Louise State Bank

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Louise State Bank. Now, some buildings just hold goods or conduct business and that's the end of it. But every once in a while, a building decides it's going to be something more.

This one, right here in Louise, Wharton County, was that kind of building. Let me walk you through it. In the nineteen hundreds, the growing town of Louise welcomed its very first bank.

That bank received its state charter in 1909, and from the start it had serious people behind it. The board of directors included W.F. O'Briant as president, Dan W.

Wybrants as secretary, and Alfred Peterson, W.G. Davis, and Maude Davis rounding out the board. Now, to house this new institution, they didn't just throw up a frame shack.

They commissioned a proper two-story brick building, attributed to Victoria architect Jules Leffland, and they put it right in the center of the commercial district. That's a statement of intention, right there. Louise State Bank served the community all the way until 1927, when Peoples Bank bought its assets and the two merged to become Peoples State Bank.

That version of the bank closed in 1932. Then the building sat and waited, the way good buildings do. First State Bank came along and operated there from 1956 until 1974, when it moved on to a new facility.

But here's the part that makes this building something to stop and think about. Over the years, those walls housed the community's first telephone exchange. The community's first public library.

And the post office. First bank. First library.

First telephone exchange. One building, carrying a whole lot of firsts for the people of Louise. Some structures just hold history.

This one helped make it.

What the marker says

In the 1900s, the growing town of Louise welcomed its first bank, which received its state charter in 1909. The board of directors included W.F. O'Briant, president; Dan W. Wybrants, secretary; and Alfred Peterson, W.G. Davis and Maude Davis. A two-story brick building, attributed to Victoria architect Jules Leffland, was completed in the center of the commercial district. Louise State Bank served the community until 1927, when Peoples Bank bought its assets and merged to become Peoples State Bank, which closed in 1932. First State Bank operated here from 1956 until 1974, when it opened a new facility. The building has been the site of much local history, having housed the community's first telephone exchange, public library and post office. (2019)