The National Bank of Fredericksburg building at 900 Princess Anne St. will end nearly 194 years of service as a financial institution when current owner PNC Financial Services closes the location at 3 p.m. November 21, 2014. PNC is consolidating the bank’s services with its Chatham branch at 371 Chatham Heights Rd., in Fredericksburg. The building is for sale.
Robert and George Ellis, builders for the Farmers’ Bank of Fredericksburg, completed the Federal Style structure in 1820. Farmers’ Bank was a branch of the state bank, performing bank functions at a time when there was no central currency. The bank failed at the end of the Civil War, when its assets consisted largely of worthless Confederate notes.
Within months, Fredericksburg leaders secured a charter to form the National Bank of Fredericksburg. It became part of the United States government’s system of national banks, begun to stabilize the currency.
Mercantile Bankshares Corporation acquired The National Bank of Fredericksburg in 1994. PNC Financial Services purchased Mercantile Bankshares in 2007, and took over the downtown Fredericksburg location.
The building is on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register.
U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and Confederate President Jefferson Davis both spoke from the bank’s steps during the Civil War. Union troops used the building as a headquarters during the war.
The building has been included in PNC’s Legacy Project, with the back rooms housing a display of the bank’s artifacts and graphic images. PNC is also seeking a home for this display.
Related Stories
FAMCC Suspending Operations to Face Financial Troubles
Historic Bank Closes its Doors in Downtown Fredericksburg
Summer Concert Series to Continue Despite Museum’s Financial Woes
Follow Fredericksburg.Today on Facebook, and on Twitter at @Fxbg2day
HOME
