NBT Bank opened its Johnson City Office today. The office, located at 331 Main Street in the village, is the bank’s eighth branch in Broome County.
NBT Bank of Johnson City is in the former home of Endicott-Johnson Corporation executive Charles F. Johnson Jr. At its peak in the 1930s and 1940s, EJ was one of the world’s largest producer of shoes and employed about 20,000 people in the Binghamton area.

The Charles F. Johnson Jr. home was built in 1919 and has been determined eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places because of its architecture and because it was the residence of the third Johnson family member to serve as EJ president. The three-story house was a wedding gift from Johnson’s uncle, George F. Johnson, the co-owner of EJ. The Johnson family lived in the home until 1964.
“This is a true win-win for us and the community,” said Jeff Lake, regional president of the bank’s Greater Binghamton Region. “We have a prime location amid health care and retail services, and an important part of the village’s history has been restored and preserved.”
The Johnson City Office provides full branch services, including: three teller windows; customer service area; three-lane drive-up with ATM; night depository; and safe-deposit boxes. The branch manager is Charlotte Sementelli, who previously managed the bank’s Endicott Office since its opening in 2004.
A formal ribbon-cutting ceremony was also held today. Among those in attendance were Sandra Sweet Scanlon (granddaughter of George F. Johnson and relative of Charles F. Johnson Jr.) and students from St. James Middle School in Johnson City (who completed an extensive research project on the Johnson home and its history).
NBT Bank provides personal banking, asset management and business services. The independent community bank, headquartered in Norwich, N.Y., has 85 offices in 20 upstate New York counties. NBT Bank’s parent company, NBT Bancorp Inc., had assets of $5.2 billion as of March 31, 2008.