Farmers State Bank Building

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Historical Marker, Georgetown, Texas

On March 13, 1848, the

Texas Legislature created Williamson County from the western portion of Milam County. The Legislature also appointed long-time residents of the new county area as commissioners to locate a seat of government for the newly formed entity. Most of these men had petitioned the Legislature to form a new county. They were John Berry, Sr., William Dalrymple, J. M. Harrell, C. Cowan, Washington Anderson, and J. 0. Rice. (1)

In May 1848, these men met under the shade of a great oak tree south of the junction of the

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two forks of the San Gabriel River.

As they were deliberating, they were joined by George Washington Glasscock, Sr. Upon learning the purpose of the meeting, Glasscock proposed that the county seat should be where they were meeting. The land under their feet belonged to Thomas Huling. Huling had bought the land from Clement Stubblefield on November 2, 1839. (2) Stubblefield had acquired 1476 acres, 1/3 of a league, as his headright. Huling had made Glasscock his agent, and both men would benefit financially if the county seat was in the middle of their holdings. (3) One really can't believe that Glasscock just happened by accident. Supposedly, Glasscock made a proposition to the commissioners that if they accepted the site as the county seat and named it Georgetown, that Glasscock and Huling would donate 173 acres for the new county seat. The San Gabriel River ends at that point, by making a line due west and another due east from the oak tree, the river would more or less form the northern and western legs of the town boundaries. The site where the tree stood is at the corner of Church and Ninth streets in present-day Georgetown. Glasscock was asked

to survey the townsite to establish plots. David Cowan and Mathias Wilbarger, both surveyors, were given the task of marking off the plots into lots.

There were no structures on the townsite

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.

Lots were to be sold to raise funds to build public buildings, such as a courthouse. The first courthouse was a 16' x 16' log structure on the public square on the Main Street side. The town was laid out in a grid pattern with an open public square or courthouse square surrounded by business lots. Lots were sold over a period of

years rather than all at once in an auction. From the beginning, Glasscock and Huling looked after their own interests. A Glasscock Addition was established on the eastern side of town and lots were sold there as early as 1850. Glasscock had Huling's power of attorney and sold the property under the Glasscock name for Huling. (4)

We were not able to trace back to the point where and when the Bank lot was first purchased from the county, but

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we did find a sale in the same block.

On March 31, 1851, Samuel Alexander purchased Lot 5 on the old map, and Block 41, Lot 4 on the new map. The David Love store has been on that lot for over 125 years. The Bank's location was Block 5, north half of Lot 1 on the old map, and Block 41, north half of Lot 8 on the

new map. The change from old to new maps occurred sometime in the 1850s, probably 1851.

On November 14, 1871, J. H. Turner bought half-interest in the Bank lot for $13.40 in gold.5 On January 16, 1872

, S. B. Makemson bought a half-interest in the property from E. H. Napier for $86.25 in gold.6 On February 11, 1875, J. H. Turner and S. B. Makemson sold their half-interests to A. T. Glasscock for the sum of $400. (7)

Sometime after Turner bought the property in 1875 and before 1882, he erected a 20 foot wide by 50-foot deep structure facing on Bushy

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Street (Austin Avenue).

The

lot is 30 by 125 feet, so there was a ten-foot vacant strip on the north side of the building, and 75 feet remaining to the back property line. The Sanborn map of 1885 shows four small buildings on the back of the lot. The map also shows that the building was being used as a saloon and billiard hall.

The U. S. Census reports of 1850, 1860, and 1870 show slow

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growth in population in Williamson County.

The economy depended mostly on subsistence agriculture. Development was hampered by the Civil War and the Reconstruction period that followed. Georgetown and Round Rock had reputations of being dangerous places to travel through. Outlaws roamed the countryside. Sam Bass and John Wesley Hardin were two of the most famous troublemakers. According to the Census of 1870, there were 320 persons living in this frontier town. The doldrums would soon be overdue to three things. First, the North

developed a taste for beef and Texas had thousands of Longhorn cattle that had multiplied on the free-range during the Civil War. Fortunes could be made by driving these cattle to railheads in states such as Kansas. One of the most famous cattle trails was the Chisholm Trail. A branch of this trail went right through Georgetown up Brushy Street. This must-have brought thirsty cowboys to Turner's saloon. Several men in the Georgetown area organized trail drives and brought back a bonanza of cash. Secondly, the arrival of the railroad in 1878 had a profound and lasting impact. The Georgetown Tap Railroad was financed by local funds. It built a roadbed to Round Rock to connect with the International and Great Northern Railroad. This provided a means for products to be shipped to larger markets. Also, imported goods could be obtained more easily. Businesses such as a furniture factory were built along the railroad right-of-way. The third factor that spurred economic growth was the increased production of cotton. Advances in farming implements and seed greatly increased the potential yield per acre. Georgetown and other towns in Williamson County became cotton-producing centers.

When limestone became widely available as a building material, the lot to the south of Turner's was developed by J. H. Booth. Booth built a 35' by 125' two-story stone structure that housed a mercantile business on the first floor. They sold dry goods, hats, boots, saddles, and notions. The second floor housed the offices and meeting hall of the International Order of Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.). The second floor was reached by

an iron stairway on the southeast side of the building. (8)

In 1889 Turner's neighbor to the north built a 26' by 110' two-story limestone structure

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.

According to the 1889 Sanborn map, the store sold general merchandise. The lot was 120' deep, which resulted in a ten-foot alley. Turner's property still had the bar building in July 1889, but the map indicated that the lot was to be built out and have a metal roof. Turner took advantage of his neighbor's side, stone walls, and fit roof coffers into them at the two-story level. The building on the south was higher than the building to the north by about five feet. There

are openings in the south wall that allow rainwater to flow onto the bank building's roof, which has caused flooding into the bank building when the drain pipes and the roof have failed. Turner enclosed the front and rear of the building with rubble stone. The back wall is even with the northern neighbor, which left a ten-foot alley.

The 1890 Sanborn map shows an interior wall dividing the building down the middle

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with a barbershop in the north half and a restaurant in the south half.

The restaurant's kitchen was located in the southwest corner of the alley area. In April 1888, Turner put a lien on his property as security for a $250

debt owed to C. H. Booth. In the legal description, it is mentioned that the saloon property was run by a person named Heussey. 9 It seems that the enlarging of the building squeezed out Heussey.

Georgetown and Williamson County were growing rapidly during

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the 1870s and 80s.

The lots around the square were filling in with limestone housed businesses. The town lots were being occupied by grander houses encircled by white picket fences. A new Second Empire style courthouse replaced the county's third courthouse that was fast deteriorating. Architects Jasper Newton Preston and Frederick Ruffini of Austin drew up

the plans and the firm of John Didelot finished construction in less than a year. The county commissioners accepted the building on September 2, 1878. Of equal significance to the local economy and culture was the establishment of a Methodist-sponsored university in 1873. Southwestern University's Ladies Annex built-in 1878 also was done in the Second Empire style with the usual Mansard roof. (10)

The jail was built on the northeast corner of

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the courthouse square.

A public privy stood on the lawn. In 1872 the commissioner's court ruled that the privy must

not be locked, but be kept open for use, "anyone desiring exclusive privileges" must build one at his own expense. A permit was issued to A. S. Fisher in November 1872, and J. H.

Turner put up a

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tent there in 1889.

Privies continued in use

on the grounds until February 1894 when a sewage system was installed. Hitching posts and sidewalks were installed around the square in 1881. (11)

On May 26, 1902, J. H. Turner sold his property to A. S. Fisher for the sum of $3,340. (12) Fisher had been in Georgetown since 1871. Fisher was a lawyer in Georgetown in the offices of Fisher and Towns. As a Captain, he led a unit of men from Georgetown during the Spanish-American War. In 1901 he associated himself with Governor James Hogg and others in the Spindletop Oil Field. Judge Fisher had offices

in Fort Worth, Houston, and Shreveport, which he visited on his circuits to look after his oil interests. (13) On February 20, 1915, Governor James Ferguson appointed him as a district judge for Williamson and Travis counties.

On November 1, 1902, Thomas P. Hughes purchased the property from

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A. S. Fisher for $6,000.

Hughes assumed the two notes that J. H. Turner held when he sold the property to Fisher in May of 1902. Hughes gave Fisher the balance of $2,660 in cash. Thomas Proctor Hughes was a well-known attorney who had come to Georgetown in

1851. He sided with Governor Sam Houston against secession. Hughes was a delegate to the Secession Convention early in 1861 and cast his vote against secession. (14) On October 10, 1907, T. P. Hughes sold the property to S. E. Heard for the sum of $5,500. (15)

Near the turn of the century, several banks had been organized in Georgetown

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.

One of these was a private bank, the Merchants and Farmers Bank, established in 1898. When established, the bank conducted business from the Moses Steele building at 800 Brushy Street. In 1905 the bank was one of the first three banks to receive a state charter. The business was then incorporated as the Farmers State Bank. The first stockholders' meeting was held on August 24, 1905. The same men were elected to the board: A. A. Booty, president, Jno. L. Booty, vice-president, W. L

. Price, cashier, J. E. Humble, W. L. Mann, A. A. Booty, R. F. Young, Henry Lundblad, C. C. Cody, and W. L. Price, directors. The salary of the president was fixed at $125 per month for the remainder of the year. The cashier was to receive $100, and the bookkeeper received $80 per month. (16)

According to the minutes of the Board of Directors of the Farmers State Bank, November 4, 1909, a discussion was held concerning

moving the bank's place of business to the Heard building in the next block north on Brushy Street. (17) On December 30, 1909, S. A. Heard sold the north half of lot 8, a new map, to the Farmers State Bank for $6,000. (18)

An interesting side note is that the Texaco Oil Company was started

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by Georgetown men.

It had its beginning when R. E. Brooks and others formed the Texas Fuel Company in 1901. In 1902 Texas Fuel Company became the Texas Company. A. A. Booty, president of Fanners State Bank, was one of the original organizers. R. E. Brooks graduated from Southwestern University in 1883 and received his M. A. there in 1884. He studied law in the offices of Fisher

and Towns and was admitted to the bar in 1885. He married Fannie Booty in Georgetown in 1989. Brooks practiced law in the county until 1895 when he was appointed district judge of Travis and Williamson counties. He resigned from his post to enter the oil business in 1901. (19)

In May 1910 the officers of the bank were instructed to make and enter into a contract with W. C. Whitney to erect a bank building, not to exceed $9,200. J. W. Muller Manufacturing Company of Atlanta, Georgia, was chosen to supply furniture and fixtures. The front of the structure was to be removed, and be replaced by a more dignified one. The style chosen was Neoclassical, which befit the dignified nature of the new bank building. In 1909 Georgetown voters approved a $120,000 bond issue to build a new courthouse. The style was to be Neoclassical similar

to the bank's style of architecture. The cornerstone was laid on October 6, 1910. Architects were Page and Page of Austin. The general contractor was W. C. Whitney of Beaumont.

Gregory Free of Gregory Free and Associates, Austin, gave an architectural description of the front of the building as it looked in 1997

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.

Since the front of the bank building had changed very little since being built in 1912, the description is valid. The missing grates that are mentioned

were restored to the building in 2003.

As in its prototypes, the Farmers State Bank features two colossal, fluted Composite columns recessed between wide piers. In this instance, the "porch" is reduced to a shallow reveal, with the solid wall mass continuing behind the columns in the same plane as the entrance door. The piers are pierced with tall windows framed with a crossette architrave that springs from a heavy base and is surmounted by a crested shield. Each 1/1 double-hung window unit is divided horizontally by a transom bar and a solid panel below. Finishing the tops of the piers is a horizontal reeded band with a central modified triglyph. Held between the columns is the main entrance, the focus of the composition, with a wide single lite [sic] door flanked by sidelights and capped by a low broken-arched pediment applied to the door head. Above this, the rhythm of the door and sidelights is repeated with windows and carried to a splayed lintel with a central keystone. This arrangement makes for a monumental entrance, which originally flooded the tall volume of the interior space with light. Painted sheet metal is used for the door pediment and to cap the transom bars and related features. Originally, all window openings on the facade were covered by hinged iron grates wrought and welded in a classically geometric design. Some of these grates are still on the premises, though not in place. Otherwise, all window and door frames and trim are painted pine. The whole is capped by a [sic] denticulated entablature engraved with "THE FARMERS STATE BANK," and a low modillioned pediment applied to a solid, slightly stepped parapet. The tympanum is enriched by a central

blind lunette flanked by garlands of foliage.

It appears that the original two-story

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limestone building was gutted, with only the rubble walls on the north, south, and west remaining.

The roof was re-framed with trusses at that time to allow for the series skylights [sic] to be installed down the center of the space. This created the

great banking room still remembered by many, and which can be viewed, if in segments, by ascending to the added second floor.

One assumes that

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the earlier building's wood floors were also removed at that time and replaced with the modem concrete floor still present.

In 1910 the mosaic tile floors were

installed, areas which [sic] are still exposed, and most of which still exist in some form below the current carpeting. As attested by the early interior photograph of the bank, and also later primary accounts, the bank's interior was a splendid place. Five large skylights added soft illumination to that provided by the large front windows. The main banking room ceiling was coffered, framing the skylights and dividing the interior into three equal bays laterally and six bays of varying lengths longitudinally — the spacing affected by the large vault, a full-height feature on the south side of the space.