First National Bank of Rockport

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. The First National Bank of Rockport, Aransas County, Texas. Now, before we get to the bank that's standing today, you've got to picture the town as it was back then, a coastal community still finding its footing.

On October 8, 1890, a group of businessmen sat down and made something official. They chartered the First National Bank of Aransas Pass, which is what Rockport went by at the time. The men behind it were John H.

Traylor, James M. Hoopes, George W. Fulton Jr., James C.

Fulton, and Richard H. Wood. Five names.

One institution. And they planted it right at the corner of Main and Water streets, which, if you think about it, is about as central as a bank can get in a coastal town. The marker says it played a vital role in Rockport's growth and development, and given what this bank would go on to survive, that's not just polite language on a historical plaque.

In 1903, the name changed. First National Bank of Aransas Pass became the First National Bank of Rockport. Then came the storm of 1919.

The Great Depression. Two of the ugliest chapters in Texas coastal history, back to back across barely more than a decade, and this bank came through both of them. That's the kind of thing that doesn't get said enough about a building, or the people keeping it running inside.

By 1958, the bank moved to new quarters, just across the street from where it started at Main and Water. And then in 1974, it moved again, to the site where you can find it today. A corner in 1890.

A name change in 1903. A storm. A depression.

Two more moves. Some institutions just decide they're going to stay.

What the marker says

Chartered on October 8, 1890, the First National Bank of Aransas Pass (now Rockport) was organized by a group of businessmen led by John H. Traylor, James M. Hoopes, George W. Fulton, Jr., James C. Fulton, and Richard H. Wood. Located at Main and Water streets, the bank played a vital role in Rockport's growth and development. Its name was changed to First National Bank of Rockport in 1903. After surviving both the 1919 storm and the Great Depression, the bank moved to new quarters across the street from its first location in 1958, and to this site in 1974. (1990)