Exhibit 99.1



                                  EXHIBIT 99.1

                            LETTER TO SHAREHOLDERS OF
                             SOMERSET TRUST COMPANY





                             Somerset Trust Company
                              151 West Main Street
                          Somerset, Pennsylvania 15501



                                 March 30, 2000



To Our Shareholders:

         The Board of Directors of Somerset Trust Company cordially invites you
to attend our Annual Meeting of Shareholders at 1:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on
Thursday, April 20, 2000, at the Board Room at the bank's main office at 151
West Main Street, Somerset, Pennsylvania 15501.

         The principal business of this year's meeting will be to vote on a
proposal to reorganize the bank into a bank holding company structure, to fix
the number of bank directors to be elected at the meeting at five, to elect five
new director to the bank's Board of Directors, and to ratify the Board's
selection of Stokes, Kelly & Hinds, L.L.C., as the bank's independent auditors
for the 2000 fiscal year.

         The Board of Directors recommends that you vote in favor of the
proposal to approve and adopt a plan of reorganization and related plan of
merger that will reorganize the bank as the wholly owned subsidiary of Somerset
Trust Holding Company, a Pennsylvania corporation formed to become the bank's
holding company. The Board of Directors believes that the formation of a bank
holding company at this time is an important and necessary part of the bank's
plans for the future.

         Under the proposed plan of reorganization, we will exchange each share
of common stock of the bank presently held by you for four shares of common
stock of Somerset Trust Holding Company. If you approve and adopt the plan of
reorganization, the bank's shareholders will automatically become shareholders
of the holding company. The holding company will own all of the outstanding
shares of the bank.

         Therefore, your interest in the bank after the reorganization will
remain essentially the same, except that it will be through the holding company.
The exchange of bank common stock into holding company common stock will be tax
free for federal income tax purposes.

         To facilitate the reorganization, we established an interim bank as a
subsidiary of the holding company. The interim bank will merge into the bank as
provided for by the plan of merger. The proposal does not involve a merger
between the bank and another bank or company already in operation. After the
proposed reorganization, the bank will continue its banking business
substantially unchanged and under substantially the same management.


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         The Board of Directors believes that the plan of reorganization and
plan of merger are in the best interests of the bank and its shareholders and
urges you to vote in favor of these agreements and the reorganization they
provide. The approval and adoption of the plan of reorganization and plan of
merger require an affirmative vote of the holders of at least two-thirds of the
outstanding shares of the bank's common stock.

         The Board of Directors also recommends that you vote in favor of the
other proposals and for the five nominees for director of the bank.

         You are, of course, welcome to attend the Annual Meeting, but we
understand that this may not be possible. It is important that your shares be
represented and voted at the meeting whether or not you plan to attend. If
enough shareholders do not return their proxies, the company may have to incur
the expense of additional solicitation. To ensure your proper representation at
the meeting, please take a moment to sign, date and promptly mail the enclosed
proxy in the pre-addressed and stamped envelope. Even if you return a proxy, you
may vote in person if you give written notice to the Secretary of the bank and
attend the Annual Meeting.

         We urge you to carefully review the enclosed proxy statement/prospectus
that describes the reorganization proposal in detail and which also includes
information relating to the election of bank directors and other proposals. The
reorganization involves elements of risk that are described under "Risk Factors"
beginning on page 7.

         Again, the Board of Directors strongly recommends that you vote FOR all
of the proposals. On behalf of the Board of Directors, thank you for your
cooperation and continued support.

                                            Very truly yours,


                                            ----------------------------------
                                            G. Henry Cook, President and
                                            Chief Executive Officer


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