Harry O. Wilson House

Harry O. Wilson House. . , This was the home of Harry O. Wilson, African American banker, real estate developer, and founder of the Mutual Benefit Society. He was one of the wealthiest and most influential men in Baltimore, African American or white, in the early 20th century. His success is astonishing, considering his accomplishments took place during the Jim Crow era., His bank, one of the few in Baltimore that did not close during the Depression, was one of the first to provide loans to African Americans. His bank and building associations funded the construction of many African American institutions and churches., He served on many appointed committees focused on Baltimore business and improvements, where he was often the sole African American at the boardroom table. He also invested in the construction of the Southern Hotel, which opened for whites only in 1918., In 1917, he began developing the neighborhood in which this house is located: Wilson Park. He created a suburban black community that achieved many of the ideals that were largely inaccessible to African Americans: prime location and topography, amenities, and proximity to exclusive, expensive, and racially-restrictive neighborhoods. The creation of Wilson Park was achieved in spite of the multiple layers of legal, economic, and social limitations that were intentionally stacked against African Americans in Baltimore and the United States at large., Wilson Park was a rural respite for many black Baltimoreans, including civil rights leaders W. Ashbie Hawkins, George W.F. McMechen, and Garnett Russell Waller. Legendary jazz musician Cab Calloway lived in Wilson Park for a short time., Wilson and his family lived in this home and frequently entertained the African American elite. He also operated an an office for his bank and insurance company in the house., Wilson died in the house in 1939 at the age of 66. His funeral was held in the home.,

"I have no special rule for success, save hard work and scrupulous honesty."