First National Bank of Rockport
Rockport, Aransas County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Chartered on October 8, 1890, the First National Bank of Aransas Pass (now Rockport) was organized by a group of businessmen led by John H. Traylor, James M. Hoopes, George W. Fulton, Jr., James C. Fulton, and Richard H. Wood. Located at Main and Water streets, the bank played a vital role in Rockport's growth and development. Its name was changed to First National Bank of Rockport in 1903. After surviving both the 1919 storm and the Great Depression, the bank moved to new quarters across the street from its first location in 1958, and to this site in 1974. (1990)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Chartered in 1890 by a group of coastal businessmen including members of the prominent Fulton family, this bank first served the town then known as Aransas Pass before adopting the Rockport name in 1903. It weathered a devastating 1919 storm and the Great Depression, remaining a fixture of the Gulf Coast community's growth for over a century.
Why it matters
The bank's survival through hurricanes and economic collapse reflects the resilience of the small commercial institutions that sustained coastal Texas towns through the turn of the century.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · John H. Traylor
- · George W. Fulton, Jr.
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Hoopes-Smith House
Rockport, TX
Local businessman and land developer James M. Hoopes had this Late Victorian Queen Anne home built between 1890 and 1892 in Rockport. For decades after 1894 it served as a hotel and boardinghouse, then in 1934 it was bought by T. Noah Smith, Sr., a prominent oilman and shipbuilder. Its turret, roof cresting, milled woodwork, and stained glass make it a beloved local landmark.
Fulton-Bruhl House
Rockport, TX
Built around 1868 on the Aransas County coast, this vernacular Texas home blends Greek Revival lines with Italianate porch details and oversized dormers. Business and civic leader James C. Fulton bought it in 1872, and in 1907 it passed to his son-in-law Albert L. Bruhl, a pharmacist and three-term mayor of Rockport. The house stayed in the Bruhl family for more than eighty years.
Bracht House
Rockport, TX
Rockport native Adolph L. Bracht opened his own wholesale and retail grocery in 1899 and spent decades shipping vegetables from local growers and the Rio Grande Valley to wider markets. A charter member of the Intracoastal Canal Association, he was active in his church and chamber of commerce until retiring in 1947. He and his wife Gertrude raised nine children in their Prairie-style house, built around the turn of the century with a wraparound porch and Doric columns.
Jackson Family Maritime Companies
Fulton, TX
In 1906 Roy Jackson opened the Jackson Fish Company on the Rockport waterfront, and with his brother Stephen built a fishing and oyster business that expanded into docks and channels as motorized boats came into use. Renamed Jackson Marine Services, the family enterprise reached across American coasts and, at its peak, employed more than 100 families while supplying repairs, ice, and a market to local fishers. Rising fuel costs and foreign competition led the Jacksons to sell their property and boats in 1990-91, closing an 85-year chapter.