First National Bank of Crockett

The Society of Paper Money Collectors' bank lookup lists this as charter 4684, chartered January 16, 1892, with W. E. Mayes as its first president and H. F. Moore as cashier from 1892 to 1903. Circulation began at $11,250 and peaked at $100,000 in 1905, the year after the bank took over Farmers and Merchants National Bank on March 1, 1904. Total resources went from $104,468 in 1892 to $1,558,335 in 1928. In all, the bank issued 132,491 notes worth $1,508,110. The charter ended in 2009, when the bank merged into First Community Bank of Sugar Land.

What the plaque says

First National Bank of Crockett Founded about 1881 as sideline in mercantile store of W.E. Mayes (1837-1915), who aided customers by keeping cash and currency in his safe, issuing loans and credits. In 1892 H.F. Moore (1854-1926) came here from Galveston to charter First National Bank, with Mayes transferring his deposits. This bank absorbed (1904) Farmers and Merchants National Bank (founded 1901). Presidents: Mayes (1892-93); J.C. Wooters (1893-1904); Moore (1904-26); Arch Baker (1926-43); Moore's sons, Donald G. (1943-44) and Phil C. (1944-50); J.L. Burton (1950-68); Henry M. Ellis (1968- ). (1972)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Caddo Mounds State Historic Site — 27 mi
  Three earthen mounds of an ancestral Caddo village and ceremonial center on the old El Camino Real, settled about A.D. 800 and still sacred to Caddo people, with a grass house and visitor center.

More markers nearby

• Crockett — steps away
• Five Courthouses of Houston County — steps away
• Site of the Crockett Hotel — steps away
• Miller-Spinks-Mayes Property — steps away