Dr. John Banks House - 9 St. Catherine Street
Natchez Trails
The Dr. John Banks House was built in the Queen Anne style about 1890 and was slightly remodeled in the Colonial Style after about 1905. Frank Robinson, grandson of Dr. John Banks, retired part time to Natchez and restored the house in the mid-1990's.
Dr. John Bowman Banks (second row, far left) stands on the front steps of his St. Catherine Street house with Booker T. Washington (center front) in 1904.
Dr. Banks was the first African-American doctor in Natchez. He graduated from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, and received his Mississippi medical license in 1885.
He began practicing medicine in Natchez in 1889. By 1892 he had built his St. Catherine Street residence. His love of hunting led him to purchase Duncannon Plantation south of Natchez.
Dr. Banks recruited the city's second African American doctor, Albert Woods Dumas. The two doctors were involved in every aspect of civic improvement in the African American community
Dr. Banks and Dr. Dumas were also founders of the Bluff City Savings Bank, the only African American owned bank in the city, and Dr. Banks served as its president. Dr. Banks died in 1911 at the age of 49.
The John Banks House served as headquarters for the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) during the Civil Rights Movement. Pictured above (left) in the front yard of the house is activist Bill Ware of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Pictured in the office inside the house are nationally known activist Charles Evers and local activist Jessie Bernard. The youth and women were the movers and shakers and were often impatient with movement elders like Evers.
Top Right Photo Caption
This photograph of Dr. John Banks appeared with a biographical entry in a 1900 publication entitled, Progress of a Race: Or the Remarkable Advancement of the American Negro from the Bondage of Slavery, Ignorance and Poverty to the Freedom of Citizenship, Intelligence, Affluence, Honor and Trust.
Erected by City
this page online
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Science & Medicine. In addition, it is included in the Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and the Mississippi - Natchez Trails series lists.
Location. 31° 33.523′ N, 91° 23.817′ W. Marker is in Natchez, Mississippi, in Adams County. It is on St. Catherine Street west of Orange Street, on the right when traveling west. St. Catherine Street is one way westbound. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 9 St Catherine Street, Natchez MS 39120, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Southwest Mississippi and in Natchez Trace Corridor. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, and in the Great River Road Region. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the Viceroyalty of New France, the territory of the Mississippian
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: 20-30 St. Catherine Street and Eduation (here, next to this marker); Holy Family Catholic Church (a few steps from this marker); Hospital Hill Neighborhood (a few steps from this marker); Natchez NAACP Headquarters (a few steps from this marker); Dr. John B. Banks House (a few steps from this marker); Holy Family Church and School (within shouting distance of this marker); Rhythm Night Club (within shouting distance of this marker); Views of St. Catherine Street - Western End (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Natchez.
More about this marker. Part of the St. Catherine Street Trail. All markers are on the LEFT when traveling west of St. Catherine Street, as it is one way.
Credits. This page was last revised on January 26, 2024. It was originally submitted on July 29, 2017, by Cajun Scrambler of Assumption, Louisiana. This page has been viewed 1,291 times since then and 37 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on July 29, 2017.
