Mason National Bank

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Mason National Bank. Now settle in, because this one's got more layers than a good Texas onion. It starts in the 1890s, when private banking institutions came and went in Mason like summer thunderstorms.

Sporadic is the word the marker uses, and that about covers it. The town needed something that would stick. So in December of 1903, several pioneer settlers sat down together with a purpose: they were going to build a bank worth keeping.

By January of 1904, they had their authorization, and the institution opened its doors as the German American National Bank of Mason. John Lemburg, Sr. took the chair as first president. J.W.

White stepped in as vice-president, and F.W. Lemburg held down the cashier's position. A solid founding crew, as they say.

Now here is where the story starts to bend with history. The First World War rolled across the world, and with it came anti-German sentiment that reached all the way to a small-town bank on the Mason square. In 1918, the bank board made a decision.

They changed the name. The German American National Bank of Mason became the Mason National Bank. And in that same wartime spirit, the institution led the community in purchasing Liberty Bonds.

That is not a small thing. That is a town putting its money where its conviction is. Then came the 1930s, and if you know anything about the 1930s, you already feel the chill.

The Great Depression was sitting heavy on every county in Texas, and Mason was no exception. In 1932, the First State Bank of Mason merged into the Mason National Bank. J.D.

Eckert, who had come over from First State Bank, took the president's chair. That same year, the bank received certification by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. In the middle of hard times, that certification was the kind of news that let people sleep at night.

Eckert led the bank until 1934, when he retired. And who stepped back in to take the reins? J.W.

White. The same J.W. White who had served as vice-president at the very founding, who had already served as president before.

He came back and held the position until his death in 1939. D.F. Lehmberg followed him, remaining as president until his own death in 1953.

The bank had a way of keeping its leaders close until the very end. After Lehmberg's passing, a new name took the chair, and it carried an old echo with it. Wilburn Lemburg, known to everybody as Bill, became president.

He was the grandson of John Lemburg, Sr., the very man who had sat at the head of the table back in 1904. Bill Lemburg served until his death in 1972, and during his tenure he made a move that is hard to top for symbolism. In 1968, he led the bank's relocation from the north side of the town square to a new location.

That new location happened to be the site of his grandfather's house. The founding family's home ground, now the bank's permanent home. Over its first hundred years, six men beyond the founders served as president of Mason National Bank, with J.W.

White accounting for two of those terms all by himself. And through all of it, the bank's leaders stayed active in the community, and the institution built a reputation for generous support of local programs that it carries to this day. Some banks just hold money.

This one held a town together.

What the marker says

Throughout the 1890s, private banking institutions sporadically served Mason residents. In December 1903, several pioneer settlers met to form a new bank. It received its authorization in January 1904 as the German American National Bank of Mason. John Lemburg, Sr. served as the first president, J.W. White as vice-president and F.W. Lemburg as cashier. During the bank's first 100 years, six other men would serve as president, including J.W. White, who served two different terms. Anti-German sentiment during the First World War caused the bank board to change the bank's name in 1918 to Mason National Bank. The institution led the community in purchasing Liberty Bonds during the war. In 1932, amid the Great Depression, the First State Bank of Mason merged into the Mason National Bank. J.D. Eckert, formerly of First State Bank, became president. That same year, the bank received certification by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. In 1934, Eckert retired, and White resumed the position of president until his death in 1939. D.F. Lehmberg followed him in the office, remaining until his death in 1953. Following Lehmberg's death, Wilburn "Bill" Lemburg (d. 1972), grandson of John Lemburg, Sr., became the bank's president. Under his leadership, the bank moved in 1968 from the north side of the town square to the present location, previously the site of his grandfather's house. Throughout its history, the bank's leaders have been active in local organizations. Mason National Bank is well-known and respected for its generous support of community programs. (2004)