DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Snyder National Bank. Now settle in, because this one's got a little bit of everything — a drugstore, a railroad that never came, and one of the boldest moves you'll ever hear of in the history of Texas banking. Back in 1890, a man named F.
J. Grayum started up the Snyder Bank, a private institution, right there in his drugstore on the south side of the square. No fancy building, no marble columns — just a drugstore in Snyder, Texas, doing double duty as a bank.
Now, Snyder didn't have a railroad at the time, and goods were shipped in on wagons all the way from Colorado City, twenty-five miles to the south. Not exactly the kind of setup that screams financial powerhouse. But a wealthy rancher named W.
A. Fuller looked at that town and saw something different. He saw the need for a national bank — something that could encourage real business growth.
So Fuller and his associates bought out Grayum's bank. And on March 13, 1905, the Snyder National Bank opened its doors. Grayum, to his credit, didn't disappear — he served on that first board of directors and took the role of cashier.
Fuller stepped in as president, and a man named E. W. Clark served as vice president.
Now, that right there would be a fine enough story. But then came the 1930s. Banks all across the country were closing their doors, and worried depositors were lining up to pull their money out before the next institution went under.
The Snyder National Bank had a president by then named M. A. Fuller, who served in that role from 1924 to 1939, and he was about to make a move that folks around Scurry County would be talking about for a long, long time.
He announced he was bringing in a plane — loaded with cash. Now just let that image land for a moment. A plane.
Loaded with cash. Flying into Snyder. When that plane touched down and the sacks of money were unloaded, M.
A. Fuller did something that took real nerve. He invited the worried customers — every last one of them — to come withdraw their accounts if they wanted to.
Just step right up. Take your money. We've got plenty.
And you know what happened? Nobody ran. The community was reassured, and there was never a run on that bank.
Theatrics? Maybe. But it worked.
The bank had started out in Grayum's Drugstore, then moved through several locations on the square over the years, before finally landing at its permanent home at this very site in 1957. Through all of it — the wagon roads, the Depression, the plane full of cash — the Snyder National Bank kept standing as a stable financial force in Scurry County. Some institutions earn that reputation slowly.
This one earned it with a landing strip and a whole lot of sacks.
What the marker says
In 1890 F. J. Grayum began the Snyder Bank, a private institution, in his drugstore on the south side of the square. Although Snyder had no railroad and goods were shipped on wagons from Colorado City (25 mi. S), W. A. Fuller, a wealthy rancher, saw the need for a national bank to encourage business growth. Fuller and his associates bought out Grayum's bank. The Snyder National Bank opened on March 13, 1905, with Grayum serving on the first board of directors and as cashier. Fuller was president and E. W. Clark served as vice president. During the 1930s when many banks were closing, M. A. Fuller, who served as president from 1924-39, announced that he was bringing a plane loaded with cash into town. After unloading the sacks of money, Fuller invited the worried customers to withdraw their accounts. This dramatic move seemed to reassure the community and there was never a "run" on the bank. After operating for a short time from Grayum's Drugstore, the bank occupied several locations on the square before moving to this site in 1957. Through the years the bank has served as a stable financial force in the county. (1979)