Opened in 1907 in a frame house on Third Street, the Hidalgo County Bank and Trust Company is the oldest Hidalgo County bank still in operation. Its incorporators were area leaders J.M. Johnson, Sr., the first president, his son J.M. Johnson, Jr., William M. Price and S.P. Silver, all of Mercedes, John Closner of Hidalgo, and Walter A. McNeil of Santa Maria. Sound leadership helped it survive the economic depression of the 1930s and become a leader in the development of the Rio Grande Valley area.