Mills County State Bank

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about the Mills County State Bank, straight from the record as it stands in Goldthwaite. Now, if you want a story about roots, about a town findin its footing and a bank that refused to quit, pull up a chair, because Mills County has got one worth hearing. It starts with a railroad.

The Gulf, Colorado, and Santa Fe Railway came into the region, and from 1887 to 1917, Mills County experienced much growth because of it. Goldthwaite became the county seat and the center of things, and locals, being practical people, saw the need for a bank. So on June 4, 1888, a man named D.H.

Trent opened a private bank. Not some grand institution with marble columns. A private bank, on the east corner of Fisher at 4th Streets, with deposits of four thousand, one hundred sixty-eight dollars and sixty-one cents, and a stock account of eleven thousand, four hundred forty-nine dollars and fifty cents.

You could argue those are modest numbers. You could also argue that every big thing in Texas started modest. Four years after that, the First National Bank of Goldthwaite was organized, with W.E.

Miller as president. Two banks in a growing county seat. That sounds like progress.

But in 1901, the stockholders of the First National Bank voted to liquidate, and the building, along with the furniture, was sold to Trent. The man who started at one corner of that intersection ended up with what had risen at the other. Then comes 1908.

Charter Number 369 was granted at the first meeting of the stockholders of Trent State Bank. And here is the detail the marker wants you to hold onto: that charter is the one under which the bank operates today. Located on the west corner of that same intersection of Fisher at 4th Streets, Trent State Bank had put down roots that were not coming up.

Decades passed. On January 29, 1952, the directors voted to change the name to Mills County State Bank. A new name, same deep roots.

Then in 1960, the board of directors made plans for modern banking quarters, and new facilities were constructed at 1017 Parker Street. Those new facilities included something that probably felt like the future at the time: a drive-thru lane. Now, a bank that survives long enough gets to celebrate surviving, and on October 10, 2008, Mills County State Bank did exactly that.

Staff, officers, directors, stockholders, banking dignitaries, friends, and customers gathered for a celebration marking 120 years in banking and 100 years as a state chartered bank. That is a crowd with something real to toast. Over the years, the bank expanded and modernized, opening other offices in Brownwood, Early, and Hamilton.

The marker commends it for its perseverance through difficult times and calls it a loyal advocate of the communities it serves. From one man's private bank at a street corner in 1888, through liquidations and new charters and name changes and drive-thru lanes and centennial celebrations. That corner of Fisher and 4th in Goldthwaite has seen a lot of Texas history.

And the bank is still there to tell it.

What the marker says

MILLS COUNTY EXPERIENCED MUCH GROWTH FROM 1887 TO 1917 AFTER THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE GULF, COLORADO, AND SANTA FE RAILWAY IN THE REGION. AS GOLDTHWAITE BECAME THE COUNTY SEAT AND CENTER, LOCALS SAW THE NEED FOR A BANK. ON JUNE 4, 1888, D.H. TRENT OPENED A PRIVATE BANK ON THE EAST CORNER OF FISHER AT 4TH STREETS WITH DEPOSITS OF $4,168.61 AND STOCK ACCOUNT OF $11,449.50. FOUR YEARS LATER, FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF GOLDTHWAITE WAS ORGANIZED WITH W.E. MILLER AS PRESIDENT. THE STOCKHOLDERS OF THE BANK VOTED TO LIQUIDATE IN 1901, AND THE BUILDING ALONG WITH THE FURNITURE WAS SOLD TO TRENT. IN 1908, CHARTER NO. 369 WAS GRANTED AT THE FIRST MEETING OF THE STOCKHOLDERS OF TRENT STATE BANK UNDER WHICH THE BANK OPERATES TODAY. TRENT STATE BANK WAS LOCATED ON THE WEST CORNER OF THE SAME INTERSECTION OF FISHER AT 4TH STREETS. DIRECTORS VOTED ON JANUARY 29, 1952 TO CHANGE THE NAME TO MILLS COUNTY STATE BANK. IN 1960, THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS MADE PLANS FOR THE BUILDING OF MODERN BANKING QUARTERS. THE NEW FACILITIES, WHICH INCLUDED A DRIVE THRU LANE, WERE CONSTRUCTED AT 1017 PARKER STREET. ON OCTOBER 10, 2008, STAFF, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, STOCKHOLDERS, MANY BANKING DIGNITARIES, FRIENDS AND CUSTOMERS OF THE BANK ATTENDED A CELEBRATION AT MILLS COUNTY STATE BANK THAT MARKED 120 YEARS IN BANKING AND 100 YEARS AS A STATE CHARTERED BANK. OVER THE YEARS, THE BANK HAS EXPANDED, MODERNIZED, AND OPENED OTHER OFFICES IN BROWNWOOD, EARLY, AND HAMILTON. IT IS COMMENDED FOR ITS PERSEVERANCE THROUGH DIFFICULT TIMES AND IS CONSIDERED A LOYAL ADVOCATE OF THE COMMUNITIES IT SERVES.