By: Iris Naylor
Lambertville has two banks, and their names keep changing as fast as their owners keep changing.
It wasn’t always so. Once, the bank located on the southeast corner of Bridge and Union streets was called the Lambertville National Bank. The bank on the southeast corner of Bridge and Commerce streets was called the Amwell National Bank.
The two banks had one thing in common: a man named Cooley. William Vanderbelt Cooley was born in Frenchtown in 1818. He joined the Belvidere Delaware Railroad Company in 1852. His job as paymaster was abolished when the Bel Del was leased to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company in 1872.
He was offered other jobs within the company but decided it was time to leave. He was already a director of the Lambertville National Bank. In fact, when the bank moved in 1867 from its location across from the Lambertville House on Bridge Street, it moved into a building at Bridge and Union. That building was erected especially for the bank by Mr. Cooley on a lot owned by him. The building was known locally as Cooley’s Bank Building.
Old-timers remembered there were several steps to climb before entering the bank. The basement was rented to C.M. Pettee, plumber and steam fitter.
Mr. Cooley resigned the position of director of the Lambertville National Bank in 1875 to become a director and cashier of the new Lambertville Savings Bank, located at Union and Coryell streets. It became the Amwell National Bank in 1876. He resigned this position in 1892 because of ill health.
In addition to his employment by the railroad company and his connection to the two banks, Mr. Cooley found time for civic duties. At one time he was city treasurer. At various other times he held the position of treasurer of the Mutual Building and Loan Association, the Lambertville Water Company, the Lambertville Gas Light Company and the Lambertville Improvement Company. He was a charter member of the Magnolia Lodge No. 57, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, that was instituted in Frenchtown in 1847.
Mr. Cooley died in 1893. Five years later his bank building at Bridge and Union,was torn down to be replaced with a brand new bank building. George W. Arnett was the contractor for the new building.
According to The Beacon, the first story was to be of dressed granite, the second and third floors of Roman vitrified brick. Cornices were of galvanized iron, the roof covered with tin, the first floor and basement windows protected with ornamental iron grilles. Plans for the inside of the building called for quartered white oak, red oak, white pine, plate glass, mosaic and maple floors.
The bank building was renovated in 1930. A building on the east side of the bank that was formerly used as a doctor’s office was turned into offices for the use of the clerical staff. A new larger vault was installed with a tear gas system to protect against intruders. There was also an electric refrigeration system for the drinking water. At the same time, the outside of the building was cleaned and repaired.
The Amwell National Bank did not move into its brand new building at Bridge and Commerce streets until 1931. It had moved from Union and Coryell streets to the Masonic Hall building on Bridge Street in 1878.
Mr. Cooley and his wife, Mary, are interred in the Holcombe-Riverview Cemetery. The Beacon noted "His presence among us will be sadly missed, and his loss to the community is one that will not be easily replaced."