Columbia Savings & Loan Association spent 2024 celebrating its 100th anniversary as Wisconsin’s oldest, and now, only, Black-owned bank.
As it moves forward, Columbia’s leadership wants to modernize while continuing to serve Milwaukee’s Black and underserved communities by helping more families own homes in their neighborhoods.
After Milwaukee native Sharon Adams moved back to her parents’ home in Lindsay Heights in 1997, she opened up an account at the nearby savings and loan association at 2020 W. Fond du Lac Ave. with her cousin when they learned its history.
“It’s a bit of a mystery to me that Columbia has survived without a merger throughout these years and it’s still, for me, the place to go and support and I would expect to be supported,” said Adams, who is a founder of Walnut Way Conservation Corp., a nonprofit focused on community-led development in Lindsay Heights.
The Halyards and Columbia’s history
Wilbur and Ardie Clark Halyard founded Columbia Savings & Loan Association in 1924 to help Black people secure home loans when redlining and racial covenants restricted housing options and banks discriminated against Black people.
The Halyards moved from the South to Beloit in 1920, then to Milwaukee in 1923, advocating for the rights of African Americans along the way, according to Clayborn Benson, director of the Wisconsin Black Historical Society, 2620 W. Center St.
“People wanted to buy their homes, and the Halyards made it possible to be able to do that,” Benson said.
The Halyards worked hard (and without pay for many years) to establish the association, which survived through social, economic and political changes to Milwaukee and the country.
“It’s one of those things where you knew if you needed to get a loan, or you wanted to buy a house, they would work with you, whereas other more traditional institutions might overlook you,” said Steven DeVougas, chairman of the North Avenue Marketplace Business Improvement District 32.
The bank’s lasting impact on Milwaukee can especially be felt in Halyard Park, where the Halyards worked closely withreal estate agent Beechie O. Brooksto finance homes in a new development after the construction of Interstate 43.
Modernizing the mission-focused bank
Ernest Jones, the chair/president and CEO of Columbia Savings & Loan Association since 2022, said the bank has stayed true to its mission but needs to modernize.
As a savings and loan association, Columbia offers savings accounts, loans, mortgages and certificates of deposit.
Jones said he understands the limitations of Columbia’s niche market and model — it has no checking or online banking, but has built relationships with customers and partner banks.
“We need money to advance our technology, and it’s going to be a significant investment,” he said.
In addition to pursuing technology updates, Columbia has added new staff and plans to add new board members.
Seeking new deposits
The Republican National Convention Host Committee, Horicon Bank and other banks and institutions have made deposits to Columbia, bringing in new funding to support the bank’s lending efforts to local homebuyers.
The Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce committed to depositing $1 million in Columbia Savings & Loan Association in 2023. Ruben Hopkins, the chamber’s chairman and CEO, said the amount is small compared to what other institutions could deposit to support the bank.
“I congratulate them on being around for 100 years, and I’d like for them to be around for 100 more,” Hopkins said. “But again, if they don’t get the resources they need, it’s just something for the history books.”
Still focused on homeownership
Columbia’s mission stays relevant because the ZIP codes around the bank, 53205 and 53206, have some of the highest rates of poverty in the state, and mortgage payments can be more affordable than rent, Jones said.
“A part of our mission is not only to put people in homes, but to educate our community on the value of homeownership,” Jones said. “It extends to everything else economically and financially for people’s lives.”
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