Early Banking in Eastland

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about early banking in Eastland. Now settle in, because this story has more rises and falls than the Texas hill country itself. It starts small, gets big in a hurry, and then, well, you'll see.

The marker tells the whole ride. Every boom, every bust, right here on this spot. Let's go back to October of 1880, when the Texas and Pacific Railway rolled into town.

Not long after that, a Mr. Berry of Stephenville opened the first bank in Eastland. No grand marble lobby for him.

He set up shop right inside Jacob Alexander's dry goods store. You could deposit your money and pick up a bolt of calico in the same trip. That was the beginning.

Then came the fall of 1890, and Eastland National Bank opened on the square, with Major W.H. Parvin as president and John T. Yeargin as cashier.

Things were moving along. Eastland County Bank took a turn in that same location, running from the late 1890s to 1904. City National Bank came in 1905, with G.H.

Connell as its first president and T.E. Downtain as vice-president. And in 1909, First State Bank opened its doors, the first state-chartered bank in all of Eastland.

Now, if you thought the story was going to settle into a nice steady rhythm at this point, the ground had other ideas. The year 1917 brought the discovery of the Ranger Oil Field, and friend, that changed everything. In two years, Eastland's population jumped from one thousand souls to nine thousand three hundred and sixty-eight.

Banks in the county multiplied until there were eighteen of them. Eighteen. For a town that had started with a man running a bank out of a dry goods store, that is a number worth sitting with.

First State Bank, riding high, built a brand new headquarters right here on this site between 1919 and 1921, designed by architect Henry T. Phelps. That building must have felt like a monument to permanence.

It was not. The oil that had lifted everything up began to pull back in the early 1920s. First State absorbed smaller banks as production declined.

City National Bank closed in 1921, after a brief turn as Security State Bank and Trust. Then, in January of 1924, First State Bank itself failed. Texas State Bank stepped in, took over the building and the assets, and carried on.

A few months after the stock market crash of 1929, the county that once had eighteen banks was down to seven, and Texas State was the only bank left standing in Eastland. And then came October 1, 1931. A run on deposits.

And Texas State Bank closed its doors for good. The town was without a bank. Just sitting there, with no bank at all, until November of 1934, when a new Eastland National Bank opened right back here on this same site.

The city, and the nation, were slowly pulling themselves out of the Great Depression, with stronger banking regulations and a more diverse economy to lean on. Same corner. New beginning.

That's how Eastland kept its footing, one more time.

What the marker says

The evolution of Eastland banks reflects local economic conditions and global influences. Soon after the Texas and Pacific Railway reached town in October 1880, a Mr. Berry of Stephenville opened the first bank in Eastland in Jacob Alexander's dry goods store. Eastland National Bank began in the fall of 1890 on the square, with Major W.H. Parvin as president and John T. Yeargin as cashier. Eastland County Bank ran from the late 1890s to 1904 in the same location. City National Bank opened in 1905, with G.H. Connell as the first bank president and T.E. Downtain as vice-president. First State Bank opened in 1909 as the first state-chartered bank in Eastland. The next surge in new banks followed discovery of the Ranger Oil Field in 1917. In two years, Eastland's population grew from 1,000 to 9,368, and banks in the county numbered eighteen. In 1919-21, First State Bank built a new headquarters on this site, designed by architect Henry T. Phelps. Oil production declined in the early 1920s, and First State absorbed smaller banks. City National Bank closed in 1921 after a brief incarnation as Security State Bank and Trust. First State Bank failed in January 1924, with Texas State Bank taking over the building and assets. A few months after the stock market crash of 1929, the county's banks had decreased to seven and Texas State was Eastland's only bank. After a run on deposits on October 1, 1931, Texas State Bank closed its doors for good. The town was without a bank until a new Eastland National Bank opened on this site in November 1934, as the city and nation slowly emerged from the Great Depression with strengthened banking regulations and a more diverse economy. (2006)