DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. You're rolling through Delta County, and there's a bank here with a story that starts small — real small — and ends up written in the stars. Literally.
The First National Bank, the oldest bank in Delta County, didn't begin behind marble columns or brass fixtures. It started in 1889 as a private firm operating out of a grocery store. Now just let that sit with you a moment.
You could walk in, pick up some flour and some salt pork, and while you were at it, maybe conduct a little financial business. That was Delta County banking in 1889. By 1891, it had grown enough to be chartered as a national bank — a proper one, with a proper name.
And then in 1909, the building went up, the one the marker's attached to right now, standing like it's got somewhere to be and no intention of leaving. Then in 1925, the Guaranty State Bank merged with First National, and the institution kept right on growin'. That's the banking story, and it's a fine one.
But the man behind it — now that's where things get interesting. The founder, Wm. J.
McDonald, born in 1844, died in 1926. And at his death, he left a great fortune — and here's what that fortune went to do. He used it to establish an astronomical observatory of the first order.
The McDonald Observatory, out in West Texas. A man who started his banking life in a grocery store left behind one of the great windows humanity has ever pointed at the night sky. That's Delta County for you.
Don't let the small beginnings fool you.
What the marker says
Oldest bank in Delta County. Founded 1889 as private firm operating in a grocery store. Chartered as a national bank 1891. Erected this building 1909. Guaranty State Bank merged with First National 1925. This bank has had continued growth. The founder, Wm. J. McDonald (1844 - 1926), at his death left a great fortune to establish an astronomical observatory of the first order - the McDonald Observatory, in West Texas. RTHL 1966