A 1968 Texas Historical Marker near the entrance provides some history of the bank side of the city hall:
Built 1868 by James S. Hanna, for a general store. Owned 1870-1871 by a Battle of San Jacinto veteran, the Rev. Robt. Crawford.
Bought 1872 by J.S. McLendon, whose store and private bank were housed in the structure. In 1887 this was site of founding, First National Bank of Calvert, later renamed Union State Bank -- finally Citizens Bank & Trust.
Exterior retains 1887 style.
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Both the former bank building and the two bay building next to it are part of the Calvert Historic District on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The National Register's Nomination Form says nothing substantial about the 616-618 Main St section. It is considered "contributing" to the district, and its architecture could also use the term "compatible" when referring to other buildings in the block. It does add a few architectural details about the bank:
Although the first floor facade of this two-story three-bay nineteenth
century structure has been altered, the exterior retains its 1887 style. Brick arch moldings surround first floor openings while segmental arches span second level openings, giving them a visual continuity. Interest is provided at the cornice by a raised brick parapet with brick corbelling.
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Nearby is a 1968 Texas Historical Marker that provides some history:
Swarming ox-carts and cotton wagons, busy stores and saloons, casino tables stacked with gold: this was early Calvert, a major cotton export and trade center.
Community began as "Sterling," in Sterling C. Robertson colony of the 1820s. It was center of mustering and military supply activity in Civil War, 1861-1865.
When Houston & Texas Central Railroad route was established here, 1868, town was moved 2 mi. to the right of way and renamed for Judge Robert Calvert, pioneer Texan, local landowner, benefactor, and civic leader -- a descendant of Lord Baltimore of Maryland.
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As of this posting, Calvert is a small Texas town worth visiting. With a population well over a thousand, there are shops on Main Street and all kinds of history and beautiful Victorian architecture, as well as a beautiful city cemetery and the Pin Oak Bed and Breakfast. As to Judge Calvert, one can pay their respects to him at the old Sterling Cemetery to the west, and baseball fans will recognize the name of "Rube Foster" as the founder of the Negro National League, the predecessor to the better-known Negro American League. Mr. Foster was born here in 1879.