First Hutchings-Sealy National Bank

Successor of Texas' oldest bank and its first national bank. Founded in 1835 when Mexico granted a banking charter to the merchants Thomas F. McKinney and Samuel May Williams -- a firm wealthy enough in 1836 to finance the Texas War for Independence to a large extent. Later McKinney, Williams & Company moved from Quintana to Galveston, where in 1841 the Texas Republic authorized them to issue bank notes for circulation as money. When re-established in 1847 as "Commercial & Agricultural Bank," this became first chartered bank in the state. At its closing, 1859, Ball-Hutchings & Company assumed many of its activities. This company was established by two young men, John H. Hutchings and John Sealy, under the name of Hutchings, Sealy & Company at Sabine Pass in 1847 as a merchandise business. These men moved to Galveston in 1854 and joined with George Ball to form Ball-Hutchings & Company. In 1897 the firm changed its name to Hutchings, Sealy & Company, and in 1930 it merged with Henry Rosenberg's South Texas National Bank. In 1958 the Hutchings-Sealy National Bank merged with the First National Bank of Galveston, the latter being the first Texas bank chartered under the National Bank Act of 1865. (1971)

First Hutchings-Sealy National Bank is a historical marker in Galveston, Galveston County, dedicated in 1971. It is one of 283 historical markers documented in Galveston County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 373 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 29.3074, -94.7931 near Galveston. The nearest cataloged historic site is Juneteenth (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Trueheart-Adriance Building, Mallory-Produce Building, and Stewart Building.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5167007441. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.