The Northumberland National Bank opened for business in the fall of 1903 in a store front building on the corner of Queen and Water Streets. The bank was immediately popular, drawing customers from both Northumberland and Sunbury. But Mother Nature did not cooperate with the new bank’s endeavors. The frigid winter of 1903-04 brought an ice jam in the Susquehanna River so severe that the bridge between Sunbury and Northumberland was destroyed, leaving only the railroad bridge intact. And so, for a long time, the only practical way to travel between towns was by train. The fledgling bank survived this setback and grew strong in the ensuing years, which was fortunate as there was a far worse storm to weather in the not-too-distant future, but this one was not of Mother Nature’s doing.

The crash of the stock market in 1929 and the reactionary “run on banks” had a devastating effect on local banks. Pre-1929 Sunbury had three banks, and Northumberland had two. By the time the dust settled, only the Northumberland National Bank and one Sunbury bank (now BB&T) had survived. Not that it had been easy. The Northumberland National Bank had to raise $30,000.00 to stay afloat. But Charles Steele and his board reacted quickly by selling 1,000 shares of bank stock at $30.00 a share to get the needed funds. The bank weathered the worst of the storms for the banking world and never closed its doors, not even for one day.