Circa 1917
THE ITEM
A paper check, measuring approx. 8 inches by 3 inches, with a vertical fold in the middle and water and age marks on the top and bottom edges. The check is printed with the name and logo of First National Bank of Lewisville. Handwritten content dates the check on May 15, 1917. It is made out to J.W. Degan and Co. in the amount of $1.85 and is signed by Mrs. Ella Maxwell (Eleanor Belle Millican Maxwell, 1870-1958). A faded inkstamp says the check was paid on May 16, 1917.
THE HISTORY
First National Bank of Lewisville opened in 1904 on the north side of Main Street two buildings east of Poydras. The bank moved into a new building on the northwest corner of Main and Poydras in 1917. Its two-story decorative white columns are prominent in many 1950s photos of downtown. It closed in February 1955 and its assets were auctioned by the FDIC in 1956. A new Lewisville National Bank opened in 1963 on northbound 35E south of Main.
The check was found by Lewisville resident Miguel Ortiz. He was working on a trash collection route in a Flower Mound alley when a piece of paper fell out of a recycling cart. He saw what it was, posted it on social media as a curiosity, and donated it to the Lewisville Collection the next day in the names of his two sons.
Donated on February 21, 2024, by Miguel Ortiz in the names of Abraham and Moses Ortiz.