Before the First National Bank of Cameron was established, two banks operated in Cameron: the Buckholts Exchange Commission, a small frontier deposit office that faltered during the Civil War, and the Milam County Bank, which closed during the panic of 1895. On August 22, 1889, the First National Bank of Cameron opened for business in a rented building as construction began on a permanent bank building at the corner of First Street and Houston Avenue. John M. Hefley and other businessmen founded the bank with $50,000 in capital to meet the needs of the growing town, and Hefley became its first president, later continuing as a director and stockholder until his death in 1903. The bank grew slowly at first, then developed as record cotton prices and the discovery of oil in the county during the late 1910s and early 1920s strengthened the local economy. In 1921, it temporarily moved into the former post office building while a newer, larger structure was built at its original site. Although it reorganized during the Great Depression, it remained open when several other Milam County banks did not. After that reorganization, it was renamed First National Bank in Cameron, and in 2007 it became Classic Bank as its holdings expanded into several cities that already had First National Banks. The institution that began as the First National Bank of Cameron continues to serve its community.