Industry State Bank
Industry, Austin County, Texas
Marker Inscription
ON FEBRUARY 11, 1911, A GROUP OF LOCAL CITIZENS TOOK THE FIRST STEPS IN FORMING A BANK TO BE CALLED FIRST GUARANTY STATE BANK OF INDUSTRY. DR. B.E. KNOLLE SERVED AS THE BANK’S FIRST PRESIDENT AND E. LINDEMANN SERVED AS FIRST VICE PRESIDENT. BY JUNE OF THAT YEAR, THE BANK OPENED FOR BUSINESS AT 1559 MAIN STREET. SHAREHOLDER AND CASHIER H.L. SCHULZE SERVED AS THE BANK’S ONLY SALARIED EMPLOYEE, WHILE HIS ASSISTANT H.H. BOELSCHE RECEIVED HOURLY PAY. IN SEPTEMBER 1919, SCHULZE’S DAUGHTER, THUSNELDE, WAS HIRED BY THE BANK AND SHE CONTINUED AS AN EMPLOYEE FOR 49 YEARS, UNTIL HER RETIREMENT IN 1968. WHEN H.L. SCHULZE DIED IN 1926, BOELSCHE WAS NAMED AS HIS REPLACEMENT. BOELSCHE MANAGED THE BANK UNTIL HIS DEATH IN 1956, WHEN ARNO KREBS BECAME THE BANK’S PRESIDENT. BECAUSE OF A CHANGE IN THE TEXAS BANKING STRUCTURE, THE BANK’S NAME WAS CHANGED TO INDUSTRY STATE BANK IN 1927. THE DEPRESSION CAUSED A DOWNTURN IN THE DEPOSITS AND INCOME OF INDUSTRY STATE BANK. WHILE DEPOSITS HAD PEAKED AT $206,000 IN 1924, THE LOW POINT FOR DEPOSITS OCCURRED AT THE END OF 1932 WHEN THEY FELL TO $95,000. DEPOSITS WOULD NOT AGAIN REACH THEIR 1924 LEVELS UNTIL 1937. A NEW BANK BUILDING WAS CONSTRUCTED AT THE MAIN STREET LOCATION IN 1957, AND BY 1962, THE BANK’S ASSETS HAD GROWN TO $1,500,000. THE BANK RELOCATED TO A NEW STRUCTURE IN 1973 AT THE CORNER OF HIGHWAY 159 AND HIGHWAY 109. INDUSTRY STATE BANK ACQUIRED ITS FIRST ADDITIONAL BANKING FACILITY, NEW ULM STATE BANK, IN 1989. THE INTEGRATION OF IMPROVED BANKING TECHNOLOGY THROUGHOUT ITS EXISTENCE HAS ENABLED INDUSTRY STATE BANK TO CONTINUE TO SERVE THE CITIZENS OF THE REGION WITH BANKING FACILITIES IN FIFTEEN COMMUNITIES.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In February 1911 a group of citizens in the tiny German-Texan community of Industry organized a local bank, opening for business that June on Main Street with a single salaried employee. The institution weathered the Great Depression — deposits fell by more than half before recovering — and grew steadily across the 20th century, one longtime employee staying on the job for 49 years. Renamed Industry State Bank in 1927, it expanded into a multi-community network.
Why it matters
Small-town banks like this one were the financial backbone of rural America, quietly enduring the Depression and knitting scattered farming communities into the wider economy.
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Related people
- · Dr. B.E. Knolle
- · H.L. Schulze
- · H.H. Boelsche
Related events
- · Great Depression
Themes & tags
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