First National Bank Building
McKinney, Collin County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Entrepreneur Francis Emerson (1815-1905) founded a McKinney banking firm in 1869, which developed into the First National Bank in 1882. First National bought this site in 1912 and built this classical revival style building. Glazed bricks and massive columns support classical details of cast stone and a gilded eagle. Collin County National Bank, founded in 1883, occupied the building from 1935 to 1958. First Savings and Loan Association officed here from 1958 to 1973. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1986
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Entrepreneur Francis Emerson opened a McKinney banking firm in 1869 that grew into the First National Bank by 1882. In 1912 the bank built this classical revival landmark, its glazed brick and massive columns crowned by cast-stone detail and a gilded eagle. Over the decades it housed a succession of Collin County banks and lenders, a monument to small-town commercial ambition.
Why it matters
The building reflects the confident growth of local banking and business that powered Texas county-seat towns through the Gilded Age and into the twentieth century.
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Related people
- · Francis Emerson
Themes & tags
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