[UTSA Library]

The first three Hondo banks ­ First National Bank of Hondo, Hondo State Bank, and Hondo National Bank ­ have been confused. Let us begin with this from the web page of the present-day Hondo National Bank.

The Hondo National Bank originated in 1901 with the chartering of the First National Bank of Hondo, which was located on Avenue M [originally Bandera Ave.]. The Hondo State Bank opened in 1906 at the same location. In 1936 the two banks merged into a new chartered bank called The Hondo National Bank with total capital of $60,000. On November 31, 1950, the bank moved to its new quarters on 18th Street [originally N. Front St.]. The bank has operated continuously since the inception of the two banks in the early 1900's and weathered the "Great Depression," as well as the "Banking Crisis of the 1980s."

First, external sources do not support the banks' continuous, linked existence as presented in this history.

The picture above, from 1921, is claimed to show the Hondo State bank ... and if that bank ursurped the location of the First National Bank of Hondo, then the original home of the First National Bank of Hondo is also depicted here. But if the Hondo State Bank opened in 1906 and took the location of the First National Bank of Hondo,
where did the First National Bank go?

Between 1901 and 1935, the First National Bank of Hondo printed 1882 Brown Backs, Date Backs, and Value Backs, then 1902 Plain Backs, followed by 1929 Types 1 & 2.

The census lists twenty-six notes: five 1882 Brown Backs, one 1882 Date Back, one 1882 Value Back, nine 1902 Plain Backs, and ten 1929 Type 1's.

This 1882 Date back sold at a Heritage auction April, 2017, for $2,585.

[Image Heritage Currency Auctions]