Citizens National Bank
Weatherford, Parker County, Texas
Marker Inscription
James Robertson (J.R.) Couts (1833-1904), a native of Tennessee, brought his family to Texas in 1858. Soon after the end of the Civil War, in which he served with a Texas frontier guard unit, Couts embarked on a long cattle drive to California. After wintering in Colorado and selling his stock in California, he returned to Weatherford in 1868 with $50,000 in gold. In partnership with John A. Fain, he set up the Couts & Fain Bank on the Courthouse Square. By 1871 Fain had left the partnership and was succeeded by W.E. Hughes. At that time the bank was known as Hughes, Couts & Company. Two years later Hughes left, and Couts' new partner was Henry Warren. The institution was renamed J.R. Couts & Company. By 1882 Warren had left the company. Couts applied for a federal banking charter, which was granted under the name Citizens National Bank. A two-story stone building was completed on the corner of the Courthouse Square and N. Main Street in 1885. The bank continued to grow and prosper over the years, and in 1927 a merger was completed with the Parker County National Bank. Located in the same building for over one hundred years, Citizens National Bank is an important part of Weatherford's history. (1988)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Tennessee-born J.R. Couts (1833–1904) came to Texas in 1858 and, after serving in a frontier guard during the Civil War, drove cattle to California and returned to Weatherford in 1868 with $50,000 in gold. He parlayed that stake through a string of frontier banking partnerships until, in the 1880s, he secured a federal charter for Citizens National Bank and built its stone home on the Courthouse Square in 1885. The bank endured for over a century in the same building, merging with the Parker County National Bank in 1927.
Why it matters
Couts's rise from trail driver to national banker captures how cattle-drive fortunes seeded the financial institutions of the postwar Texas frontier.
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Related people
- · J.R. Couts
- · W.E. Hughes
- · Henry Warren
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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