Farmers and Merchants Bank - Venus, TX - Converted Bank Buildings on Waymarking.com

The Farmers National Bank itself opened here in 1905, with a charter number of 7798. It consolidated with the First National Bank (also from Venus) in 1921, but no surprise, it went bust during the Great Depression in 1934, and was liquidated. It later was home to Citizens Bank, and has seen other tenants, including a salon.

There's not much to be found about this old building otherwise, and it is now used for office space. At one point, it was in poor condition, with the upstairs rendered unusable due to rain, but it looks to have been restored. A sign at the back entrance facing Walnut St refers to suites on the second floor, with newer blinds on the windows. "Bank" is still visible up high above the entrance, and while "Farmers and Merchants Bank" is in the windows facing Second St, signs on the exterior note American Independence Mfg. (Est. 2008) and Longhorn Locker Company (Est. 2005) as tenants. These may be the same entity, as they are both listed at the same address on a nearby county road, and a sign outside suggests this to be a showroom.

If this is the same building found in Mollie Gallop Bradbury Mims's "Johnson County" in Arcadia's Images of America series, it has undergone serious renovation. Mims notes that the town's first barber shop was just next door.

While it wasn't a key player in the action, the bank is clearly visible in early scenes in 1967's "Bonnie and Clyde", with Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway in the titular roles. Just at a little after five minutes into the movie, Bonnie and Clyde take a stroll in front of the buildings facing Second St just across Walnut Street. They enjoy a Coca Cola at a service station across Second Street from those buildings, and when Bonnie questions whether Clyde has the "gumption" to commit armed robbery, he shows her how he does it. He walks across the north end of Walnut St to "Ritts Groceries", with Bonnie following and watching with curiosity. That building is hard to recognize today, although its brickwork and awning are intact, and it is now used as an annex by the First Baptist Church.

Clyde does exactly what he said he'd do. He comes out the door and waves the loot at Bonnie, scaring off the store clerk with a shot from his pistol. They run past this bank building to their getaway car, and as they prepare to drive off, they finally tell each other their names, "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" kicks in, and the story begins.

Address: 200 W Second St, Venus, TX 76084 Year: 1900 Current Use of Building: Office Website: Not listed

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