EXHIBIT 99.1






                     [SISTERSVILLE BANCORP, INC. LETTERHEAD]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                      FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
- ---------------------                      --------------------------------
February 25, 1999                          Stanley M. Kiser
                                           President and Chief Executive Officer
                                           (304) 652-3671

              SISTERSVILLE BANCORP, INC. ANNOUNCES STOCK REPURCHASE

         Sistersville,   West  Virginia  --  Sistersville   Bancorp,  Inc.  (the
"Company"),  the parent  holding  company  of First  Federal  Savings  Bank (the
"Bank"), today announced that it has received the necessary regulatory and Board
approval to initiate a repurchase plan covering up to 5% or 29,847 shares of the
Company's common stock to be purchased in the open market. The Company currently
has 596,940 shares of common stock outstanding.  Mr. Stanley M. Kiser, President
and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, indicated that the repurchases would
be  made  from  time  to  time  in  open-market  transactions,  subject  to  the
availability  of stock.  Mr.  Kiser  noted this is the fourth  stock  repurchase
undertaken  by the  Company  since  going  public  in June,  1997,  and that the
repurchased shares would be available for general corporate purposes.

         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."