Which Banks Were Based in Doylestown?

I was wondering about former bank buildings in the center of Doylestown. I would like to know which banks were based in Doylestown and how long they were in existence.- J.G., New Britain

Long before banking behemoths gobbled up much of the market, nearly every town had at least one bank to call its own. The History Guy researched the lineage of four banks that were based in Doylestown during the 19th and 20th centuries.

They were: Doylestown National Bank and Trust Co., Bucks County Trust Co., J. Hart & Co. and Doylestown Trust Co. The historic bank buildings still stand, although only the former Doylestown Trust Co. building on North Main Street is currently used for banking.

The Doylestown Bank received a state charter in 1833, five years before Doylestown was incorporated as a borough. The bank's first office was at East State and Pine streets, but it soon moved to the west side of North Main Street, two doors north of the Fountain House.

The bank was granted a national charter in 1864 and became Doylestown National Bank. In 1896, the bank purchased the Ross Mansion at the intersection of Main and Court streets (where the Vietnam War Memorial is today). The mansion was demolished and replaced in 1897 with a one-story brick bank noted for its ornate entrance and large arched windows.

Located between the Civil War Monument and the Bucks County Courthouse, the national bank was a prominent landmark and appeared in many old photographs and postcards of Doylestown. A 1912 advertisement stated: "Accounts of Corporations, Business Men and Other Individuals Solicited." The bank then paid 3 percent on certificates of deposit.

Following a merger with Central Trust Co. in 1926, the institution became Doylestown National Bank and Trust Co. The interior of the Monument Square bank was remodeled in 1927.

"For the ladies, a large and cheerful rest room, newly furnished, has been added to the bank," stated an article in the Doylestown Daily Intelligencer. "The rest room for the ladies has been fitted out with comfortable chairs, reading lamps, magazines, papers, and everything to make the ladies feel at home."

An unnamed bank official told the newpaper: "It has been the policy of this institution to leave nothing undone for the betterment of our patrons' comfort. With this aim in mind, we believe you will find this bank to be one of the most modern of the country banking institutions in southeastern Pennsylvania."

"Last Word in Modern Banking" 

This building soon would be outshone by the rival Bucks County Trust Co., incorporated in 1886 as the county's first trust company. Its first office was on the first floor of the Matthews Building on Court Street, but then it built , which opened in January 1887 with $97,213 in deposits.

Deposits amounted to $1,114,988 at the end of 1928, making Bucks County Trust Co. the second wealthiest bank in the county after Farmers' National Bank of Bristol, according to a 1929 Intelligencer article.

Having outgrown its 1886 building, the trust company bought two houses at the corner of East Court Street and Printer's Alley in 1928, tore them down and built a neoclassical bank of light-colored granite and limestone.

When the $200,000 edifice opened on March 30, 1929, the Intelligencer described it as "the finest banking building to be found in any town of similar size in the East. It is the last word in modern banking..."

The article noted, "All the cabinet work is of mahogany. The ceiling and main vault topping is covered with ornamental painting in geometrical design, all of it being the handiwork of artists. The counter screen work is of bronze and pink Tennessee Tavernelle marble, and counters in the rear are of metal."

"The attractive main vault, ornamentally decorated and topped with a bronze railing and marble-faced clock, is adjacent to a stairway leading to the mezzanine floor... In the center of the mezzanine floor are French doors leading to the very attractively arranged directors' room," the article continued. The vault's circular steel door was 20 inches thick and weighed 15 tons.

Seven months later, the stock market crashed and the Great Depression began. In February 1932, Bucks County Trust Co. was taken over by Doylestown National Bank and Trust Co. Bristol industrialist and Bucks County Republican boss Joseph R. Grundy, the largest stockholder of Bucks County Trust Co., was named to the board of the consolidated bank, a position he held for the next three decades.

In May 1932, Doylestown National Bank and Trust Co. sold the 1897 bank to Bucks County for its administration building, and moved into the 1929 bank across the street.

"In our new Banking Home we offer you not only a complete Banking Institution--but also a Savings Fund Department--large Safety Deposit Vaults--and an all-embracing and thorough Fiduciary Service," proclaimed an advertisement announcing the move.

Former Bank Becomes Library

The Melinda Cox Free Library bought the 1886 Bucks County Trust Co. building in 1933 and moved there from East State Street. The library remained in the former bank until 1988, when the new opened on South Pine Street. In 1993, the former library was renovated for the .

The borough's first drive-in banking window opened in the rear of the Doylestown National Bank and Trust Co. in January 1956, according to The Daily Intelligencer.

The Bucks County Administration Building (the former bank) was razed in October 1960 to make way for construction of the new courthouse judicial wing and plaza.

In April 1970, Doylestown National Bank and Trust Co. was acquired by Continental Bank. The Monument Square bank became a PNC branch in the 1990s. After PNC closed that location in 1999, a brokerage occupied the former bank for years.

The building can still be seen today on East Court; the back of the building was remodeled for the bar , but the front portion that housed the bank is vacant and available for rent.

A block south is the borough's oldest bank building, the former J. Hart & Co. bank at 21 N. Main St. Architect Thomas Cernea designed this bank in 1858 in Greek Revival style, with a projecting pediment supported by four columns.

Josiah Hart had been cashier of the Doylestown Bank before he started his private bank in 1857. When he died in 1885 at age 74, his obituary in the Bucks County Intelligencer described him "for many years one of the best-known men in financial circles in the county."

"A man of inherent power, unquestioned integrity, untiring industry and native shrewdness, he began life with comparatively nothing but a strong, clear head, sound health and perception of how and when to direct his energies," the obituary stated. "By hard work and wise investments he amassed a handsome competence, and secured and held the respect of his fellow citizens."

After Hart's death, his sons carried on the banking business until 1896, when it was dissolved. Doylestown Trust Co. was organized that year and opened in the former Hart bank. After Doylestown National Bank relocated to Monument Square in 1897, Doylestown Trust Co. moved across Main Street into the former national bank building.

During the 20th century, the former Hart bank saw various uses, including dentists' and lawyers' offices, as well as borough hall during the 1940s and 1950s. Today, it houses a clothing shop, Ruthless Fashions.

From Bank to Borough Hall

In 1922, Doylestown Trust Co. rebuilt the front and erected a rear addition to its building at 18 N. Main St., which dated to the 1830s but had been altered with a Mansard roof sometime after the Civil War.

"The front will be built of limestone and model 'rug-grey' bricks," the Intelligencer reported in August 1922. "Two large, limestone pillars, the height of the building, will front the new structure. The entrance will be on the north side of the bank, where it is located now, but it will face Main street... There will be six large plate glass windows in the new front, and the structure, when completed, will be fireproof."

The article added, "The new vault will be of burglar-proof and fireproof construction and will be 10 feet by 10 feet in dimensions. It will be built of one-half inch steel liner, surrounded with reinforced concrete and steel, eighteen inches thick. It will be equipped with the latest automatic time locks and burglar alarm devices."

In 1958, Doylestown Trust Co. moved into a new building at 115 W. Court St., and the former bank on North Main Street became borough hall. However, the hall had inadequate space and parking, so the borough sold it for $135,000 in 1979 and bought .

Industrial Valley Bank and Trust Co. acquired Doylestown Trust Co. in 1969. After several subsequent bank mergers, the West Court Street building today is a Wells Fargo Bank.

Bethlehem-based now occupies the former Doylestown Trust Co. at 18 N. Main St., near the former home of . It is the only one of the four historic bank buildings currently used for banking.

No history of Doylestown banks would be complete without mentioning Doylestown Federal Savings and Loan Association.

Founded in 1906 as Doylestown Building and Loan Association, it received a federal charter in 1952. The thrift moved in 1964 from West Court Street to a new building at 60 N. Main St., which replaced the venerable Bucks County Inn. After suffering financial setbacks, the association was taken over in 1992 by Third Federal Bank of Newtown.

This was the last financial institution to have "Doylestown" in its name.