EXHIBIT 99.1










                     [SISTERSVILLE BANCORP, INC. LETTERHEAD]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE               FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
July 30, 1999                       Stanley M. Kiser
                                    President and CEO
                                    (304) 652-3671

              SISTERSVILLE BANCORP, INC. ANNOUNCES STOCK REPURCHASE

         Sistersville,  WV - 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 28,354 shares of the Company's
common  stock to be  purchased in the open  market.  The Company  currently  has
567,093 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 fifth 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. 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."