Alvin Duval Lester, raised in Christiansburg, photographed Richmond’s Jackson Ward. His work is on view at VMFA through March 30, 2026. The Lester family includes free Black Virginians, including Revolutionary War soldier Luke Valentine. gatheringafricanamericanpast.org/2025/12/18/a...

This is a concern, & we hope the two security cameras will deter vandalism at this heritage site, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Given high volume daily foot traffic past a site that is rarely open to the public, the potential for vandalism or worse, remains real risk.

Sources on the life and legacy of Maggie Lena Walker are gathered in one place, making it easy for readers to explore and learn: friendsofstlukeoddfellows.org/2025/12/17/m...

Sources on the life and legacy of Maggie Lena Walker are gathered in one place, making it easy for readers to explore and learn: friendsofstlukeoddfellows.org/2025/12/17/m...

AMERICAN MASTERS: Maggie Lena Walker Civil rights leader and entrepreneur, Walker led a Richmond streetcar boycott decades before Montgomery and became the first Black woman bank president. Premiered March 18, 2020. AMERICAN MASTERS: www.pbs.org/video/civil-...

Maggie L. Walker’s leadership in the St. Luke Order and her bank inspired Black communities across Virginia, including Blacksburg, promoting economic independence, civic engagement, and generational empowerment. www.womenshistory.org/education-re...

"Virginia will now be properly represented by an actual patriot, who embodied the principle of liberty and justice for all and not a traitor, who took up arms against the United States to preserve the brutal institution of chattel slavery." -- @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social apnews.com/video/us-cap...

Certificate of endowment for the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows https://nmaahc.si.edu/object/nmaahc_2011.89.8ab

The US had 2 Odd Fellows orders: -Independent Order of Odd Fellows [white] - eg, Poolesville -Grand United Order of Odd Fellows in America [Black] - eg, Boyds The Golden Crown Lodge #8779 & Isabella Household of Ruth #4467, Grand United Order of Odd Fellows, bought this property in January 1918.

The Odd Fellows Building of #AuburnAvenue in Atlanta, Georgia, is a historic building built in 1912 and 1913. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, and is still in use to this day. #AuburnAve #blackhistory #SweetAuburn

Points of Light Radio fellowships with Demetrius Feaster. He’s a member of the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows. www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JBl...

Albumen print of mebers of the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows https://nmaahc.si.edu/object/nmaahc_2011.89.6

Trophy cup given by the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows https://nmaahc.si.edu/object/nmaahc_2011.89.1

Blacksburg’s Tadmore Light Lodge No. 6184 predates Council No. 10461 by several years, as reflected in the lodge numbers.

1907–08 photo of the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows Sub-Committee of Management and Counsel. Leaders from across the country are pictured. Blacksburg’s council was the Tadmore Light Lodge No. 6184 (1904), two years after St Luke council (Aug 1902).

Lifting up Maggie L Walker’s story youtu.be/QR3CexPZXEk

Maggie L. Walker installed the St. Francis #235 Circle of the Independent Order of St. Luke in Blacksburg in Aug 1902—just a month after Virginia’s voter-suppression laws. @MaggieWalkerNPS reminds us how important this local history is. Our nonprofit is working to bring it forward.

Maggie L. Walker installed the St. Francis #235 Circle of the Independent Order of St. Luke in Blacksburg in Aug 1902—just a month after Virginia’s voter-suppression laws. @MaggieWalkerNPS reminds us how important this local history is. Our nonprofit is working to bring it forward.

Maggie L. Walker installed the St. Francis #235 Circle of the Independent Order of St. Luke in Blacksburg in Aug 1902—just a month after Virginia’s voter-suppression laws. @MaggieWalkerNPS reminds us how important this local history is. Our nonprofit is working to bring it forward.

Maggie L. Walker installed the St. Francis #235 Circle of the Independent Order of St. Luke in Blacksburg in Aug 1902—just a month after Virginia’s voter-suppression laws. @MaggieWalkerNPS reminds us how important this local history is. Our nonprofit is working to bring it forward.

Maggie L. Walker installed the St. Francis #235 Circle of the Independent Order of St. Luke in Blacksburg in Aug 1902—just a month after Virginia’s voter-suppression laws. @MaggieWalkerNPS reminds us how important this local history is. Our nonprofit is working to bring it forward.

Maggie L. Walker installed the St. Francis #235 Circle of the Independent Order of St. Luke in Blacksburg in Aug 1902—just a month after Virginia’s voter-suppression laws. @MaggieWalkerNPS reminds us how important this local history is. Our nonprofit is working to bring it forward.

Maggie L. Walker installed the St. Francis #235 Circle of the Independent Order of St. Luke in Blacksburg in Aug 1902—just a month after Virginia’s voter-suppression laws. @MaggieWalkerNPS reminds us how important this local history is. Our nonprofit is working to bring it forward.

Maggie L. Walker installed the St. Francis #235 Circle of the Independent Order of St. Luke in Blacksburg in Aug 1902—just a month after Virginia’s voter-suppression laws. @MaggieWalkerNPS reminds us how important this local history is. Our nonprofit is working to bring it forward.

Maggie L. Walker installed the St. Francis #235 Circle of the Independent Order of St. Luke in Blacksburg in Aug 1902—just a month after Virginia’s voter-suppression laws. @MaggieWalkerNPS reminds us how important this local history is. Our nonprofit is working to bring it forward.

Maggie L. Walker installed the St. Francis #235 Circle of the Independent Order of St. Luke in Blacksburg in Aug 1902—just a month after Virginia’s voter-suppression laws. @MaggieWalkerNPS reminds us how important this local history is. Our nonprofit is working to bring it forward.

When she was fourteen years old, Walker joined the local council of the Independent Order of St. Luke. This fraternal organization was originally established as a burial society in 1867 in Baltimore, Maryland by Mary Prout.

Walker's restored and furnished home in the historic Jackson Ward neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia has been designated a National Historic Site, operated by the National Park Service.

Maggie Lena (née Draper Mitchell) Walker (July 15, 1864 – December 15, 1934) was an American businesswoman and teacher. In 1903, Walker became both the first African-American woman to charter a bank and the first African-American woman to serve as a bank president.

As a leader, Walker achieved successes with the vision to make tangible improvements in the way of life for African Americans. Disabled by paralysis and a wheelchair user later in life, Walker also paved the way for people with disabilities.

Along with her leadership of the Independent Order of St. Luke, Maggie Walker was also involved with the NAACP, The National Association of Colored Women, the National Urban League and National Negro Business League, and the United Order of Tents.

Maggie L. Walker installed the St. Francis #235 Circle of the Independent Order of St. Luke in Blacksburg in Aug 1902—just a month after Virginia’s voter-suppression laws. @MaggieWalkerNPS reminds us how important this local history is. Our nonprofit is working to bring it forward.

Maggie L. Walker installed the St. Francis #235 Circle of the Independent Order of St. Luke in Blacksburg in Aug 1902—just a month after Virginia’s voter-suppression laws. @MaggieWalkerNPS reminds us how important this local history is. Our nonprofit is working to bring it forward.

Maggie Lena Draper was born on July 15, 1864, the daughter of Elizabeth Draper and Eccles Cuthbert. Her mother, a former slave, was an assistant cook at the Van Lew estate in Church Hill of Richmond, Virginia, where she met Cuthbert, an Irish American journalist for the New York Herald, in Virginia.

In 1903, Walker chartered the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank. She wanted to help finance black home ownership and turn saved cents into dollars for black people.

Walker served as the bank's first president, which earned her the recognition of being the first African-American woman to charter a bank in the United States. Charles Thaddeus Russell was Richmond's first black architect and he designed the building for Walker.

Maggie L. Walker installed the St. Francis #235 Circle of the Independent Order of St. Luke in Blacksburg in Aug 1902—just a month after Virginia’s voter-suppression laws. @MaggieWalkerNPS reminds us how important this local history is. Our nonprofit is working to bring it forward.

Friends of St. Luke, Odd Fellows & Household of Ruth applaud Ordinance 2001 creating the Downtown NW District—an important step to protect the 1905/06 Hall, New Town’s last remnant. Strong enforcement will be key. m.facebook.com/story.php?st...

Green Book listings in Montgomery County were few, and Christiansburg’s Eureka Hotel—run by the Morgan family from 1930 into the 1970s—was the only advertised local lodging. gatheringafricanamericanpast.org/2024/01/07/t...

This is a huge concern for Blacksburg’s St Luke and Odd Fellows Hall on Gilbert Street. m.facebook.com/story.php?st...

Thank you to everyone who stopped by our table to decorate a Maggie L. Walker bank and to learn about the importance of the St. Luke, Odd Fellows, and Household of Ruth Hall to the African American community that once called Blacksburg home. Your interest and curiosity help keep this history alive.

Beatrice Walker’s oral history at St. Luke Hall in 2013. As a Trustee, she helped save the building from condemnation. Her story reveals New Town’s erasure and Maggie Lena Walker’s lasting impact on Black financial empowerment in Blacksburg. friendsofstlukeoddfellows.org/2025/02/18/b...

On Feb. 18, 2025, Heather Nicholson spoke at the VT Woman’s Club Winter Luncheon on St. Luke & Odd Fellows Hall, highlighting how cooperative economics helped Black communities survive post-emancipation. Built in 1906, the hall remains a testament to their legacy.

This Hall was once the heart of the New Town neighborhood. Now, it feels small beneath the towering VT buildings that have reshaped the landscape. Universification—like gentrification, but at the expense of Black communities—continues to erode its identity. How do we push back against this trend?

Excited to announce our new website! It combines valuable info, a digital archive, and hidden stories that honor the people who built this building, community, University, and Blacksburg. Their often-overlooked history and contributions are now celebrated. www.friendsofstlukeoddfellows.org