterson, who became the primary financier of Lawrence County, acquired primary ownership in 1873 and guided the bank for the next three decades. In January 1927 the bank officially merged with another banking facility to become the “new” First National Bank of Lawrence County. (c1890)

Two cancelled checks from the First National Bank of Lawrence County dated November 1899. These checks belonged to the McKinney Brothers store in Plain Grove. (1899) Full Size