First National Bank, Thomas, OK (Charter 7278)

A 1909 photograph of the First National Bank of Thomas, Oklahoma. Courtesy of the Library of Congress

First National Bank, Thomas, OK (Chartered 1904 - Open past 1935)

Town History

First National Bank located on the corner of Broadway Avenue and Main Street, Thomas, Oklahoma, ca2023. Courtesy Google Maps

Thomas is a city in Custer County, Oklahoma. The population was 1,143 at the 2020 census. In 1910 the population was 1,371, declining to 1,220 by 1940.

Thomas was named for William Thomas, who owned a general store and served as postmaster, when the first post office was established at the store on February 12, 1894, while this area was part of Oklahoma Territory. Joseph W. Morris claimed a homestead at the site during the Cheyenne-Arapaho opening in 1892. The Oklahoma Railway Townsite platted Morris' land in 1902, the same year that the Blackwell, Enid and Southwestern Railroad (later the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway) constructed a line through Thomas. In 1906, the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway (later the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway) also built a line through the town. Most of the early settlers were members of the Amish, the Dunkards, and the Church of the United Brethren in Christ religious groups.

Thomas had two National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and both of those banks issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

• Organized May 2, 1904
• Chartered May 28, 1904
• Succeeded Farmers & Merchants Bank
• Bank was Open past 1935
• For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
• Changed to a State Charter as First Bank of Thomas December 21, 2017
• Still in business as First Bank of Thomas (August 2025)

On Wednesday, July 16, 1902, a territorial charter was granted to the Farmers' and Merchants' Bank of Thomas, Custer County, tor twenty years and with $10,000 capital stock. The incorporators were C. Warren Scott, Walker Moore, Beeks Erick, J.R. Crabtree, J.H. Carter, J.W. Walters and E.A. Lilly, H.E. Bonebrake, Ely C. Borrows of Weatherford, Wm. Thomas of Thomas, Robert Reed of Shawnee.

In September 1902, T.S. Garvin resigned his position as deputy Register of Deeds and accepted a position in the Farmers & Merchants Bank at Thomas.

In April 1904, it was announced that the Farmers and Merchants Bank of Thomas would be merged into the First National Bank. The chartered had been secured with a capital stock of $25,000.

The end of January 1907, F.G. Delaney was elected cashier of the First National Bank of Taloga in the place of G.D. Foster who became cashier of the First National Bank of Thomas. The Thomas bank was owned by Jerome Harrington and A.H. Keith. Mr. Garvin was cashier of the First National Bank and some months ago his health began to fail. He traveled in New Mexico, Colorado, and California, but found no relief. Some weeks ago he returned to Thomas seemingly to await the end which came on February 4, 1907. He was born at Lawrence, Kansas in 1872 and received a good common school education, entering Lawrence High School. During the years 1892 and 1893 he completed a course in the Emporia Business College. In the fall of 1893 Mr. Garvin came to Oklahoma taking a claim three miles southeast of Thomas. He was deputy register of deeds of Custer County under W.C. Russell in 1901-2. In September 1902 he accepted the position of assistant cashier of the Farmers and Merchants Bank.

In January 1911, the Sentinel State Bank and the Citizens State Bank both of Sentinel were consolidated with D.E. Foster of Thomas as president. W.A. McAtee of Sentinel and E.E. Huff of Thomas, vice presidents; D.W. Study, cashier; J.W. Lambright, assistant cashier and Dodge Berry, teller. Mr. Foster was also president of the First National Bank of Thomas.

In February 1912, the officers were E.D. Foster, president; E.E. Huff, cashier; G.E. Burson, assistant cashier; and C.A. Williams, teller. The bank had total resources of $204,375.92 with capital and surplus $30,000, undivided profits $2,260.83, circulation $25,000, and deposits $147,115.09.

Official Bank Title

1: The First National Bank of Thomas, OK

Bank Note Types Issued

1902 Red Seal $20 proof territorial approved approved June 16, 1904. Courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution Archives

1902 Plain Back $10 bank note with faded signatures. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

1929 Type 2 $10 bank note with SN A000001 and printed signatures of Charles E. Shaw, Cashier and E.D. Foster, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $391,080 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1904 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 31,616 notes (25,152 large size and 6,464 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 - 800	Territory, Oklahoma
1902 Date Back	3x10-20	1 - 1950
1902 Plain Back	3x10-20	1951 - 5488
1929 Type 1	6x10	1 - 654
1929 Type 1	6x20	1 - 170
1929 Type 2	10	1 - 1336
1929 Type 2	20	1 - 184

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1904 - 1935):

Presidents:

• John Silvanus Huston, 1904-1908
• Edwin Daniel Foster, 1909-1935

Cashiers:

• Thomas S. Garvin, 1904-1906
• Edwin Daniel Foster, 1907-1908
• Elmer E. Huff, 1909-1918
• Charles Edward Shaw, 1919-1933
• Charles Harold Johnson, 1934-1935

Other Known Bank Note Signers

• No other known bank note signers for this bank

Bank Note History Links

• First National Bank, Thomas, OK History (NB Lookup)
• Oklahoma Bank Note History (BNH Wiki)

Sources

• Thomas, OK, 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
• First National Bank, Thomas, Oklahoma, 1909. Photograph Retrieved from the Library of Congress.