The Comanche National Bank
Comanche, Comanche County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The Comanche National Bank The Comanche National Bank was organized in December 1889 with beginning capital of $50,000. The primary organizer was John B. Chilton, who met with other local businessmen in his second-floor downtown living quarters to establish the bank and elect a board of directors. The first elected officers were J.B. Chilton, President; T.J. Holmsley, Vice President; W.B. Cunningham, Cashier; and R.V. Neely, Assistant Cashier. Opened to the public in March 1890, the Comanche National Bank saw immediate success, as Comanche was poised for economic growth by the early 1890s. The railroad arrived in 1891, the same year in which the county constructed a new courthouse. Also in 1891, the bank directors purchased the lot on the southwest corner of the courthouse square and constructed a building that served the bank's operations until 1969. T.J. Holmsley followed J.B. Chilton as bank president from 1891 until 1901. Chilton returned and served for the next 32 years, until his death in 1933. William C. Chilton then became president and served until retiring in 1959. With a change in control, Dr. J.C. Terrell was elected chairman of the bank's board of directors in 1959. He served until his death in 1980. During his tenure, presidents Jack W. Moore, from 1960 to 1972, and Reginald K. Waggoner, from 1973 to 1979, continued to provide strong leadership that helped the financial institution weather economic downturns and prosper during periods of growth. Located at this site since 1987, Comanche National Bank continues to serve the community as a significant part of Comanche's business history. (2004)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Organized in December 1889 with $50,000 in capital, the Comanche National Bank was the brainchild of John B. Chilton, who first gathered local businessmen in his upstairs living quarters to elect a board. It opened in March 1890 just as the town was poised to boom—the railroad reached Comanche in 1891 and a new courthouse rose the same year. Under Chilton's long presidency and those who followed, the bank weathered downturns and prospered for more than a century as a fixture of the courthouse square.
Why it matters
Local banks like this one supplied the credit that turned dusty county seats into thriving commercial towns, and its story captures the railroad-era economic quickening of small-town Texas.
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Related people
- · John B. Chilton
Themes & tags
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