Western National Bank, Fort Worth, TX (Charter 7165)

Postcard of the Western National Bank of Fort Worth, Texas, ca1910s. The building, located on the corner of Ninth and Houston Streets, was occupied in January 1907. Courtesy of Adam Stroup

Western National Bank, Fort Worth, TX (Chartered 1904 - Liquidated 1915)

Town History

Statement of Condition of the Western National Bank of Fort Worth on opening day, April 11, 1904.

Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in Texas and the 12th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly 350 square miles into four other counties: Denton, Parker, Wise, and Johnson. According to the 2020 U.S. census, Fort Worth's population was 927,720. Fort Worth is the second-largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area, which is the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in the United States.

The city of Fort Worth was established in 1849 as an army outpost on a bluff overlooking the Trinity River. Fort Worth has historically been a center of the Texas Longhorn cattle trade. It still embraces its Western heritage and traditional architecture and design. Nearby Dallas has held a population majority since the 1950s, and Fort Worth has become one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States in recent years, particularly in the 21st century, and has more than doubled its population since 2000.

As a stop on the legendary Chisholm Trail, Fort Worth was stimulated by the business of the cattle drives and became a brawling, bustling town. Millions of head of cattle were driven north to market along this trail. Fort Worth became the center of the cattle drives, and later, the ranching industry. It was given the nickname of Cowtown.

During the Civil War, Fort Worth suffered from shortages of money, food, and supplies. The population dropped as low as 175, but began to recover during Reconstruction. By 1872, Jacob Samuels, William Jesse Boaz, and William Henry Davis had opened general stores. The next year, Tidball and Wilson established a private banking house which became Tidball, Van Zandt, and Company in 1874.

Fort Worth had 14 National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and 12 of those banks issued National Bank Notes. North Fort Worth had 1 National Bank chartered during the Bank Note Era, The Exchange National Bank of North Fort Worth, Charter 8287, and it issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

• Organized February 19, 1904
• Chartered March 11, 1904
• Liquidated October 1, 1915

Monday, April 11, 1904, marked the formal opening of the Western National Bank of Fort Worth at the northeast corner of Tenth and Main Streets. A unique feature was the devotion of considerable space to a ladies' room containing comfortable chairs, well-equipped desks and every convenience where they could prepare their books, checks, etc., undisturbed, leaving the ordinary bank desks for the use of the hurrying masculine depositors. On the Main Street front, two deep bulk windows occupied the spaces to the side of the main entrance. Beginning at these windows and running back into the structure for a considerable distance was the ladies' room on one side and the office of the president, W.H. Eddleman, on the other. Running from the doorway at an angle to the edge of the fireproof vault in the middle of the room to the rear of the center was the banking railing of mahogany containing the cashier's and tellers' windows. A directors' room would be fitted up south of the vault while the space north of it would be used for the force of bookkeepers and other employees. The room was finished in a light tint of blue which together with the large number of windows made it one of the lightest business rooms in the city. The capital stock was $300,000. The officers and partial office force would be W.H. Eddleman, Mineral Wells, president; Cicero Smith, Mineral Wells, vice president; E.M. Lanham, Weatherford, cashier; Claude McCauley, Breckenridge, assistant cashier; W.H. Eddleman, Cisco, assistant cashier; L.R. Buchanan, Weatherford, bookkeeper. The directors were W.H. Eddleman, Cicero Smith, H.W. Kuteman, an attorney of Weatherford; William Bohning, president of the Bank of Ranger, Ranger, Texas; George P. Long of Weatherford; Wiley Blair of Coleman, Lyeseght & Co., Wichita Falls; J.M. Radford of the Radford Grocery Co. of Abilene; Joe Carver of Carver & Frierson & Co. of Fort Worth; and J. Doss Miller of De Leon.

In August 1904, Edwin M. Lanham, cashier of the Western National Bank of Fort Worth and son of Governor Lanham, owing to ill-health resigned. He would become a cattleman.

In January 1905, the new Sterling County Bank was established by Claud McCauley as president and Mr. E. Westbrook as cashier. Mr. McCauley was well-know in banking circles as vice president of the first National Bank of Breckenridge, Texas, and cashier of the Western National Bank of Ft. Worth as well as a stockholder in other banks. He previously was a bookkeeper for the Trammel & Co. banking house at Sweetwater.

In January 1907, the Western National Bank moved from the corner of Tenth and Main Streets to its handsome new building on the corner of Ninth and Houston Streets. The new building was one of the largest in the city as far as number of rooms; there were 130 rooms available for offices. The building was first started by J.M. Shelton who had the basement excavated. He then sold the property to James Moore who sold it back in a short time to Mr. Shelton who sold it to the Western National Bank who continued the work. The bank would be handsomely fitted out in mahogany and marble with ornamental plastering. There were three vaults, rooms for officers and directors, a ladies' reception room, and an elevator in the corner of the building. The woodwork was done in white enamel and doors were of mahogany. The lobby was 16 X 30 feet and a cigar stand was planned for here.

In December 1908, the Western National Bank occupied the ground floor of its own specially constructed building which was a five-story brick structure valued at over $225,000 and located in the heart of the business district. The paid-in capital was $400,000 and surplus and undivided profits $97,930.78. On November 27, the deposits amounted to $944,075.11, an increase of more than $100,000 in two months and the total resources at that time amounted to $1,832,442.11. W.H. Eddleman who was largely instrumental in the organization of the bank, was president; Rufus Coy, formerly cashier of the National Bank of the Republic in Kansas City, was vice president; and O.P. Haney, former manager of the Worth Hotel, was cashier.

In January 1914, the directors elected were George P. Levy, W.H. Eddleman, Cicero Smith, F.H. McFarland, W.G. Burton, O.P. Haney, Tom B. Owens, George E. Miller, Rufus Coy, T.J. Peniston, and L.L. Hawes. The officers were W.H. Eddleman, president; Cicero Smith, F.H. McFarland, and Rufus Coy, vice presidents; O.P. Haney, cashier; F.A. Rogers, and P.C. Levy assistant cashiers.

At the close of business, December 31, 1914, the Western National Bank reported loans and discounts $968,939.94, U.S. bonds to secure circulation $400,000, and total assets of $2,131,547.36. The capital stock was $400,000, Surplus and undivided profits 84,985.21, circulation $543,000, and individual deposits of $310,309.45.

A 1915 advertisement for the Texas State Bank which acquired the Western National Bank Building in that year. New money for holiday gifts was advertised which included Silver, Gold and Currency.

On Saturday, August 14, 1915, the Western National Bank mailed notices to depositors to withdraw their balances as soon as they could accurately ascertain them as the bank was liquidating. Depositors Monday who had not received the notices and who attempted to make deposits were notified and though the deposits were not accepted, passbooks were retained so they could be balanced preparatory to final settlement. The capital stock of the bank was $400,000, but deposits were reported at less than $200,000. The Western National had been carrying an account with the Farmers and Mechanics National Bank which was handling collections of the Western National. The Western National would remain open for a few more months pending completion of the liquidation process. In September 1915, the deed to the Western National Bank building from the Western National Building Co. to the Bankers Home Building Co. was filed for record in the county clerk's office. The consideration was given as $170,000, which included $45,000 in cash and the assumption of a mortgage for $125,000. A release of the deed of trust to the building given to Ben O. Smith as trustee for the clearing house banks in connection with the liquidation of the Western National Bank was also filed for record. In October, the Texas State Bank announced their removal from Main and Tenth Streets to the building formerly occupied by the Western National Bank, now the Texas State Bank Building, corner Ninth and Houston Streets. W.L. Smallwood was president, Jno. E. Owens, vice president; and B.B. Samuels, cashier.

On January 27, 1909, the charter was approved for the Texas State Bank of Fort Worth with capital of $100,000. The incorporators were W.L. Smallwood, W.R. Smith, Colorado; W.S. Smallwood, El Paso, and others. Otho Houston was president of the newly organized Texas State Bank to be located at Ninth and Main Streets. A corner entrance was constructed, fixtures installed, and a new awning was planned.

Official Bank Title

1: The Western National Bank of Fort Worth, TX

Bank Note Types Issued

1902 Red Seal $20 bank note with pen signature of W.H. Eddleman, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $2,459,450 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1904 and 1915. This consisted of a total of 196,756 notes (196,756 large size and No small size notes).

This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:

Series/Type	Sheet/Denoms	Serial#s	Sheet Comments
1902 Red Seal	3x10-20	1 - 19000
1902 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 30189

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1904 - 1915):

Presidents:

• William Harrison Eddleman, 1904-1907
• George P. Levy, 1908-1909
• William Harrison Eddleman, 1910-1914
• Romulus John Rhome, 1915-1915

Cashiers:

• Claud McCauley, 1904-1904
• Patrick H. Edwards, 1905-1907
• Otto Philip Haney, 1908-1915

Other Known Bank Note Signers

• Cicero Smith, VP 1904...1915

Bank Note History Links

• Western National Bank, Fort Worth, TX History (NB Lookup)
• Texas Bank Note History (BNH Wiki)

Sources

• Fort Worth, TX, on Wikipedia
• Don C. Kelly, National Bank Notes, A Guide with Prices. 6th Edition (Oxford, OH: The Paper Money Institute, 2008).
• Dean Oakes and John Hickman, Standard Catalog of National Bank Notes. 2nd Edition (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1990).
• Banks & Bankers Historical Database (1782-1935), https://spmc.org/bank-note-history-project