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While Most people associate the old bank building in Trafford as the “old Mellon Bank building, here's a brief look back at the "first bank" to occupy this space.

In 1902, it was well publicized that George Westinghouse was seeking capitalists to invest in his expanding business venture in Trafford City. A 40-year-old capitalist named Peto Whittaker Morgan (1862-1953), along with four other men, received approval from the Comptroller of the Currency to organize the "First National Bank of Trafford City" with capital of $25,000. P.W. Morgan (photo below), a graduate of the California State Teachers College, was one of the early founders of the First National Bank of Wilmerding. His brother, Albert T. Morgan, was an attorney and director of the Wilmerding bank. P.W. later became it's bank president in 1911.

The history of the "First National Bank of Trafford City" spans only about 30 years as it had to close its doors on February 3, 1932 when it ran into trouble, as many banks did, during the Great Depression. A wave of bank closures in the winter of 1932 came after a number of people withdrew large sums of their deposits, forcing banks to liquidate their loans and sell-off assets at rock-bottom prices in order to come up with the cash necessary to meet their depositors’ obligations. A notice was posted on the front door of the Trafford bank building telling customers that negotiations were underway with the “First National Bank of Wilmerding” to take over a part of the assets in order to speed up the first payments to its Trafford depositors.The Trafford bank would later reopen its doors under the name “First National Bank of Wilmerding, Trafford Branch.”

The old night deposit door that has this name cast in brass, and was previously mounted near the front door, has been successfully saved during demolition. It is now in the hands of one of our Trafford Historical Society members.