With the removal of the old vaulted safe at the southeast corner of the Courthouse Square in downtown Fairfield, Texas, on Thursday, June 25, 2020, it has led to wonderment about the vault’s historical status in the community.
Fairfield State Bank was founded in 1912, with a new building being built in 1930 at the location on the Commerce St. and S Keechi St..
A media report from 1930’s claims it cost $30,000 for the construction of the bank’s new facility.
This building stayed in use until a structure fire on January 21, 1978 made the building uninhabitable.
A new building was constructed, but further down Commerce St. where Wells Fargo Bank now is located.
The old safe vault has stood on the corner as a reminder of days past with the City of Fairfield maintain the location as a micro park with benches.
Renowned artist, Rolando Diaz, along with local children, painted the walls with ‘hallucinogenic’ horses and made it a rather significant site as one drove through town.
While property owners Danny and Jay Robertson did donate the door to allow its historical significance to be remembered, the vault door’s final resting place is still unsettled as of press time.
Thank you to the Freestone County Historical Museum’s Curator – Patricia Pratt for her assistance in the history and the supplying of the Bank’s Historical Background.
(Photos by Victoria Keng)
