DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Marion State Bank, right there in Guadalupe County. Now, the town of Marion got its start back in the 1870s — a marketing and shipping point on the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio rail line. Towns along a rail line had a way of growing, and Marion was no exception.
By the early twentieth century, the place was developing into a genuine commercial center. A cotton gin opened in 1904. An electric plant followed.
A telephone company, too. Progress had a good head of steam up. So it should surprise nobody that on October 26, 1906, Marion State Bank received its charter.
The first president was H.D. Dreyer. Dr.
Louis Hirschfeld came in as vice president, and Henry Wimmer served as cashier and secretary. All three were directors. Rounding out those initial directors: L.
Kuehler, W.J. Schneider, and Arlon B. Davis.
That is a founding board of six, and they meant business. Now, here is where the story gets a little color. Marion State Bank did not open in some grand marble hall.
It began operation in the first floor rear area of the H.D. Dreyer building. And that same building?
It also housed the Waldorf Club — a local saloon. So in those early days, depending on which door you walked through, you were either depositing your cotton money or spending it. The choice was yours.
The bank purchased the property outright in 1910 and moved to the front part of the building — a quiet upgrade in dignity, you might say. It stayed right at that site until 1987, when it relocated to new facilities. And here is the part worth sittin' with.
Marion State Bank was among the first state chartered banks in Texas. It served not just Marion, but the nearby communities of Zuehl, New Berlin, and Santa Clara. And through all the turbulence that the twentieth century could throw at a small-town bank — and there was plenty — this institution paid dividends regularly to its investors.
Even during the Great Depression. Even then. That is not a small thing.
That is an institution that held the line when a lot of others did not. The bank eventually moved to new facilities in 1987, but the story didn't end — it just found a new address. Marion State Bank stands today as one of the oldest community-based financial institutions in the state of Texas, still serving as a hometown institution, same as the day those six directors signed that charter on October 26, 1906.
Started in the back of a building that shared a wall with a saloon. Still standing. Some foundations, it turns out, are harder to shake than they look.
What the marker says
The town of Marion began in the 1870s as a marketing and shipping point on the Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio rail line. It grew steadily and, in the early twentieth century, began to develop as an important commercial center for the area. A cotton gin opened in 1904, followed soon by an electric plant and a telephone company. As part of that progress, Marion State Bank received a charter on October 26, 1906. H.D. Dreyer served as the first president, with Dr. Louis Hirschfeld as vice president and Henry Wimmer as cashier and secretary; all were directors. The other initial directors were L. Kuehler, W.J. Schneider and Arlon B. Davis. Marion State Bank began operation in the first floor rear area of the H.D. Dreyer building, which also housed the Waldorf Club, a local saloon. The bank purchased the property in 1910 and moved to the front part of the building. It remained at that site until 1987, when it relocated to new facilities here. Marion State Bank was among the first state chartered banks in Texas, and it remains one of the state’s oldest community-based financial institutions. Throughout its history, it has been a key player in area development, serving Marion and nearby communities Zuehl, New Berlin and Santa Clara. The institution has paid dividends regularly to its investors over the years, even during the Great Depression. Today, Marion State Bank serves as a reminder of the area’s early history, as well as its steady growth and development. As with its founding, the bank continues in service as a hometown institution. (2006)