FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MCGREGOR, Texas ( May 28, 2014) — First National Bank McGregor today announced that Wednesday, 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: www.fnbmcgregor.
com or the the bank’s Facebook page at: http://bit.ly/FNBMcGregorFacebook.
###
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 – http://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 – The “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
Media Contact:
Megan Fleetwood
254-772-5909
megan@ehandersonpr.com
