First Bank In Seminole
October 8, 1930-Seminole Producer
Contributed by Ralph Parrott rrparrott2@juno.com
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Judge S.D. Powell leaned bck in his swivel chair, pulled at the
dead stump of a cigar and thought a moment before answering the 
writer's question, "How did the first bank start in Seminole?"
"Well it was in 1906, in September or October, I don't remember
just which. I believe it was in September, along about the last
part, though. You see, then the town was moving to what is now
Seminole.
"There had been a little town called Tidmore about a mile or so
up the tracks. We had a small bank up there. We saw that what-
ever town there was going to be would be here, so we decided to
move the bank.
"We built a little frame building right where the Billington
Lumber Company (now Harvest House) now stands. It was about 16
x20 in size. Note as big, but it was a good frame building for
that time.
"You see, sonny, there were about 250 people scattered around 
here. They needed a bank and this was the only one closer than 
Wewoka and that was a long ways off, back there when the road
wound around over the roughest sort of country north of town,
going out of Seminole by what is now the J.D. Gilliland home
(now East Evans) and just winding around until it came to Wewoka.
"About the biggest job we had was getting the safe over here.
We didn't have a great many fixtures in the First State Bank then.
We got several men to help us to get the safe on a flat bed of
a wagon and hauled it over here with all the money the bank had
locked up inside it. The road from Tidmore here was rough and 
sandy and it took several hours to get the safe to Seminole.
"It was some time in the late afternoon when we got it to the
bank, and before we could get it off the wagon, some man who
had sold a bale of cotton came up to get some money. The cashier,
W.H. Spurr, got some men standing around to help him and they 
opened the door of the safe and lifted it up-it was laying on 
its back-and got the money out for the farmer. That was the first 
money that ever came out of the First State Bank after it was
established in what is now Seminole.
"In the new building, small as it was, was the bank and in the
back was the town land office. Spurr slept in the back office
too.
The judge hesitated a few minutes and relighted the short cigar.
"What was the capital stock of the bank then, Judge?" the writer
asked.
"It was $10,000; not much but a lot of money then and the bank
was strong. Everybody was honest then, and did their business on
the level. Hot checks did not trouble the banks very much. In the
first place, we knew every depositor by their first names, back
in those days. Everybody was neighbors.
"Who were the directors and the officers of the bank? we asked. 
"Well, let's see, of course I know them all. Most of them are
still living, but sometimes their names slip my mind.
W.H. Spurr, you know, the father of Rex and Baxter Spurr, was the
cashier. I was president. A.G. Mayhue, F.T. Goodsen and R.R. Hendon
were the directors. All of us had nomey in the bank and all worked
to make it a go.
The judge was asked how they got people into town back in those days.
"Well, these trade and auction days are fine, but we didn't use that
then. They didn't have much choice about where they came. Seminole
was a good town, even then, but the creeks kept lots of folks from
coming to town in wet weather. So we got together and made up $365 
to build four much needed bridges.
One of them was the big bridge across Salt Creek south of what is
now Bowlegs, and the other three across Little Creek just north of 
town. The creek crossed the road to Little three times. We got the
bridges all right, and for the $365 too. Little was then just one
store and a post office, run by T.H. Smith.
"Yes, he ran both of them and didn't have too big a job. Times have
changed a lot. You couldn't rum much of a bank here on $10,000 now.
You couldn't build four bridges for any $365 either."
Judge Powell struck his match, relighted the stump of his dead cigar
again and turned to his work of checking bills against the city of
Seminole.