WESTERN BANK
100 In 1907 a group of men gathered in the south-
western part of the New Mexico territory to dis-
top: Located in the southwest corner of the New Mexico Territory, Western Bank opened its doors 100 years ago as First National Bank of Lordsburg. inset: Robert Martin, Sr. held the position of Board Chairman for forty years. opposite: Silver City branch manager Pam Archibald discusses transactions with current board chairman, Robert Martin, Jr.
60 – SILVER CITYLIFE
YEARS OF AREA BANKING Written by Bill Archibald Photography courtesy Western Bank
New Mexico wouldn’t become a state for another five years.
cuss their ideas for creating a financial institu-
Red Rock rancher Robert Martin Sr. first
tion, which they hoped could be successful and
bought stock in Western Bank in 1936 and
serve the needs of the community.
became chairman of the board in 1956. He held
That meeting spawned an endeavor to be
the position for some 40 years before handing
called First National Bank of Lordsburg. It has
the reins to Robert Martin Jr. who holds the title
endured and blossomed into what we now know
of chairman today.
as Western Bank.
Robert Jr. retired from a successful career
When businessmen Frank Coon, John
with the FBI in 1989. He immediately teamed
McCabe and W.H. Small first launched their ven-
with his father, Pam Dunagan, and Lee Ross
ture, horses were still an accepted mode of
Jones to create the holding company to oversee
travel, and Lordsburg was part of Grant County.
operations of the bank.