South Texas National Bank, Houston, TX (Charter 4350)

The South Texas National Bank, located at 213 Main Street, Houston, Texas. Designed by C.D. Hill & Co., of Dallas, Texas, probably the most expensive feature in proportion was the main spandrel in the front gable after the classic design of a cornucopia, representing the horn of plenty, carved from solid marble. The building opened to the public on April 4, 1910.

South Texas National Bank, Houston, TX (Chartered 1890 - Liquidated 1912)

Town History

View of the main banking room in 1910.

Houston is the most populous city in Texas, fourth-most populous city in the United States, most populous city in the Southern United States, as well as the sixth-most populous in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in 2020. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the seat of Harris County. The city of Houston was founded by land investors on August 30, 1836, at the confluence of Buffalo Bayou and White Oak Bayou (a point now known as Allen's Landing) and incorporated as a city on June 5, 1837. It is named after former General Sam Houston, who was president of the Republic of Texas and had won Texas's independence from Mexico at the Battle of San Jacinto 25 miles east of Allen's Landing. After briefly serving as the capital of the Texas Republic in the late 1830s, Houston grew steadily into a regional trading center for the remainder of the 19th century.

Since the late 19th century Houston's economy has had a broad industrial base in energy, manufacturing, aeronautics, and transportation. Leading in healthcare sectors and building oilfield equipment, Houston has the second-most Fortune 500 headquarters of any U.S. municipality within its city limits (after New York City). The Port of Houston ranks first in the United States in international waterborne tonnage handled and second in total cargo tonnage handled.

Nicknamed the "Bayou City", "Space City", "H-Town", and "the 713", Houston has become a global city, with strengths in culture, medicine, and research.

Houston had 22 National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and 21 of those banks issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

The mezzanine level of the new South Texas National Bank building in 1910.

Organized May 10, 1890
Chartered Jun 27, 1890
Liquidated Mar 1, 1912
Succeeded by 10152 (South Texas Commercial NB, Houston, TX), consolidation of South Texas National and Commercial National Bank (Charter 3517)

Application for authority to organize the South Texas National Bank of Houston was filed by Ferd K. Rule of Kansas, City, Missouri and his associates.

The new bank had paid in capital of $500,000 with an authorized capital of $1,000,000. Northern and eastern capitalists had subscribed for $300,000 of the stock and Houston capitalists subscribed the remaining $200,000. The location of the bank was settled with selection of the three-story building occupied by A.L. Steel & Co., insurance agents, and E.H. Bailey, cigar dealers, at the corner of Main and Franklin Streets.

On May 11, 1890, the directors elected the following experienced business men as officers: M.T. Jones, president; Chas. Dillingham, first vice president; H. B. Sanborn, second vice president, and J.E. McAshan, cashier. McAshan was previously the assistant cashier on House's bank.

On January 9, 1906, the stockholders of the South Texas National Bank met Tuesday and elected directors and officers for the year 1906. There was no change--all the old board and officers were reelected. This Institution enjoyed a healthy business during the past year, and sent out to Its shareholders a New Year's gift In the shape of a check covering a 5 per cent dividend. The directors were as follows: Charles Dillingham, H. Brashear, H.F. MacGregor, F.A. Heitmann, O.T. Holt, W.T. Carter, R.F. Carter, J.K. McAshan, and Jacob Bins. The following were elected officers: Charles Dillingham, president; J.K. McAshan, cashier; H. Brashear, first vice president; O. T. Holt, second vice president; H.F. MacGregor, third vice president; C.A. McKinney, assistant cashier; S.M. McAshan, assistant cashier.

In the spring of 1909, two dynamite charges in the old building created considerable excitement among citizens in the vicinity. The blasting was resorted to by the contractors in an effort to remove some of the old foundation. The bank vacated its building at 213 Main St. and set up across the street at 214 Main earlier to allow for construction of a new building. The Board of Directors in 1909 consisted of H. Brashear, A. Breyer, Chas. Dillingham, E.K. Dillingham, Jon. M. Dorrance, F.A. Heitmann, O.T. Holt, B.D. Harris, H.F. MacGregor, J.E. McAshan, J.Z. Miller, Jr., and Daniel Ripley.

In April, 1910 the palatial new bank was opened to the public. As visitors passed, souvenirs were presented to all. From the ladies' window were distributed handsome colored engravings together with neat black leather pocketbooks. From the gentlemen's window were distributed holders for valuable papers bound in red leather. The building faced on Main street with a frontage of over 45 feet and its depth was 125 feet with a twelve-foot court in the rear. The front had a wide portico extending almost over the entire front with four massive monolith marble columns.

Deposits in 1910 were in excess of $4,000,000, surplus of $350,000 with working capital of $850,000. Charles Dillingham, president of the bank came to Texas in 1885 from New Orleans and was connected with the bank since its organization. He served on the board of numerous businesses and was also receiver of the H. & T.C. and other railways, and the Houston Oil Co. of Texas. H. Brashear, vice president, was a retired capitalist and large owner of real estate. O.T. Holt, vice president, was a practicing attorney in Houston for over 30 years. He was for many years national committeeman from Texas and served as mayor of Houston from 1902-1904. J.E. McAshan, active vice president began banking career in Houston in 1872. He engaged in organization of the South Texas National Bank along with Messrs. Dillingham, Brashear, Holt and Schultz. Mr. McAshan was the first cashier of the bank from 1890 to 1908. He was a past president of the Texas Bankers' Association and the president of the Merchants & Planters Oil Company of Houston, and a trustee of the William Marsh Rice Institute for the Advancement of Literature, Science and Art. B.D. Harris, cashier, began his banking career in 1887 with the American National Bank of Dallas, later the American Exchange National Bank, and the Commercial National Bank of Houston, coming from the later institution to the South Texas National as cashier in the spring of 1908. C.F. Schultz, assistant cashier, was connected with the bank since organization and C.A. McKinney, was an assistant cashier since 1893.

In 1911, Henry Brashear retired as vice president and B.D. Harris, cashier was advanced to active vice president and cashier. Mr. Harris' advance at the South Texas was to allow former active vice president J.E. McAshan to devote more time to his personal interests. Mr. Harris came to the South Texas from Dallas three years ago when he was elected cashier to succeed Mr. McAshan. Three new assistant cashiers were also elected--August De Zavalla, Paul Taylor, and R.H. Hanna, Jr.

Official Bank Title

The South Texas National Bank of Houston, TX

Bank Note Types Issued

1882 Brown Back $5 bank note with printed signatures of J.E. McAshan, Cashier and M.T. Jones, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

1882 Brown Back $100 bank note with penned signatures of J.E. McAshan, Cashier and H. Brashear, Vice President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $1,182,650 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1890 and 1912. This consisted of a total of 155,218 notes (155,218 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
1882 Brown Back	4x5	1 - 15150
1882 Brown Back	50-100	1 - 1385
1882 Date Back	4x5	1 - 1820
1902 Date Back	4x5	1 - 10509
1902 Date Back	4x10	1 - 10633

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1890 - 1912):

Presidents:

Cashiers:

Other Bank Note Signers

Wiki Links

A 1909 advertisement for The South Texas National Bank with the board of directors and temporary location at 214 Main Street during construction of the new bank.

Sources

Houston, 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://bbdata.banknotehistory.com
The Bankers' Magazine, Vol. 81, July 1910-Dec. 1910, p. 574-580.
The Bankers' Magazine, Vol. 82, Jan. 1911-June 1911, p. 291.
The Eagle, Bryan, Texas, Thu., Apr. 3, 1890.
The Eagle, Bryan, Texas, Thu., Apr. 10, 1890.
The Galveston Daily News, Galveston, TX, Thu., Apr. 17, 1890.
The Galveston Daily News, Galveston, TX, Sun., May 11, 1890.
The Houston Post, Houston, TX, Wed., Jan. 10, 1906.
The Houston Post, Houston, TX, Tue., Mar. 23, 1909.
The Houston Post, Houston, TX, Thu., Apr. 1, 1909.
The Houston Post, Houston, TX, Tue., Apr. 5, 1910.
El Paso Herald, El Paso, TX, Tue., May 10, 1910.