Commercial National Bank

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Commercial National Bank of Beeville. Now settle in, because this is a story about money, and patience, and a town that knew how to build something meant to last. It starts in January of 1893, when several prominent citizens of Beeville got together with a plan.

They were going to organize a financial institution. Elected as officers were Dr. L.B.

Creath, A.G. Kennedy, John I. Clare, and D.C.

Stone. Four names. Four men.

One idea. And by May of that same year, the doors swung open. The Commercial National Bank of Beeville was in business, capitalized at fifty thousand dollars.

Now, fifty thousand dollars in 1893 was not a figure you wrote on a napkin. That was a statement of intent. They put the bank right there on the northwest corner of the courthouse square, in a two-story brick edifice.

You want to tell a town you're serious? You build in brick, and you plant yourself next to the courthouse. These gentlemen understood the assignment.

And the bank rewarded that confidence almost immediately. Profits were posted from its very first quarter of business. First quarter.

Before the ink was barely dry on the ledger books. By 1895, stockholders were receiving a dividend of four percent. Now some folks might hear four percent and shrug, but in those early years, a dividend that quick was the kind of thing that made neighboring counties sit up and take notice.

The building got remodeled in the 1930s, modernized and expanded again in the 1950s. The bank wasn't standing still. In 1965, a new banking facility was added south of the original structures, and it came with something that must have felt downright futuristic at the time: drive-in teller windows.

You didn't even have to get out of your car. Then in 1967, a banking facility opened at Chase Field Naval Air Station. The main bank building kept on growin', adding more space and drive-in windows in 1976, and again in 1982.

A branch bank arrived in 1985 at the College North Shopping Center. And then in 1991, the First State Bank of Mathis was established as a branch bank. Over all those decades, many prominent citizens have been associated with the Commercial National Bank of Beeville, including state legislators.

From a single brick building on a courthouse corner to a reach that stretched to Mathis, this institution just kept serving and supporting the community it was born to serve. Some things in Texas, friend, are built to go the distance. This bank made the case from its very first quarter.

What the marker says

The Commercial National Bank of Beeville traces its history to January 1893 when several prominent citizens met to organize a financial institution. elected as officers were Dr. L.B. Creath, A.G. Kennedy, John I. Clare, and D.C. Stone. The bank opened in May 1893 with a capital stock of $50,000. Housed on the northwest corner of the courthouse square in a two-story brick edifice, the bank was successful from the beginning. Profits were posted from it first quarter of business, and by 1895 stockholders received a dividend of four percent. The bank building was remodeled in the 1930's and was modernized and expanded in the 1950s. a new banking facility was added south of the original structures in 1965 and included drive-in teller windows. A banking facility was added at Chase Field Naval Air Station in 1967. The main bank building added more space and drive-in windows in 1976 and 1982. A branch bank was added in 1985 at College North Shopping Center, and in 1991 the First State Bank of Mathis was established as a branch bank. Many prominent citizens have been associated with the bank, including state legislators. The bank continues to support and serve the community.