Briggs State Bank
Briggs, Burnet County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The Briggs State Bank was chartered on May 27, 1909. Constructed that spring, this limestone and brick building is typical of a commercial architecture style once popular in Texas. It features a three-bay front with central entry and transoms, and decorative brickwork detailing. The bank and town flourished for fifteen more years, with an economy centered on cotton and wool production. In the mid-1920s, changing agricultural practices weakened the local economy. After a massive fire destroyed much of the town, including most of the businesses on this street, the bank closed in 1928, a year before the Great Depression. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2002
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Chartered in 1909 and built that spring of limestone and brick, the Briggs State Bank anchored a small Burnet County town whose economy ran on cotton and wool. Its three-bay front with transoms and decorative brickwork typified the commercial style of early-20th-century rural Texas. Shifting farm practices weakened the town in the mid-1920s, and after a fire swept the business district the bank closed in 1928—one year ahead of the Great Depression.
Why it matters
The building embodies the boom-and-bust cycle of countless small farm-country banks whose fortunes rose and fell with cotton, wool, and the coming Depression.
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