Knights of Pythias (First State Bank) - Lewisville, TX
N 33° 02.773 W 096° 59.662
14S E 687276 N 3658198
The old First State Bank building is located at 102 W Main St, Lewisville, TX. Today, it is used for commercial purposes, but at some point in its existence, the Knights of Pythias met here.
Waymark Code: WMVF2N
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 04/10/2017
Views: 3
In Robin-Cole Jett's "Lewisville" entry in Arcadia Publishing's
Images of America series, there are a few photos to be seen of the bank during the heyday of what is now called Old Town Lewisville. Built in 1910, the bank was founded by J.W. Degan, and stood next to a cotton gin. Farmers would process their cotton at the gin, and then be given script that they would "cash" at the bank. This dubious practice was common at the time, and required the bearer to redeem their bank-issued IOUs only at businesses that accepted them.
A block on the second floor reads "KP No. 319", suggesting that the Knights of Pythias met here at one time, but there does not appear to be any good reading available as to the details.
"Lewisville" has a 1950s photo, noting that this intersection was the site of Lewisville's first traffic light, and a photo from the 1980s indicates that the bank building was empty at that time. That is no longer the case, as interest in Old Town Lewisville continues and the hustle and bustle increases with continued development.