Maggie L. Walker

Born Maggie Mitchell in 1864, Walker was a pioneering African American businesswoman and civil rights leader. Born in Richmond, Virginia, to a formerly enslaved mother, she overcame racial and gender barriers to become a prominent figure in the African American community. A graduate of the Richmond Colored Normal & High School, the predecessor of Armstrong High, Walker worked as a teacher in the Richmond Public Schools system alongside figures like Rosa D. Bowser, A. V. Norrell, D. Webster Davis, J. Andrew Bowler, Dr. Sarah G. Jones, and Dr. Miles B. Jones, until her marriage in 1886. Walker’s leadership of the Independent Order of St. Luke, a fraternal organization, was central to her success. In 1899, she was elected Right Worthy Grand Secretary in 1899, the organization's highest rank. In 1903, she established the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank, the first bank chartered by an African American woman. This bank provided essential financial services to African American families who were excluded from mainstream banks.

Walker emphasized the importance of financial literacy, savings, and self-reliance for African Americans, believing that economic independence was key to social and political equality. She also advocated for education, vocational training, and civil rights, focusing on improving the status of Black women and communities. Walker worked with other Black leaders of her day, but carved out her own path in advancing economic empowerment for African Americans.

Despite facing health challenges later in life, Walker continued to lead St. Luke and the bank until her death in 1934. Her legacy as a trailblazer for African American women in business and finance endures, and she is remembered as a key figure in the movement for Black economic and social progress. For her service to her community, Maggie L. Walker High School was named for her in 1938.

Here are spaces associated with Mrs. Walker:

Walker's Home

After marriage, the Walkers lived in Navy Hill at 907 N. 7th Street. Their home was across the street from the residence of Armstead Walker, Sr., Maggie Walker’s father-in-law, who lived at 912 N. 7th Street. This location was not only close to her husband’s boyhood home but also surrounded by a vibrant community of prominent African American figures. Directly on the same block lived D. Webster Davis at 910 N. 7th Street, and A.V. Norrell was just a block away at 1015 N. 7th Street. Also nearby was the original home of Mrs. Rosa D. Bowser at 1008 N. 7th Street. Just three blocks away stood the Navy Hill School, the academic heart of Richmond’s Black community at the turn of the 20th century. It was a close-knit neighborhood of leaders, educators, and trailblazers — all of them neighbors!

As white residents moved farther west, many prominent African Americans began relocating into areas that had previously excluded them. Some moved into homes formerly owned by white families, while others built new residences through Black community builders such as Joseph E. Farrar and George Boyd, the father of Sarah Garland Jones, the first licensed Black female physician in Virginia.

In 1883, George Boyd constructed the home at 110 ½ E. Leigh Street. This home was purchased by Dr. Robert E. Jones in 1900 at a cost of $3000. The Walker family would later move into this house in 1905. Once again, Maggie Walker found herself surrounded by the educational, religious, and business leaders of the Black community, in an area known as “Quality Row.”

Her neighbors included Dr. D. A. Ferguson at 107 E. Leigh Street; Fifth Street Baptist Pastor Rev. W. F. Graham at 108 E. Leigh Street; First African Baptist Church Pastor Rev. W.T. Johnson at 110 E. Leigh Street; East End School teacher J. Andrew Bowler at 112 E. Leigh Street; Caterer W. D. Payne at 114 E Leigh; Dr. P. B. Ramsey at 115 E Leigh St; and just a block away, Second Baptist Pastor Rev. Z.D. Lewis at 202 E. Leigh, and funeral director A. D. Price at 210 E. Leigh. Nearby, at 21 E. Leigh Street, stood the newly moved Armstrong High School — the educational hub of the city’s Black community.

Walker’s household was a bustling, multi-generational home that reflected her prominent status as a business leader and civil rights advocate. The family residence included her two sons, their wives, children, her mother, and an adopted daughter. At one point, up to 13 people lived with her. To accommodate the growing family, she remodeled the house in 1922, adding 12 rooms. Afterward, the home is commonly referred to as the Walker Mansion.

She was proud of her home and its furnishings; sparing no expense in its decoration, with elegant mahogany furniture and the latest in fashion and technology. She frequently entertained guests here, including prominent African American leaders such as W. E. B. Du Bois, Mary McLeod Bethune, and Langston Hughes.

As her health began to decline, she adapted the house to accommodate her needs, adding an upstairs kitchen, an elevator, and converting a bedroom into a sitting room where she could conduct business and hold board meetings. After her death, the Walker family remained in the house until the 1970s, when it was donated to the National Park Service, retaining much of the original furnishings.

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St. Luke Hall

St. Luke Hall in Richmond, Virginia, stands as a powerful testament to the legacy of the Independent Order of St. Luke, an African American fraternal organization founded in 1867. St. Luke, like other fraternal organizations at the time such as the True Reformers or the Knights of Pythias, was integral to the broader movement of economic and social empowerment for African Americans, particularly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This initiative was deeply tied to the Walker's work, who played a key role in shaping the organization’s mission and its activities, especially in promoting financial literacy, self-reliance, and racial uplift.

The Independent Order of St. Luke was established with the dual purpose of providing mutual aid and support to African American families while promoting the broader goals of economic independence and social justice. One of its key missions was to offer insurance and burial services to African Americans, who often struggled to gain access to such services in mainstream society. The organization also focused on providing financial education, helping African Americans build wealth and secure their futures in a racially segregated society; as well as vocational training, and community uplift. Under Walker’s leadership, the organization grew rapidly, with a focus on helping members become financially independent and develop a sense of community solidarity.

St. Luke Hall, constructed in 1889, became the physical and symbolic center of these efforts. It was designed not only as a meeting space for St. Luke, but also as a community hub where African Americans could gather for educational programs, social events, and community-building activities. The hall hosted numerous initiatives aimed at improving the financial and educational status of African Americans, including classes on financial literacy, leadership training, and opportunities for social advancement. After a series of renovations, the hall still stands.

This was not the only hall within the city. Another hall was located in Richmond's East End at 810 N 31st St,

St. Luke's Penny Savings Bank

The St. Luke Penny Savings Bank, founded in 1903 in Richmond, Virginia, played a vital role in the economic empowerment of the African American community in the early 20th century. The bank was established by Walker, who was inspired by the success of W. W. Browne's True Reformers bank. Browne's True Reformers Bank opened in 1888 as one of the first African American-owned banks in the United States and played an important role in the financial empowerment of African Americans. Browne's success in founding the True Reformers Bank served as an inspiration for Walker, as well as John Mitchell, Jr and his Mechanics Savings Bank.

Walker’s vision for the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank was rooted in providing African Americans with a place to save and secure loans, empowering them financially in a period of widespread discrimination. The bank became a hub of self-determination, offering much-needed services that had previously been inaccessible to many Black families.

The bank opened in St. Luke's Hall at 900 St. James Street (above) with the first day's deposits totaling $9,340.44. In 1905, it would move to 112 E Broad St, where St. Luke also operated a dry goods and department store known as the St. Luke's Emporium. By 1906, the bank had accumulated over $100,000 in deposits, a remarkable achievement that demonstrated the trust the African American community had in the institution.

In 1911, the bank opened its doors at its current location of First & Marshall Streets in a building designed by Black architect, Charles T. Russell. Due to the financial instability of the Great Depression, in 1929, the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank merged with the Second Street Savings bank to become the Consolidated Bank & Trust. In 1931, the Commercial Savings Bank would also merge into the company. It remained Black operated until 2005 when it was acquired by the Abigail Adams National Bank. It kept its name until 2011. With more acquisitions, it is now a branch of People's Bank.

Sources

"Dr. R. E. Jones." Richmond Planet. February 10, 1900. Page 1. Col. 7.

Hill's Richmond City Directory. Richmond, VA: Hill Directory Company, 1895–1907.

"Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site." National Park Service. Accessed January 13, 2025. https://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/maggie_walker/index.html.

"Objection to Will Withdrawn by Walker Heir," The Afro-American, January 19, 1935, p. 14. col. 3.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Richmond, Independent Cities, Virginia. Sanborn Map Company, -1925 Vol. 2, 1925, 1925. Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/sanborn09064_007/.

"The St. Luke Penny Savings Bank." National Park Service. Accessed January 13, 2025. https://www.nps.gov/mawa/the-st-luke-penny-savings-bank.htm.

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