FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE McGregor, TX – May 28, 2014 – First National Bank McGregor today announced that Monday, July 16, 2014 will mark the bank’s 125th year of operation. Established on July 16, 1889, First National Bank McGregor is the oldest bank in McLennan County and the seventh oldest National bank in Texas still operating under its original charter. The bank has served Central Texas for seven generations. Historic photos of both the bank and the City of McGregor are available to media members upon request. According to minutes from the bank’s first board of director’s meeting, held on June 27, 1889, the following actions were taken: • Samuel Amsler was appointed president. • W. Goodrich Jones was named vice president. • Cashiers would be paid $100 a month, worth $2,610.00 a month by today’s standards.*** • A bookkeeper would be hired at $50 a month. The bank’s first published “Report of Condition” dated December 11, 1889 lists total assets at $106,103.21, equivalent to $2.77M by today’s standards.*** ***Source: www.measuringworth.com An original organizer of the bank, Samuel Amsler would serve a 38-year term as its president. He was a civil war veteran and prominent McLennan County businessman who oversaw agricultural interests and owned the S. Amsler and Company lumberyard. Amsler also owned the land around McGregor Springs that would become the city of McGregor in 1886. In the book A History of Central and Western Texas, Volume 2 by Captain B.B. Paddock, Amsler is characterized as “a man of most extraordinary executive ability and of unquestioned honesty and integrity. He is charitable towards others’ opinions and is ever mindful of others’ rights and sensibilities.” Amsler and his wife Martha had four children, and the family were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church of McGregor. Throughout its 125-year history, First National Bank McGregor has served the personal and business banking needs of Central Texas, while employing the latest technology available in the banking industry. In 1957 the bank moved from its original location at 217 S. Main to a more modern building two blocks to the south at 401 S. Main. In 2006 the bank opened its South Bosque location on Highway 84 on the eastern edge of McGregor. The full-service South Bosque facility was established to serve the growing population between McGregor and Waco and to support the bank’s online and mobile banking initiatives with the fastest Internet speeds. About First National Bank McGregor First National Bank McGregor offers a full array of trust services and financial products, ranging from traditional, interest-bearing checking, savings, money market and CD accounts to modern conveniences such as debit cards, credit cards, ATMs and Internet banking. First National Bank’s lending team offers commercial, agriculture, real estate, mortgage and auto loans, as well as all types of personal loans with terms designed to meet the specific needs of their customers. For more information, visit the bank’s website at: www.fnb-mcgregor.com ,or visit the bank’s Facebook page. ###
Historical Timeline
First National Bank McGregor 1889 Events Feb. 9 – U.S. Department of Agriculture is Established March 4 – Benjamin Harrison Inaugurated as 23rd President March 23 – President Harrison Opens Oklahoma for White Colonization March 31 – Eiffel Tower in Paris Opens April 6 – First Consumer Kodak Camera is Sold April 22 – Oklahoma Land Rush Begins May 1 – Germany’s Bayer Co., Introduces Aspirin in Powder Form May 31 – Johnstown Flood in Pennsylvania Kills 2,209 June 15 – Sherlock Holmes Adventure Series of Books is Released July 8 – Wall Street Journal Begins Publishing July 16 – First National Bank McGregor Receives its National Bank Charter Aug. 13 – William Gray Patents Coin-Operated Telephone Sept. 28 – The General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) Defines Length of a Meter. Oct 6 – Thomas Edison Shows His First Motion Picture Nov. 2 – North and South Dakota Become the 39th and 40th U.S. States Respectively Nov. 23 – Debut of First Jukebox Dec. 24 – Back Peddle Brake for Bicycles Patented by Daniel Stover and William Hance Source: HistoryOrb.com – https://www.historyorb.com/events/date/1889 First National Bank McGregor Timeline Since 1889 1886 – The City of McGregor, Texas is Founded 1889 – First National Bank McGregor Receives its National Bank Charter 1890 – Congress Establishes Yosemite National Park 1891 – Carnegie Hall Opens in New York City 1893 – World’s Fair Opens in Chicago 1894 – National Labor Day Holiday is Established 1899 – First National Bank McGregor Celebrates its 10th Anniversary 1899 – Baylor University Fields its First Football Team 1903 – First Successful Wright Brothers Flight at Kitty Hawk 1908 – Ford Model T Introduced 1912 – Titanic Hits Iceberg and Sinks 1914 – The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand Marks the Start of WWI. 1914 – First National Bank McGregor Celebrates its 25th Anniversary 1920 – First Commercial Radio Broadcast Aired 1923 – TIME Magazine Founded 1927 – Lindbergh Flies Solo Across the Atlantic 1928 – First Mickey Mouse Cartoon Introduced in Theaters 1929 – First Academy Awards is Held in Los Angeles, California 1931 – Empire State Building Completed in NYC 1932 – Air Conditioning Invented 1934 – Bonnie and Clyde Killed in Ambush 1937 – Golden Gate Bridge Opens 1938 – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Debuts as First Full-Length Animated Cartoon 1939 – First National Bank McGregor Celebrates its 50th Anniversary 1941 – Japanese Attack Pearl Harbor 1942 – The United States Enters WWII 1944 – D-Day Invasion 1945 – Microwave Oven Invented 1947- Chuck Yeager Breaks the Sound Barrier 1948 – State of Israel Founded 1951 – First Color TV Introduced 1952 – Elizabeth Alexandra Mary becomes Elizabeth II, Queen of England 1955 – Disneyland Opens 1956 – Elvis Appears on Ed Sullivan Show 1957 – First National Bank McGregor opens new location at 401 S. Main 1957 – Dr. Seuss Publishes “The Cat in the Hat” 1960 – First Televised Presidential Debates 1963 – President John F. Kennedy Assassinated 1964 – The Beatles Arrive in the U.S. 1964 – First National Bank McGregor Celebrates its 75th Anniversary 1965 – Vietnam War Begins 1968 – Dr. Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy Assassinated 1969 – Neil Armstrong Becomes First Man to Walk on the Moon 1972 – Mark Spitz Wins Seven Olympic Gold Medals in Swimming 1973 – Sears Tower Completed in Chicago 1977 – Star Wars Movie Released 1979 – Mother Teresa Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 1980 – Ted Turner Establishes CNN 1985 – Wreck of the Titanic Found 1986 – Space Shuttle Challenger Explodes 1989 – Berlin Wall Falls 1989 – First National Bank McGregor Celebrates its 100th Anniversary 1991 – Collapse of the Soviet Union 1994 – Chunnel Connecting Britain and France Opens 1997 – Tiger Woods Wins Masters Golf Tournament 1998 – Titanic Most Successful Movie Ever 2001 – Apple Debuts the iPod 2001 – Terrorists Attack the World Trade Center on 9-11 2004 – Facebook is Introduced 2005 – Hurricane Katrina Devastates New Orleans 2006 – First National Bank McGregor Opens Full Service South Bosque Location 2007 – Apple Debuts the iPhone 2009 – Barack Obama is Sworn in as the 44th U.S. President, and the First Black Person to Hold the Office 2010 – Apple Debuts the iPad 2011 – Death of Osama Bin Laden 2011 – Baylor’s Robert Griffin III Wins 77th Heisman Trophy 2012 – England Celebrates Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee 2013 – Baylor Bear’s Win Big 12 Football Championship 2014 – First National Bank McGregor Celebrates its #125th Anniversary Source: About.com