James Cox

The First National Bank of Sonora was organized by E.R. Jackson in 1900, only 10 years after Sonora became a town. The move to organize a bank was deemed foolhardy by some who had already seen two financial institutions fail. The organizational meeting was held on May 3, 1900. The first directors elected at the meeting were: E.R. Jackson, President; W.L. Aldwell, Cashier; E.F. Vander Stucken, Vice President; W.E. Whitehead; George S. Allison; R.F. Halbert and D.A. Cauthorn. The bank opened for business on Aug. 15, 1900, in the office of Mr. Vander Stucken’s general store, staying there a few days and then going to the Hagerlund Brothers’ store for two or three more weeks until a new building was completed. In 1995, Sonora Bank expanded outside of Sonora to San Angelo, Texas, opening up the San Angelo Banking Center, located at 5710 Sherwood Way, and later another branch was opened at 5202 Southland Blvd. In early 2009, the bank opened the Boerne Banking Center, at 122 W. Bandera in Boerne. In mid-2016, a branch was opened in Bulverde at 512 Singing Oaks. In 2018, Sonora Bank opened the doors to its second Boerne location at 1570 River Road, and in late 2019 the seventh branch location was opened in Wimberley, located at 100 Stillwater. The First National Bank of Sonora / San Angelo Banking Center / Boerne Banking Center, today collectively known as Sonora Bank, continues to be a family-owned community bank with many of the descendants of the original Board of Directors serving on the current Board. They are Ronald Cox, Edwin E. Sawyer III, Ben Pool, Israel Pena, Besa Martin, Jamie Akin and Bob Malone. The Directors and staff strive to fulfill our mission of “Providing Excellent, Professional Financial Services in a Hometown Atmosphere”.