1 N Main Street

The History

On August 16, 1907, The Brooksville Banking Company received its charter. According to Old Brooksville in Photos and Stories, the bank first opened on a rainy day in January 1908.  Teller Charles Price, carrying the bank’s total assets of $15,000, slipped in the mud and sent the cash flying all over the street.  Staff chased the money down and successfully launched the opening. 

The company was renamed the First National Bank in 1910 and was renamed again May 14, 1929, as the First National Bank in Brooksville. When the Great Depression hit, Chinsegut owner and Bank Chairman Raymond Robins gave the bank over $200,000 dollars to keep it solvent (equivalent to about $3.5 million dollars today).  The gift kept Brooksvillians from destitution but also meant the Robins family could no longer afford to maintain the Chinsegut estate.  This ultimately led to them donating their property to the Federal government. Francis B. Coogler served as President of the bank during those difficult Depression years but they later merged with the Hernando State Bank (see 1 E Jefferson Street for their history). 

This building is the bank’s original site, originally constructed with exposed brick.  In 1927 it was altered with full height columns supporting a gable pediment to create a grander entry and stucco over the brick to reflect the Neoclassical Revival style.  Following the bank closure, the building served as a Post Office. The McKethan-Browning Insurance Agency moved into the building in the 1950s and the Browning family purchased the building in 1969. The glass doors on the front of the building are original and the bank vault interior is still in place.

CITATIONS/CREDIT:

Reform and Revolution: The Life and Times of Raymond Robins by Neil Salzman

Old Brooksville in Photos and Stories

The Browning family