MAGGIE L. WALKER NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
The Maggie L.Walker National Historic Site commemorates the life of a prominent African-American woman who was a devoted community leader and an early advocate for African American women's rights. Despite many obstacles and adversities, she achieved success in the world of business and finance as the first woman in the United States to establish and serve as president of a bank. The national historic site includes the residence that her family occupied during the last thirty years of her life (1904-1934).
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Background
Maggie Lena Mitchell was born in 1867 to William and Elizabeth Mitchell, who were both former slaves and who worked in the mansion of the abolitionist and Civil War spy Elizabeth Van Lew. After a few years of living at the mansion, her father got a job as the head waiter at the Saint Charles Hotel and the family moved to their own home in an alley between Broad and Marshall streets. Her father was murdered, presumably a victim of robbery, and her mother supported the family with her laundry business while the young Maggie helped her mother collect and deliver laundry and assisted with the care of her youngest brother, John.
At age 14, she joined the local council of the Independent Order of St. Luke, an African-American fraternal and cooperative insurance society founded in Baltimore in 1867 by a former slave, Mary Prout. The fraternal insurance society was created for blacks to administer to the sick and aged, bury the dead during the post-Civil War period, and promote humanitarian causes.
Maggie Mitchell was educated in Richmond's public schools, first attending the Lancaster School and then the Armstrong Normal School. After graduation in 1883, she taught at the Lancaster School for three years until her marriage to Armstead Walker, Jr., a building contractor. (It was illegal at the that time for married women to teach.) She had three sons -- Russell Eccles Talmadge (born in 1890); Armstead Mitchell (born in 1893 and died at seven months) and Melvin DeWitt (born in 1897).
In her work for the Independent Order of St. Luke, Maggie Walker served in numerous capacities of increasing responsibility. In 1889 when its headquarters moved to Richmond from Baltimore, she was asked to be its executive secretary. By 1899, she was elected to the top leadership position as the Right Worthy Grand Secretary, a position she held until her death.
Turning Nickels into Dollars
In 1901, in her new role, she challenged the order with an idea for economic empowerment. "We need a savings bank, chartered, officered, and run by the men and women of this Order....Let us have a bank that will take the nickels and turn them into dollars." Hence, the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank was established in 1903, and she became its president -- the first woman bank president in America.
The bank's goal was to facilitate loans to the community, and by 1920, the bank had helped purchase about 600 homes. Under her leadership the Order's membership and numbers of councils were significantly increased throughout the country and its finances achieved solvency. By 1924, the Order had 50,000 members, 1500 local chapters, a staff of 50 at its Richmond headquarters and assets of almost $400,000. The Penny Savings Bank absorbed all other black-owned banks in Richmond in 1929 and became the Consolidated Bank and Trust Company with Walker as its chairman of the board. Today, it is the oldest surviving African-American bank in the United States.
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In 1902, Walker started publishing a newspaper, the St. Luke Herald, to increase awareness of the activities of the organization and to help in the educational work of the order. In 1904, she and her husband purchased an 1883 two-story brick house in Richmond's Jackson Ward neighborhood, which was, at the turn of the century, the center of Richmond's African-American business and social life. As their family grew, they added rooms, and when the two surviving sons married, they moved into the house with their wives.
Humanitarian Amidst Personal Tragedy
In addition to her work for the Independent Order of St. Luke, Maggie Walker was active in civic groups. In 1912, she helped found the Richmond Council of Colored Women and served as its president. She was a member of the International Council of Women of the Darker Races, the National Association of Wage Earners, the National Urban League and the Virginia Interracial Committee. She also co-founded the Richmond branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
The death of her father and of her second son were not the only personal tragedies to befall Maggie Walker. In 1907, she fell on the front steps of her home and injured her knees. The damaged nerves and tendons continued to trouble her for the rest of her life. She also suffered from diabetes and was confined to a wheelchair after 1928. Her husband died in 1915 when her son, Russell Ecles Talmage, mistook his father for a prowler on the porch and shot him. Russell was acquitted of the murder charge, but he never recovered from this ordeal and he died in 1923.
Walker died in Richmond, Virginia, on December 15, 1934. The cause of her death was listed as "diabetes gangrene." At her death, the Rev. W.T. Johnson, pastor of the First African Baptist Church, described her as someone who "never failed her people," and as a "Christian at heart, and in life, and in her acts."
Visiting the National Historic Site
The restored rowhouse, originally built in 1883, is located at 110 1/2 E. Leigh Street, in the Jackson Ward National Historic Landmark District in downtown Richmond. After the Walker's purchased the home in 1904, they began making changes, which included adding central heating and electricity. With the addition of several bedrooms and enclosed porches to accommodate the extended family, the home was eventually increased from 9 to 25 rooms. In 1928, an elevator was added in the rear of the house to provide Mrs. Walker access to the second floor.
The house was designated a National Historic Site in 1978 and was opened as a museum in 1985. It has been restored to its 1930's appearance with original family pieces. Each year about 12,000 people visit the house.
The park visitor center (600 N. 2nd St.) and the house are open Wednesday through Sunday from 9-5, except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day. Programs include guided tours through the house, a video on the life of Maggie Walker, and exhibits. Advance reservations for groups of five or more is required. A special graveside wreath-laying ceremony and on-site programs are held on July 15th to commemorate Maggie Walker's birthday. For further information, call 804-771-2017.
Other useful resources:
Maggie L. Walker photo collection - from the National Park Service.
Maggie L. Walker timeline - from the National Park Service.
National Park Service sites in Virginia - from your About.com guide.
Virginia State Parks - from the Department of Conservation & Recreation.
