Bluff City Savings Bank opened on April 11, 1906, at 119 N. Union St. It operated beside a three-story building that was built as a fire station. In addition to Dr. Banks, the bank’s founders included Dr. Albert Woods Dumas, Professor J.R. Ross, Professor George Washington Brumfield, Professor Samuel H. Owens, and Walton Barland.
News about the bank appeared on the pages of The Natchez Democrat. Months before the bank opened, a story appeared in the Dec. 15, 1905, issue of The Daily Democrat with the headline, “A NEW Bank – Prominent Colored Citizens Will Apply for a Charter – To be Capitalized at Ten Thousand Dollars.” The story noted: “The incorporators are among the leading colored citizens of the city and enjoy the confidence of the white people to the fullest extent.”
Following its opening in April 1906, a notice in the April 22, 1906, issue of The Daily Democrat reported the bank “is enjoying a good patronage from among the colored residents of the city.” The notice also mentioned: “The banking house is in North Union street, next to the No. 7’s engine house, and is provided with a first-class fire and burglar proof safe.”
A brief report in the Dec. 26, 1906, issue noted the bank was “organized by colored business men of Natchez.” It also mentioned a general banking business was conducted “and the savings department is especially adapted to help the colored people to save.”
Meeting needs of black community
The bank’s opening occurred at a critical time for Blacks, who were living under Jim Crow. It was one of nine black-owned banks in Mississippi. During this time, they faced many restrictions and few paths to wealth. Despite the limitations, the bank provided a way for them to save money and purchase property.
“Bluff City became an important source of small, short-term loans,” wrote Shennette Garrett-Scott in the publication, “’All the Other Devils this Side of Hades’: Black Banks and the Mississippi Banking Law of 1914” (Cambridge University Press, Jan. 12, 2022). “Farmers, for example, could get $40 or $50 using their mule, livestock, and farm equipment as collateral. The bank also made larger loans, such as mortgages on homes, farms, and churches.”
Page Ogden, a retired banking professional, described Bluff City as a “fairly loaned up bank as reflected in the ratio of its loan deposits in their statement of condition.” He said it was a small bank that most likely focused on loans for houses and other consumer type loans. “It was all about the business of supplying the local needs in the black population,” he said.
From what he could see in the news reports, the bank was “going along fine,” Ogden said, adding there was a big need for the service.
Natchez was a major city in the state for commerce,” Ogden explained. “Most people, Black and White, probably lived in the county and were still involved with agriculture business. Commercial banks in Natchez probably catered to the white well-to-do clientele.”
Bluff City was a member of the Negro Bankers Association of Mississippi. The organization held meetings in various places, including Natchez. One meeting was held in February 1909 at Zion Chapel. It was described in the newspaper (The Daily Democrat, Feb. 28, 1909) as “one of the most important meetings to the colored race held in some years.”
During the meeting, attendees heard presentations on practical topics related to finance and banking. Dr. Banks, who was president of Bluff City, presented a talk on “How to Handle Bank Collections.” Other presentations included such topics as, “How to Handle Bank Prejudice,” How to Handle Farm Collateral,” “How to Handle Bank Prejudice,” “How to Make a Bank Pay,” and “Bank Advertising and its Fruits.”
A few weeks after the meeting, Dr. Banks moved his office from 608 Franklin Street to 121 N. Union St., right beside Bluff City.
Unexpected challenges
During its short existence, the bank faced at least three critical and unexpected moments that affected its operation. These moments included the death of Dr. Banks, the financial crisis of First Natchez Bank, and theft by an employee.
On the morning of Dec. 26, 1911, Banks was in his office when he fell sick and became paralyzed, according to The Daily Democrat (Dec. 30, 1911). He also lost consciousness. After a while, he started to awaken, but his condition grew worse. On Saturday, Dec. 30, 1911, at 1:45 a.m., he died in his home at the age of 49. His death was caused by a cerebral hemorrhage. Banks’ funeral was held at Zion Chapel. He was buried at Natchez City Cemetery in Adams County.
In late October 1913, First Natchez Bank failed. News of its failure appeared in the Oct. 30, 1913, issue of the Jackson Daily News. The bank’s failure had a negative impact on other local banks. First Natchez’s closure resulted in a run on the other banks, including Bluff City. The leaders of Bluff City thought they could hold off serious damage by closing the bank temporarily to give it time to meet the demands of the depositors, according to Garrett-Scott. “However, the temporary closure proved permanent.”
It was during the temporary closure that a member of the bank’s board learned that $1,500 was missing. “Police charged assistant cashier Major Davis with embezzlement and arrested him in January [1914],” Garrett-Scott wrote. Davis was tried, convicted, and sentenced to five years at Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman. In 1915, Davis received a pardon from the governor that resulted in his release from prison, according to the Natchez Democrat (Dec. 8, 1915). He served only seven or eight months of his five-year sentence. The pardon was sought by prominent citizens of Natchez.
Garrett-Scott observed that when Bluff City “did not reopen after a couple of months, Natchez’s Black community demanded reassurances.”
‘Bank is not insolvent’
In the January 1914 issue of The Crisis, the magazine published a brief paragraph about the bank’s closing:
“Bluff City Savings Bank, of Natchez, Miss., a colored enterprise, has been closed. The bank is not insolvent, but the failure of a white bank in the same town caused a run upon the colored bank, and it was closed until the property in which the money was invested could be converted into cash.”
Ogden suggested the fear in 1913 was understandable given the times. “In those days, there was no FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation),” he said. “Mississippi was primarily a rural state and there was a lot of suspicion of banks to begin with. Scares were common.”
As for the status of Bluff City, Mimi Miller, executive director emerita of Historic Natchez Foundation, noted, “It went into receivership and Dr. Dumas acted as the receiver to make sure that investors got back their money and that loan defaults were properly executed, and the properties resold.“
Currently, discussions are being held about the creation of a historical marker for the site on North Union that will tell the story of the first and only black-owned bank in Natchez.
“This history is important,” said Ogden. “This model of black professionals using their personal resources for viable projects has a long history. It runs deep in the community here. It’s a real effort that needs a lot more attention and recognition by both Whites and Blacks.”