EXHIBIT 99.1






                     [SISTERSVILLE BANCORP, INC. LETTERHEAD]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                      FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
- ---------------------                      --------------------------------
February 19, 1998                          Stanley M. Kiser
                                           President and Chief Executive Officer
                                           (304) 652-3671

              SISTERSVILLE BANCORP, INC. ANNOUNCES STOCK REPURCHASE

         Sistersville,  West Virginia -- Sistersville Bancorp,  Inc., the parent
holding  company of First Federal  Savings  Bank,  today  announced  that it has
received the necessary  regulatory  and Board  approval to initiate a repurchase
plan  covering up to 5% or 33,071  shares of the  Company's  common  stock to be
purchased in the open market. The company currently has 661,428 shares of common
stock outstanding.  Mr. Stanley M. Kiser,  President and Chief Executive Officer
of the Company,  indicated that the  repurchase  plan could mitigate some of the
potentially dilutive effects of the Company's stock benefit plans and would also
be available for general  corporate use. The repurchases  will be made from time
to time in open-market transactions, subject to the availability of stock.

         The Company  became the holding  company for the Bank on June 25, 1997,
following its initial public  offering at the time of the conversion of the Bank
from the mutual to stock form of ownership.

         First Federal Savings Bank is a federally-chartered  savings bank which
conducts its business in  Sistersville,  West Virginia.  The Bank's deposits are
insured  up to the  maximum  legal  amount  by  the  Federal  Deposit  Insurance
Corporation (FDIC). The Company's common stock is traded in the over-the-counter
market with quotations  available  through the OTC  "Electronic  Bulletin Board"
under the symbol "SVBC."