Cottonwood Bank and Post Office
Cottonwood, Callahan County, Texas
Marker Inscription
W. F. Griffin opened a bank about 1911 in this small frame building. With Griffin as a director, Paul Ramsey served as the first president. His duties included teller, cashier, loan officer and custodian. When the railroad bypassed Cottonwood, merchants and residents moved away. In January 1915, the bank closed. In 1918 Hazel Respess opened a post office in the building and ran it for the next 50 years. In 1975, postal service here was stopped. This spot has been a gathering place for the community. (1978)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Around 1911 W. F. Griffin opened a small frame bank in Cottonwood, where a single officer, Paul Ramsey, served as teller, cashier, loan officer, and custodian all at once. When the railroad bypassed the town, its people drifted away and the bank closed in 1915; Hazel Respess later ran a post office out of the building for fifty years, keeping it a gathering place long after commerce had gone.
Why it matters
The little building charts the rise and slow fade of a rural Texas community whose fortunes rose and fell with the route of the railroad.
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Related people
- · W. F. Griffin
- · Paul Ramsey
- · Hazel Respess
Themes & tags
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