Maggie L. Walker House - Richmond

The Maggie L. Walker House is located on East Leigh Street in Richmond, Virginia.  It was here the noted African American businesswoman lived from 1904 to her death in 1934.  The house on Leigh Street was built in 1883 and sits in the heart of Jackson Ward, Richmond's historic focal point for the African American business community.  Maggie and her husband Armistead Walker Jr. purchased the Italianate home in 1904, and remodeled the home extensively over the years, adding an enclosed porch and expanding the structure from 9 to 28 rooms.  By the time she arrived on Quality Row, Walker had already become the Right Worthy Grand Secretary of the Order of St. Luke, established the St. Luke Herald newspaper, and founded the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank.  In addition to serving as the bank's first president, Walker was also active in the local black community and belonged to several civic organizations, including the National Association of Colored Women, the Virginia Industrial School for Girls, the NAACP, and the Virginia Interracial Commission.  Her family lived in the home until 1979, when it was sold to the National Park Service.  The home is now part of the Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site, which includes six buildings located along Leigh Street, which is historically known as Quality Row.  The Maggie Walker House was added to the National register of Historic Places, the Virginia Landmarks Register, and listed as a National Historic Landmark in 1975.  It is also part of the Jackson Ward National Historic Landmark District.         

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