DUANE
Duane's take
Now, I'm tellin' this one straight from the official marker, so you know every word of it is true — or at least as true as stone and bronze can make it. Alright, lean in. There's a building standing in Scurry County that has seen more of Texas history than most folks give it credit for.
It was erected in 1907 and 1908 on a site where the trail of U.S. Cavalry General Ranald MacKenzie once ran parallel to Deep Creek. Think about that for a second — right there, on that very ground, a cavalry trail.
And then somebody said, let's put a bank on it. And not just any bank. The First State Bank and Trust Company, which in those early days was the bank for cattlemen and ranchers in the region.
You want to talk about a building that knew money and cattle and the kind of men who dealt in both, well, here you go. They built it with an exterior of Ionic Greek columns — full classical treatment — and they built it to look permanent. Because they meant it to be.
And for a good long while, it was. Then came 1931. The Depression year, as the marker puts it, and the bank closed.
Just like that, the institution that had anchored the financial lives of cattlemen and ranchers across the county went quiet. But the building? The building didn't quit.
It has housed many firms over the years since, including the local newspaper, back when it went by the name the Times Building. It's been used as an office building too. The names and the tenants have changed, but here is the part that ought to stop you cold — the exterior, those Ionic Greek columns, that classical face — it is the same as when it was first constructed.
Same as 1907 and 1908. Whatever came and went inside those walls, the outside held the line. Some things in Texas, once they're built right, they just refuse to let go.
What the marker says
Erected 1907-08 on site where trail of U.S. Cavalry Gen. Ranald MacKenzie ran parallel to Deep Creek. Built for First State Bank & Trust Co., early day cattlemen and ranchers bank; closed during 1931 Depression year. Has since housed many firms including local newspaper (when it was "Times Building"). Now used as office building. Exterior of Ionic Greek columned structure is same as when first constructed. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1967.