First National Bank of Bowie

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm just the one passing it along. Now, if you want to talk about staying power, let's talk about the First National Bank of Bowie, right there in Montague County. This institution was chartered on March 10, 1890, eight years after the town of Bowie itself came into being along the line of the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway.

Eight years the town had been growing, finding its footing, and then here comes a bank, opening its doors with an initial capital of fifty thousand dollars. That is not nothing, friends. That is a statement of confidence.

Now, the years that followed were not gentle to everyone. Banks came and went across this county, as banks will do when times get hard. But by 1931, the First National Bank of Bowie was still standing.

The only surviving bank in town. Let that settle for a moment. The only one.

Whatever storms rolled through, whatever pressures bore down, this institution held. And it did not just hold in the quiet, ledger-book sense. The marker makes a point of noting the civic commitment, the financial assistance to local charitable organizations, the gathering place it became for community groups.

A bank, yes. But also something more like a cornerstone. By 1990, when this story was recorded, it had already been an important part of county history for over one hundred years.

Some things in Texas just decide they are not going anywhere, and the First National Bank of Bowie appears to be one of them.

What the marker says

The oldest financial institution in Montague County, this bank was chartered on March 10, 1890, eight years after the town of Bowie was created on the line of the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway. Beginning with an initial capital of $50,000, it was the town's only surviving bank by 1931. Maintaining a strong civic commitment, the bank has provided financial assistance to local charitable organizations and provides a gathering place for local community groups. It has been an important part of county history for over one hundred years. (1990)