DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way out on the South Plains, in Floydada, Floyd County, there's a bank with a story that didn't arrive all at once. It came in stages, the way most good things do.
It started as the James B. Posey Bank, established back in the 1890s. Just one man's name on the door, one man's stake in a young Texas county still finding its footing.
But the year 1900 brought a partner. L. T.
Lester joined Posey, and with that partnership came a new name: the Floyd County Bank. Two names, one institution, and the plains watching to see what they'd make of it. Then 1903 rolled around, and a federal charter came through.
That's when the name settled into something that's carried weight ever since. First National Bank. Lester served as first president, and behind him stood a founding circle worth knowing.
Posey was still there, of course. Then Lester himself, Columbus Surginer, Will W. Nelson, R.
C. Andrews, J. R.
Burrus, and John N. Farris. Seven stockholders with their money and their confidence in Floyd County.
Farris would go on to succeed Lester as president in 1911, which tells you something about how long these men stayed committed to what they'd built. By 1912, the bank had planted itself on this very site, and it hasn't moved since. Through every dry year and boom year that Floyd County has ever known, this bank has been part of the county's development.
Some things in Texas put down roots and just refuse to let go. This is one of them.
What the marker says
The James B. Posey Bank, established in Floydada in the 1890s, became the Floyd County Bank in 1900 when L.T. Lester joined Posey as a partner. In 1903, with the granting of a federal charter, the name changed once again to First National Bank. Lester served as first president, and the original stockholders included Posey, Lester, Columbus Surginer, Will W. Nelson, R. C. Andrews, J. R. Burrus, and John N. Farris, who succeeded Lester as president in 1911. The bank has occupied this site since 1912, and throughout its history has played an important part in Floyd County's development. (1990)