The public got a sneak peek inside the Farmers and Merchants Bank at the Restoration Ceremony on Monday afternoon.
Owners Nathan Brown and Shannon Brown are in the early stages of transforming the famous landmark in Pilot Point into a multi-use building with a speakeasy, retail shops, a restaurant and boutique hotel rooms.
“This marks exactly 130 years ago since the Light family, that's who originally built the bank, [created] one of the greatest landmarks in Pilot Point,” Nathan said. 'It seems only fitting on its 130th birthday that we begin this next chapter.'
He and Shannon stood on top of the entrance stairs along with Economic Development Director Denise Morris, Commissioner Precinct 1 Ryan Williams and Denton County Judge Andy Eads to reflect on the journey.
“We chose the name FMB Legacy because it honors both families,” Nathan said. “It honors the family that began this remarkable story while reminding our family of the responsibility to carry it forward.”
They thanked those who showed up and who are involved in the project, including the many different people and companies, as well as the city staff and officials.
“This is a yee-haw, a woo-hoo, a happy dance day in Pilot Point, Texas,” Morris said.
She talked about getting to this point being a decade in the making, and it started when the then-Ecomonic Development Corporation reached out to the former owner at the time to see what could be done about the building and realized how much work was in store.
“So, the Economic Development Corporation and the city invested in a grant that funded a study,” Morris said. “They reached out to the National Historic Trust, who also added dollars to that grant, and a study was created of the full state of the building, which did not tell a great story, but one that needed to be shared with anyone that was looking to invest in this project.”
Initially, the Browns had two different views when they first toured the building, Shannon seeing the potential and what it could be, and Nathan seeing a laundry list of issues, but eventually, he started to see her vision.
“I stopped seeing what the building had become and started seeing what it was always meant to be,” Nathan said. “When I realized we weren't being asked to save an old building, we were being given the opportunity to continue an extraordinary story. Today, Shannon and I have the privilege of carrying that responsibility together. Our commitment has always been simple. Honor the past, restore the integrity, leave it better than we found it.”
Soon after, the building's owner put it on the market, and the Browns bought it.
“What a very proud day for Pilot Point that one of our own families and community members who love this place so much, and the history like we all do, stood up and said, 'We will make that investment, and we will do this,'” Morris said, she then gave a shout-out to “the ones that have blazed the trail before you in historic preservation downtown.”
The building was constructed in 1896, making it one of the oldest buildings in Pilot Point and also in Denton County, Eads said.
“I'm very involved in historic preservation throughout my career, and I'll tell you, these buildings don't preserve themselves,” Eads said. “They don't preserve themselves. They're silent witnesses to history, but it really takes people with strong advocates, deep pockets, and a clear vision to execute it and save these buildings.”
Williams added on and spoke about the different partnerships working to support the project.
“We really appreciate being brought into this, because not everybody always looks at the county and says, you know what, we'd really like to have their buy-in on this,” Williams said. “And the Browns came to us, explained to us what they were doing, and I couldn't be more excited about what this project was going to look like and the future of what it's going to do for this downtown area for Pilot Point.”
He encouraged everyone to spread the word to help promote this local business and others in Pilot Point.
As they unlocked the doors and people trickled in, it stirred a sense of excitement for what would come and brought back old memories for former bank teller Janice Sheppard.
“Getting to see the original teller cages from 1896 or early 1900s, along with the beautiful workmanship and the talent that went into this, it's truly amazing,” Sheppard said. “I'm so happy with preserving this history for not only our generation today, but future generations to come, because I think you can always go forward in the future really well if you know a lot about your past. So, I'm excited, and my prayers go out to everyone involved in the project.”
Also on display were various artifacts from the past, along with blueprints and visuals showing what’s on the horizon.
“I just wanted to come out and see the last of what we've known this building to be historically before the renovation,” said Jereomy Dunn, vice chairman of the Main Street Advisory Board. “So, I'm looking forward to seeing exactly what it will turn into. I know it's going to be something great, so I'm excited to be here. But there's a lot of history embedded in this building, over 130 years. Just to have over a century worth of history in Denton County, I think that's pretty cool.”
