First National Bank of Paris
Paris, Lamar County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Organized and opened for business at its present location in 1886 by William J. McDonald (1844-1926), Civil War veteran and lawyer. Earlier he had opened the Citizens Bank of Clarksville and in 1889 he established a Delta County Bank. Under his shrewd leadership the banks prospered. Although careful in the granting of loans, he was also lenient about their repayment and seldom foreclosed. Aside from McDonald, the original stockholders included George F. Hicks, A. G. Hubbard, Edward Reuss, and R. F. Scott, Sr. McDonald was bank president for many years and upon his death, left the bulk of his estate to the University of Texas to erect an observatory. In 1939 McDonald Observatory, in West Texas, was dedicated. Present bank building was completed in 1916, but less than 3 months later was gutted by a ruinous city-wide fire. Within the year, however, it was restored. Throughout the years, the bank has been a bulwark of the area's economy. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, its loans enabled many merchants and farmers to stay in business. In 1951 the bank portion of the building was remodeled. The present chairman of the board is Michel T. Halbouty and president is C. Glynn Lowe.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
William J. McDonald, a Civil War veteran and lawyer, opened this bank at its present location in 1886, one of several banks he built across northeast Texas through shrewd, patient management—careful in lending yet slow to foreclose. The present building went up in 1916 only to be gutted within months by a citywide fire, then rebuilt within the year, and during the Great Depression the bank's loans kept many local merchants and farmers afloat. McDonald left the bulk of his estate to the University of Texas, funding the McDonald Observatory dedicated in West Texas in 1939.
Why it matters
The bank shows how local finance underwrote the survival of a farming region through fire and Depression, while its founder's bequest tied a small-town bank to one of the nation's great astronomical observatories.
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Related people
- · William J. McDonald
- · Michel T. Halbouty
- · C. Glynn Lowe
Related events
- · Great Depression
- · Dedication of McDonald Observatory
Themes & tags
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