First National Bank Building

Duane's take

Here's how that official marker tells it, and I'll pass it along just the same. You know, there are buildings that announce themselves before you even read the sign, and the First National Bank Building in Jayton, Kent County, is one of them. Erected about 1912, this place was built by descendants of early Kent County pioneers.

Think about that for a second. The grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the people who first broke this ground came back and said, we're going to put something here that lasts. And brother, they meant it.

What they raised was a Classical Revival showpiece, polished granite Ionic columns out front, bull's eye windows catching the light, quoins at the corners giving the whole facade that dressed-stone authority, and an unusual recessed entry portico that pulls you in before you even reach the door. Every one of those elements was chosen with purpose. Banks of that era favored exactly this kind of imagery, stability, order, the visual language of a place that will still be standing when your grandchildren come to town.

The man behind the design was Rockwell H. Stuckey, born 1855, died 1936, an architect who had a particular fondness for a certain touch. See that domed skylight up top?

That was a device Stuckey employed often. Something about letting the sky into a building built to hold your money. Now, the bank closed in the 1930s.

That's all the marker says about it, and sometimes a sentence that short carries the most weight. But here's the thing about this building and the people connected to it. It never stopped being a financial institution.

It continues to serve the community to this day, and many of the personnel working inside are descendants of the very founders who built the place. The pioneers' grandchildren put it up. Their grandchildren are still walking through that recessed portico.

In Kent County, some things just run in the family.

What the marker says

An excellent example of early 20th century Classical Revival style, the First National Bank of Jayton was erected about 1912 by descendants of early Kent County pioneers. Classical features of the edifice, such as the polished granite Ionic columns, bull's eye windows, quoins, and the unusual recessed entry portico, are typical of the favored imagery of stability and order among banks of the period. The domed skylight is a device often employed by the building's architect, Rockwell H. Stuckey (1855-1936). The bank closed in the 1930s; the building continues to serve the community as a financial institution, many of its personnel descendants of bank founders. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1998