First National Bank
Glen Rose, Somervell County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Hand hewn-native stone structure, built 1896 by A. P. Humphreys, as saloon. Lodge hall upstairs hosted dances, socials, stage shows. First National moved in, 1902, with such customers as Col. Charles Goodnight, trail-blazing cattleman. Scene of 1917 robbery and shooting of one bandit. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1964
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
A. P. Humphreys built this hand-hewn native stone structure in Glen Rose in 1896 as a saloon, with a lodge hall upstairs hosting dances, socials, and stage shows. In 1902 the First National Bank moved in, counting among its customers the trail-blazing cattleman Col. Charles Goodnight. The building saw a dramatic 1917 robbery in which one bandit was shot.
Why it matters
From frontier saloon to cattle-country bank, this sturdy stone building — and its brush with an Old West-style holdup — captures the rough-and-ready commercial life of a small Texas town on the ranching frontier.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
Glen Rose grew up along the Paluxy River in the hill country southwest of Fort Worth. In the late nineteenth century this was ranching land, still close to its frontier days. Cattle had made Texas fortunes after the Civil War, and towns like this served the ranchers, cowhands and farmers who worked the surrounding country.
The 1890s were a time of change for such towns. Small communities wanted the signs of a settled, prosperous place: solid buildings, lodges, social life and, before long, banks. A national bank, chartered under federal law and backed by federal oversight, signaled that a town had become a dependable place to do business.
By 1917 the old frontier was a memory, but small-town banks across Texas and the Southwest were still targets for armed robbers. Automobiles gave outlaws new speed, and the robbery recorded at this building belongs to that period, when the Wild West and the modern age overlapped.
People & events
A. P. Humphreys built this structure in 1896 from local stone, worked by hand. He built it as a saloon, which tells you something about the town's priorities and its customers. Upstairs, a lodge hall became a center of community life, with dances, socials and stage shows. For a small Texas town, this one building hosted both the rough trade of the bar and some of its more respectable gatherings.
In 1902 the First National Bank moved in, and the saloon building took on a sober new job. Among its customers was Col. Charles Goodnight, one of the best-known cattlemen in American history. Goodnight helped open trails that carried Texas cattle to northern markets, and he became a symbol of the cattle frontier. His name on the customer list shows how even a small-town bank sat within the wider world of Texas ranching.
In 1917 the building saw violence. The marker records a robbery and the shooting of one of the bandits. Beyond that the record on this marker is brief, and the details are best left to local historians. Still, it is easy to picture the scene: a quiet stone bank, a sudden holdup and a town reacting fast.
Its place in the American story
This building's story shows how small-town America changed between the 1890s and World War I. The same walls held a saloon and then a bank. That shift mirrors how many frontier towns moved from rough settlements toward steady commercial communities, with institutions tied into a national financial system.
The Goodnight connection links Glen Rose to one of the great American stories, the cattle trails that carried Texas beef across the country after the Civil War and helped feed growing cities. Ranching wealth flowed through local banks like this one, and those banks financed the next season of herds and land.
The 1917 robbery is a reminder that the Old West did not end on a single date. Bank holdups continued well into the twentieth century, and townspeople often confronted robbers themselves. This building holds both halves of that story: the hope of a stable town and the danger that kept testing it.
If you visit
Look closely at the stonework. The hand-hewn native stone is the building's signature, and it shows the skill of builders who worked with what the land around them provided. Picture the lodge hall upstairs filled with music on a Saturday night, while the street below carried ranch wagons and riders.
Glen Rose is a natural road-trip stop. The Paluxy River area is famous for its dinosaur tracks, and nearby state parkland lets families see them. Pairing ancient footprints with a frontier-era stone bank makes for a day that covers a lot of time.
The building is a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, so treat it with care, and respect any business or private use it has today. Walk the square, take in the old commercial buildings around it, and imagine a cattleman like Goodnight tying up outside to do his banking.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
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Related people
- · A. P. Humphreys
- · Charles Goodnight
Related events
- · 1917 bank robbery
Themes & tags
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