Unlike most of America, the wide presence of oil dollars kept the Texas economy chugging along even after the stock market crash of 1929. Cowtown had been lubricated by the great Ranger oil strike, and most of the big hitters were convinced the economy was indestructible. That feeling began to fade, though, as the banks started to fail. In January 1932, one of the city’s biggest financial institutions, Texas National Bank, cratered as customers made a rush on the front door and demanded their money. Lawmen attempted to force people outside, but they refused to budge and the bank began paying
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