Bryan Insurance celebrates 100 years in business

Bryan Insurance Agency in Graham celebrated 100 years of service to the city Saturday at the Old Post Office Museum and Art Center with employees and members of the community. The 20-plus employee office in Graham continues the legacy of its founder Pat Bryan Sr. who made the foundation for where the business stands today.

Pat Bryan St. was born in Timpson, Texas, and graduated from The University of Texas at Austin. He served as a civil engineer before moving to Graham in 1920 as the manager of a local lumber company. In October 1921, Pat Bryan Sr. opened Bryan Insurance upstairs in the building located at 514 Oak St., or the current location of Welch Western Wear on the downtown square, after assessing the needs of the community.

“Graham was kind of booming and there were a lot of people here and he realized that the insurance needs were completely under-served, so he made the swap to insurance agent,” said Amanda Dulany, Commercial Lines at Bryan Insurance, in a previous interview with The Graham Leader.

By 1930, Bryan Sr. had over $1 million worth of policy-premiums (or $16 million today) on his books and in 1938 was credited with having written at least one new policy every week for 10 years straight from 1928-1938. According to employees at Bryan Insurance, Bryan Sr. established a reputation for personal service and compassion.

For the rest of the story, see the Oct. 13 edition of The Graham Leader.