Harry O. Wilson Bank (Baltimore, Maryland)
- Veronica Carr
- Aug 8, 2025
- 2 min read
Another day, another dollar, and another historic Black business to celebrate!
Have you heard of Harry O. Wilson, Sr.? Wilson was a Black banker, philanthropist, newspaper publisher, and developer who established his own bank, insurance company (#MutualBenefitSociety), and community (#WilsonPark) in Baltimore between the early 1900s and 1920s? Yes, you read that right. In two decades, Wilson, who began working as a shoemaker to support his family, had built a business empire that employed, insured, and financed generations of Black Baltimoreans. #HistoricBlackBanking
Harry O'Neil Wilson was born in Baltimore into a family of ten, which included his seven sisters and his parents. Wilson received very little formal education, due to the early death of his father, an early Black principal, which forced the young Wilson to find employment and help support his mother and sisters. However, he did receive some tutoring from Kelly Miller, the renowned educator and future dean of Howard University, a historically Black univesity in Washington, D.C.
The Harry O. Wilson Bank funded the construction and acquisition of churches and institutions and helped hundreds of Black Baltimoreans purchase homes in #OldWestBaltimore. The Mutual Benefit Society provided employment and sick and death benefits to numerous Black Baltimoreans. Wilson, like others in the historic Old West Baltimore community, believed in recycling the Black dollar, as evidenced by these two checks (from the Nanny Jack & Co Archives). The first check (July 10, 1928) was paid to #JesseBClark, a Black printer whose business was at 2120 Druid Hill Avenue. The $2.75 paid to Clark in 1928 is equivalent to $51.53 in 2025. The second check (January 16, 1929) was made out to #DrDavidEOver, the founder and first pastor of #ProvidenceBaptistChurch, for $3.00, which is equivalent to $56.21 in 2025. (Historical tidbit: Dr. Over was a Sergeant in the 1898 Spanish-American War.)
This collage is just a sample of the Harry O. Wilson collection with the Nanny Jack & Co Archives.
Wilson made a lasting impact on the Black and white Baltimore communities through his financial savviness and business acumen. When he discovered that Black residents faced obstacles when trying to obtain home loans and establish bank accounts, he stepped up to fulfill that need.
As a former Baltimore City CHAP (Commission for Historic and Architectural Preservation) Commissioner, I worked tirelessly to have his home in Wilson Park landmarked, so that future generations can appreciate this Black banking pioneer and his vision.
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