First State Bank of Livingston

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way back in 1910, a group of folks in Livingston, Texas, got together and organized a bank. They called it the Guaranty State Bank, and they meant business.

H. D. Reynolds stepped up as the first president, setting the whole thing in motion.

Now, the man who followed him, L. F. Gerlach, wasn't just a banker.

He ran one of the best-known stores in the city, which tells you something about the kind of people this institution attracted. Folks who had a hand in everything. Then came the third president, J.

L. Muller, and here's where the story gets a little extraordinary. The descendants of J.

L. Muller have been serving as leaders in that bank since 1910. Not since Muller took the chair.

Since the bank itself was born. That family and that bank have been growing up together for over a century. The fourth president, Ollege Morrison, owned the Livingston Drug Company for many years.

So you've got a store man, a drug company man, and a banking dynasty all wrapped up in this one institution. But if you want to talk about staying power, consider Miss May Andress. She was the daughter of S.

J. Andress, one of the original organizers of the bank. And Miss May served on the board of directors longer than any other member in the bank's history.

Longer than any of them. In 1925, the bank took the name it carries today, the First State Bank of Livingston. And the building you might be standing near, or passing by, that's the third location the bank has called home.

Three locations, four presidents worth remembering, one family that never left, and a woman who outlasted them all on the board. That's Livingston, Texas, and that's how a bank becomes a landmark.

What the marker says

Early state bank of Texas. Organized in 1910 as Guaranty State Bank with H. D. Reynolds as the first president. L. F. Gerlach, second president, operated one of city's best-known stores. The descendants of J. L. Muller, third president, have served as leaders in the bank since 1910. Ollege Morrison, fourth president, owned Livingston Drug Company for many years. Miss May Andress, daughter of S. J. Andress (an organizer of the bank), was on board of directors longer than any other member. The bank took present name in 1925. This is third location.