Under the National Bank Act, the First National Bank of Seaford (Seaford, 1865-1959) was chartered on December 18, 1865. The town of Seaford was established as a transportation center at the junction of Herring Creek and the Nanticoke River, a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay; it gave farmers access to Norfolk, Baltimore, and Philadelphia. The town experienced substantial growth when the Delaware Railroad was completed in 1857, and perishable goods, especially oysters and peaches, could be shipped rapidly by rail. The town needed a bank to service and expand the economy; therefore, the First National Bank of Seaford was established, and Governor William Cannon (1809-1865), an influential director of the Delaware Railroad, was elected first bank president. Transportation practices changed after World War I, slowing Seaford's growth, permitting it to remain a small rural town served only by a local bank. However, the establishment of the DuPont Co. Nylon plant there reversed this. On February 2, 1959, the First National Bank of Seaford merged into the Bank of Delaware to become part of a statewide banking system.