EXHIBIT 99.1






                     [SISTERSVILLE BANCORP, INC. LETTERHEAD]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                      FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
- ---------------------                      --------------------------------
August 11, 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 4% or 26,457  shares of the  Company's  common  stock to be
purchased  in the open  market.  Mr.  Stanley  M.  Kiser,  President  and  Chief
Executive  Officer of the Company,  indicated  that the shares to be repurchased
could be used to fund the  Bank's  restricted  stock  benefit  plan,  which  was
approved by the Company's  stockholders  at the  Company's  recently held annual
meeting of shareholders.

         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."