Citizens State Bank

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Citizens State Bank in Sealy, Texas. Now settle in, because this is a story about something rarer than a blue norther in July: a bank that just flat refused to die. Sealy grew up along the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe railway, starting in 1879.

Cotton, rice, corn, cattle, all the things that made this part of Texas hum, they fed a quickly-growing economy, and by 1907, a man named F. W. Hackbarth, Jr. and his son John Hackbarth were putting up commercial buildings along Main Street.

On May 20, 1907, Citizens State Bank formed and took up its place on the southwest corner of the John Hackbarth building. Right there at the corner, open for business. The first man to sit in the president's chair was R.

A. Engelking, a successful businessman who also happened to be president of the Sealy Oil Mill Co. He wasn't exactly a newcomer to the idea of making things run.

The bank opened with capital of twenty-five thousand dollars and assets of forty-six thousand. Modest, sure. But it was a start.

A decade later, in 1917, the bank picked up and moved across the street to the southeast corner of Main and Fowlkes Streets. A little more room to grow into. And grow it would need to, because what was coming down the road would test every bank in Texas.

Money panics came and went, and Citizens State Bank weathered them. Then came the Great Depression, the kind of hard times that closed banks like spring storms close county roads. By the 1930s, Farmers National Bank was gone.

Sealy National Bank was gone. And Citizens State Bank was the only bank left standing in Sealy. The last one.

Engelking stayed at the helm from the bank's very organization all the way until 1938. That is a long watch in any weather. By 1939, capital had climbed to seventy-five thousand dollars and assets had risen to six hundred sixty thousand, four hundred and fifty-six dollars.

Not a small number for a town that had started with forty-six thousand. After Engelking, the presidency passed to E. W.

Josey, who served from 1938 to 1945, and then to G. R. Borgel, from 1946 to 1961.

The bank's greatest growth came in the 1960s, when assets reached into the millions of dollars, and in January 1967 a new facility was completed. A new building for a bank that had already seen more than most institutions ever do. Then the 1980s brought a recession, and assets shrank.

But here is the thing about Citizens State Bank: it survived without any input of additional capital. No bailout. No outside rescue.

Just the same stubborn persistence that had gotten it through panics and depression decades before. And there is one more thing worth saying. The marker notes that about fifty employees have logged twenty-five years of service each.

Fifty people. That kind of stability, that kind of loyalty, doesn't show up on a balance sheet, but it shows up in a community. More than a century after that first day on the corner of the John Hackbarth building, Citizens State Bank is still there in Sealy.

Still lending. Still standing. Some things, it turns out, are just built to last.

What the marker says

Sealy developed on the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe railway in 1879. Cotton, rice, corn, cattle and related agricultural businesses supported a quickly-growing economy. In 1907, F. W. Hackbarth, Jr. and his son, John Hackbarth, developed commercial buildings along Main Street, and on May 20, 1907, Citizens State Bank formed and occupied the southwest corner of the John Hackbarth building. R. A. Engelking, a successful businessman who was also president of the Sealy Oil Mill Co., was the first bank president. Citizens State Bank opened with capital of $25,000 and assets of $46,000, and in 1917 relocated across the street to the southeast corner of Main and Fowlkes Streets. Citizens State Bank was able to survive money panics and the Great Depression. By the 1930s, Farmers National Bank and Sealy National Bank had closed, leaving Citizens State Bank as the only bank in Sealy. Engelking served as bank president from its organization until 1938. By 1939, capital had grown to $75,000 and assets increased to $660,456. Other long-serving presidents included E. W. Josey (1938-45) and G. R. Borgel (1946-61). The bank experienced its greatest growth in the 1960s, with assets in the millions of dollars, and completed a new facility in January 1967. Assets shrank during the recession of the 1980s, but Citizens State Bank survived without input of additional capital. Employment stability has contributed to the success of the business and in community relations, with about fifty twenty-five year employees. More than a century after opening, Citizens State Bank continues to be a reliable provider of funds and a source of strength for the community.