City National Bank

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way back in 1889, the oldest banking institution in Sulphur Springs took shape right here on the town square. They called it City National Bank, and from the very start, it had serious people behind it.

Seven names on that first board of directors: J. J. Dabbs, John T.

Hargrove, J. F. Carter, J.

A. B. Putnam, W.

B. Womack, W. A.

Dabbs, and S. W. Summers.

Seven names, one purpose, and a whole lot of Hopkins County money to look after. They put up a two-story brick building right here on this square, and that building meant business. Now, the story might've ended there, just another bank on another Texas square, except for one thing.

W. W. Jones, Senior.

The marker calls him a dominant figure in the bank, and when a Texas historical marker reaches for words like that, you'd best believe they earned them. With his strong leadership, City National Bank didn't just survive, it thrived. And here's the part that really lands when you let it sink in.

The Great Depression came through this country like a slow-moving catastrophe, chewing up banks from one coast to the other. City National Bank came through it intact. That two-story brick building stood on this square for decades, holding that history inside its walls, until 1968, when it was razed and a new structure was built in its place.

The building is gone. The story isn't.

What the marker says

The oldest banking institution in Sulphur Springs, City National Bank was organized in 1889. The first board of directors included J. J. Dabbs, John T. Hargrove, J. F. Carter, J. A. B. Putnam, W. B. Womack, W. A. Dabbs, and S. W. Summers. A two-story brick building was erected at this site on the town square. W. W. Jones, Sr., was a dominant figure in the bank. With his strong leadership, the bank thrived and survived the Great Depression intact. The original bank building was razed in 1968 and a new structure was built in its place.