It began as many small businesses do…as an idea to meet a need. Such was the case with the formation of First State Bank of Uvalde when a group of local businessmen received a state bank charter on July 6, 1907. Their desire was simply to meet the financial needs of a growing farming and ranching region of Texas. At that time, they had no premonition that the bank, in many respects, would become a unique financial institution.

Capital stock of the fledgling bank was valued at $30,000. The bank had only three officers, A.R. Bowman, president; I.L.Martin, vice president and D.W. Barnhill, cashier. Its first chairman, Tom McNelly, was a descendent of the famous Texas Ranger captain, Leander McNelly, who brought law and order to the region 30 years earlier.

Although the exact location of the bank in 1907 is not known, it is generally accepted that at one time it occupied a corner of D.W. Barnhill’s drug store. The bank occupied other temporary downtown buildings, eventually settling into a location on North Getty and West Nopal Streets in 1920.

In the meantime, a major change in bank leadership occurred. In 1913, ranchers T.H. McNelly and George Kennedy, along with Congressman John Nance Garner, bought controlling interests in First State Bank. During Garner’s long association with the bank, he served as Chairman and director of the bank. McNelly served fourteen years as president, followed by Garner’s son, Tully.

Meanwhile, Garner, also know as “Cactus Jack”, continued to pursue his political aspirations. Following his own unsuccessful campaign for president, Garner was elected U.S. Vice President with President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932. His long-term political and banking experience became invaluable during the Great Depression. In 1933, the federal government, fearing a loss of confidence in the nation’s banks, ordered all banks to close and observe a “Bank Holiday”. Weaker banks failed; when First State Bank ...

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