About

The First State Bank History

The Vault Venue, formerly known as The First State Bank, the building was one the First Texas State Banking System branches in Livingston, Texas. First established in 1910 as Guaranty State Bank, and in 1918 the Guaranty State Bank closed their original location and moved to 415 N. Washington Ave.,changing the bank name to First State Bank.

For several years, First State Bank contributed to developmental and business growth of Livingston and Polk County. First State Bank was a major part in the development of the East Texas Trade system. The bank played an important role in the growth and expansion of its trade area from a rural retail sales, agricultural, and timber-based economy that is still currently present in today's East Texas trade area. Rumor is it was also one of the first buildings to have a central AC system, which is kind of a big a deal in Texas! As the town of Livingston grew, so did the need for a larger bank. The First State Bank building was in service from 1918 until it moved to its new larger location just down the road on July 22, 1965. First State Bank is still in business and provides local banking services to our current Livingston residents. The building was then bought and renovated into office spaces for the years to come. Until March 2022 when The First State Bank building was purchased by The Smith’s and renovated into The Vault Venue.

Our favorite thing we love to hear is “I remember going to that bank building as kid!”, and the stories our residents share about their parents or grandparents with connections to the bank. This old bank building is over a 100 year old and has so much history! It was major part of Livingston for years. It brings us joy hearing our locals talk about The First Bank Building and how it impacted our small community.

About Us...

The Vault Venue is owned and ran by The Smith Family

Planning events is nothing new to this family! Owners, J.T. and Danielle met in 2010 in Austin, TX while attending and graduating from Texas State University. Four years later, we planned every detail of our dream wedding and got married in August of 2014. A few years later, we decided to grow our sweet family and welcomed our only son, Wade into the world in 2018. As a family, we love everything about weddings, and events and have been dreaming of opening up a unique event space for other couples and families to enjoy and create lifelong memories.

Livingston, TX has always been a special place to us. Jack Thomas, Terry's father and J.T.'s grandfather started his family here after returning home from War World II. Now, 5th Generation, our family roots are still planted in a the community today. With all the exciting things happening in our small town, we wanted to help the growing community by restoring one of Downtown Livingston's oldest buildings and bring it back to life. As an opportunity presented itself, Danielle, an educator, athletics coach and school counselor, left behind the educational world after 10 years to focus on making our dream a reality. Alongside, with the help and support of our amazing Gigi, Terry Smith, former owner of Livingston's local favorites- Thomas Mercantile and Sweet Gum Tea Room.

The beautiful 1920's building was one of the first banks in Livingston, TX, with the original bank vault and the First State Bank engravings still displayed in the building today, hence the name The Vault Venue. Our vision for The Vault Venue was to restore the beautiful two story building to expose and bring back its simplistic historical charm and create a vintage, industrial feel for all to enjoy for any occasion. From Large events such as Weddings to small events, such as family parties, we hope that you choose us to hold your special events!

Our commitment at The Vault Venue is to create an environment that is welcoming and unique for all to celebrate, revive connections, and create lasting memories with our client's favorite people.

-The Smith Family

Danielle Smith

Owner

I am here to support you with any questions you may come across when planning your event, this includes clear support and information about our venue, bar packaging and vendor linkage and approval. Planning an event is a collaborative process we take seriously at The Vault Venue! Our goal is to build positive and trusting relationships to ensure our clients are well taken care of and their events run as smooth as possible!

Terry Smith

Owner/Tour Manager