William Washington Browne and the Savings Bank of the Grand Fountain, United Order of True Reformers.

ASALH 2008 Conference Paper William Washington Browne and the Savings Bank of the Grand Fountain, United Order of True Reformers. Daniel R. Acker, Jr. The paper will trace the founding of the United Order of True Reformers by former Georgia slave, William Washington Browne, the growth of the fraternal organization and the story of its crowning achievement, the founding of the second black owned and operated bank in America, in Richmond, Virginia, in 1889. The paper will also tell the story of the bank's successes, culminating in the building of its Washington, DC branch in 1903. This beautiful building, which still stands today, was the first substantial commercial structure to be designed, built, financed, owned and operated all by African Americans. The building's architect was John Anderson Lankford, the first of several early African American architects registered to practice in the District of Columbia. Additionally, the paper will touch on the important fraternal society movement among African Americans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as well as discuss the other black owned banks and financial institutions of consequence that were founded and operated during this era. Finally, the paper will pose the question as to why the cultural image of African Americans does not include these remarkable early organizational and financial achievements by a people just a generation out of bondage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]