Oklahoma: A Story Through Her People

In February 1901 three bankers from
Wichita Falls, Texas, stopped for lunch before
proceeding to Fort Sill, Oklahoma. The
bankers were making the trip to explore possibilities
of establishing a bank in the soon-tobe-opened
reservation that would become the
City of Lawton. The three bankers, William
M. MacGregor, William T. Huff and William
Keller, were joined by Indian traders, Emmet
Cox and George M. Paschal, and the
five applied as directors for a bank
charter in the new community. The
name of the town was not known at
that time, but the five assumed it
would be named for Fort Sill. The
charter issued March 23, 1901, (four
months and fifteen days before the
opening of the town) bore the name
First National Bank of Fort Sill.
In July of that year, the town was
named Lawton in honor of Major
General Henry W. Lawton and the
name of the bank was changed to City
National Bank of Lawton. The officers
were President George W. Paschal;
Vice President William M. MacGregor;
and Cashier Frank M. English.
English became president of the
bank in 1904 and served for twentyseven
years.
In 1930, J. R. “Dolph”
Montgomery and his sisters,
Zelda Ferguson and Lena
Frensley, bought majority
stock in City National Bank of
Lawton, a Tulsa holding company,
and Montgomery took
the position of vice president
of City National Bank. English
agreed to remain as president
for two years but became ill
after six months. Montgomery
became president at the age
of twenty-four in 1931. He
was said to be the youngest
president of a national bank
in the United States.
Today Montgomery’s legacy
continues into its third
generation of bankers, thanks
to the leadership of his
daughters Roma Lee Porter and Zelda Davis.
Both sisters continue to serve on the board of
directors for both banks.
Zelda’s son, John Davis, serves as president/CEO
of Fort Sill National Bank, while
Roma Lee’s children, George L. Porter III,
serves as president/CEO, and Tresea Moses
serves as executive vice president for City
National Bank.
CITY NATIONAL
BANK & TRUST
Left: Original bank, First National Bank of
Fort Sill, 1901.
Below: J. R. “Dolph” Montgomery ran the
bank for forty-four years.
O K L A H O M A P A R T N E R S
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