“Old First National Bank Building”
102 West Grand Street

Acquired by Hubbards August 20, 1999

Summary

Sources disagree as to when the building was built.

Will Medlen says his father built it as a hotel in 1887; the hotel may have housed Farmers and Merchants Bank, as well as the Whitewright Plow and Hammer.

One of the founders of the Farmers and Merchants Bank, W. O. Womack, was a founder of the First National Bank of Whitewright when it was incorporated in 1892. The First National Bank occupied this site in 1905. Some sources say the current building was constructed at that time.

Whether it was built in 1887 or 1905, everyone agrees that this building was the only downtown building to survive the Great Fire of 1911.

The First National Bank moved out of the building in Feburary 1966. That year or in 1967, the building was donated to the City of Whitewright, and the Whitewright Public Library occupied it until the current Municipal Center was built in ?.  In 1978, the building was transferred from city ownership to a development corporation affiliated with First National Bank, and the Friday Literary Club operated a museum in the building for a time. In 1980, a restaurant called The Vault, operated by Sue Conrad of Sherman, occupied the building.

Sources:

“[Will A.] Medlen Coming Back to Observe 96th Birthday,” Whitewright Sun, June 15, 1978. The article includes a letter from Will A. Medlen of Nocona:

I was born between Whitewright and Trenton on July 4, 1882, and am now nearing my 96th anniversary. My father, C. O. Medlen, built and operated the first brick hotel in Whitewright, in 1887, the only [downtown] building that was left standing in the destructive fire of 1911. . . . When the hotel was built, W. O. and W. B. Womack, father and son, opened the Farmers & Merchants Bank, coming to Whitewright from Sulphur Springs. J. C. Ruebell and J. D. Moyer published the Whitewright Plow and Hammer on the second floor of the hotel. I swept the floors and picked up type that the printers dropped on the floor until I learned the [type] cases and thereafter followed the printing business over 45 years of my life. . . .

[C. O.’s wife, Will’s mother, was Amanda Medlen.]

Untitled:

The First National Bank of Whitewright marks 100 years of continuous service to this area. The First National Bank of Whitewright was chartered on February 6, 1892, and opened for business on February 13, 1892, at the corner of Grand and Sears streets, where the Whitewright Municipal Center is now located. The second location was at the corner of Grand and Bond streets, and the bank is currently housed in a modern brick and glass structure immediately across from its 1892 location. The bank moved to its present location in February 1966.

“The First National Bank of Whitewright, Whitewright, Texas” (n.d.)

The First National Bank of Whitewright was established in 1892. The Charter was issued by Edward S. Lacy, Comptroller of the Currency, on February 6, 1892. The bank was opened for business on February 13, 1892. The First National Bank of Whitewright was founded as an independent bank, and has remained so to date.

The first officers were Dr. D. M. Ray, president; R. J. Lively, vice president; C. B. Bryant, cashier; J. F. Lilley, assistant cashier; J. B. May, collector. The directors were Dr. D. M. Ray, W. O. Womack, W. T. Sears, J. U. Biggers, Eli Smith, R. M. Lively, C. B. Bryant, W. L. Binkley, and Dr. R. May.

The bank has always been a sound institution, surviving the Great Depression of the 1930s. A list of presidents from founding to date is as follows: Dr. D. M. Ray, C. B. Bryant Sr., W. H. King, C. B. Bryant Jr., C. B. Bryant III, Kenneth W. Frisby, John Anthony Bryant, and Winston E. “Chuck” Wilson.

The bank was housed in a two-story brick structure on what is now the site of the City Hall. It was destroyed by fire in 1894. The bank was then housed in a wooden structure on Main Street until 1905, when a new stone masonry two-story building was erected on Main Street. This building was the only one in the block to survive the fire of 1911, which destroyed most of the business district. This building housed the bank until 1966, when a new brick masonry building was completed one block west and across the street on Main Street. The old bank building was donated to the City of Whitewright for a public library, for which purpose it is still used.

. . . When the bank was founded, there were 500 shares of stock, with $50,000 capital.

Jack Frisby to Patricia Hubbard, May 2, 2001:

I moved to Whitewright with my family in 1959. . . . When the house we were renting was needed by the owners, we faced a dilemma because no housing was available. My father worked at the old First National Bank building. The upstairs of the bank had not been used for many years. He had workers do some painting and add a small kitchen area. We added some rugs and converted the upstairs to living quarters. For a while my family lived above the bank. We used the side door for our main entrance, and we could get to the bank from the back door at the foot of the stairs. It made an interesting apartment.

I had a basketball goal mounted to the wall at the south end of the ninety-foot hallway, and I would play basketball. If I played during the day, my father would come upstairs and tell me to quit because of the noise it made down in the bank lobby. That goal is probably still mounted on the wall.

One day I was preparing to leave for Little League baseball practice, and I rode my bike off the four-foot retaining wall next to the side entrance. The fall to the concrete broke my two front teeth and split my lip. I have a partial denture today because of that accident.

When we built our new house, which is now owned by the Murphys, at the intersection south of town, we moved out of the old bank. When my father built the new bank building, the old building was donated to be used as a library.

My parents were very civic-minded, and my father was instrumental in building up the community. He used the bank to start getting people to build new homes and, while a school board member, saw the building of a new high school. During those days, Whitewright continued to flourish, and only a few businesses closed. His name is on the cornerstone of the current First National Bank and the old High School.

“New Whitewright Bank,” Bonham Daily Favorite, July 6, 1965:

The First National National Bank of Whitewright Monday awarded Frank and Winfree Co., Denison, a contract for the construction of a new bank building at the intersection of Main and Sears streets, south of the city hall. Work will start within 10 days and the building will be ready for occupancy within four months. Charles Harper of Bonham is a member of the firm of Harper, Martin and Associates, which drew up the plans for the new bank building. The bank will be modern in every respect with drive-in facilities.

“Old Library May Be Given Back to Bank,” Whitewright Sun, July 13, 1978:

The Whitewright City Council Monday night gave the old First National Bank building, which had served the city as a library since 1967, back to the First Nationl Bank, if such an act is legal. . . .

Chuck Wilson, president of the bank, said that if the bank regained possession of the building it would be retained as a landmark and improvements made to the interior and that it would be used as a museum with the Friday Literary Club as its sponsors.

. . . Wilson said that the bank building was the oldest commercial structure in Whitewright, having been started in 1905 and completed a short time later. . . .

Lea Lawlis, “Business Banks on Biscuits, Pies,” Sherman Democrat (?), October 1980

First National Bank building used as a restaurant, The Vault. Owned and managed by Sue Conrad of Sherman. Old teller’s cage used as cashier’s stand. Wall mural of downtown Whitewright painted by Marcie Conrad, a freshman at Texas Tech. “Shiny new kitchen” in former board room. Former office of the president now a private dining room. Grand opening Novembr 1, 1980.