America’s first female self-made millionaire made much of her money by building her business right here in Indiana. Madame C.J. Walker is famous for her line of hair grower for African American women’s hair, and her factory in Indy was the pinnacle of her success. Scroll on to learn more.
You can’t talk about the history of African American hair care without discussing Madame C.J. Walker and the incredible strides she made toward African American beauty and entrepreneurship.
Wikimedia Commons/Adaku Nwakanma
Her individual story is long, but she is known as America’s first self-made female millionaire. Born in 1867, she lived to be 51 years of age and was the first child in her family born into freedom while her other five siblings and parents were slaves.
Wikimedia Commons/Wendy Kaveney
Walker moved her operation to Indianapolis in 1910 after working as an independent hairdresser and retailer of hair care for a few years. Here, she built a factory while running a mail-order operation out of Denver and a beauty parlor out of Pittsburgh.
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Indianapolis was the headquarters for Madame C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company and also the location of one of her houses. Here, she built a factory, beauty school, hair salon, and research laboratory that became the backbone of her business.
Wikimedia Commons/Nyttend
Walker trained other women to sell her products and promoted a policy that helped to advance the status of African Americans. She believed that women with good hair could achieve great things.
Wikimedia Commons/Scurlock Studio
All of this was taking place at the turn of the century when black people were still largely discriminated against. Lynchings and race riots were common but the voices and charitable works of Madame C.J. Walker as well as her peers, W. E. B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington, have not been forgotten.
Flickr/William Creswell
Walker passed away in 1919 from complications due to kidney failure and high blood pressure. She is buried in New York at Woodlawn Cemetery.
Wikimedia Commons/Anthony22 Many of her personal papers are preserved at the Indiana Historical Society, and the factory was renamed the Madame Walker Theatre Center in 1927 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
What else do you know about Madame C. J. Walker and her time in Indy? Share your knowledge with us below in the comments.
Wikimedia Commons/Adaku Nwakanma
Wikimedia Commons/Wendy Kaveney
Wikimedia Commons
Wikimedia Commons/Nyttend
Wikimedia Commons/Scurlock Studio
Flickr/William Creswell
Wikimedia Commons/Anthony22
Many of her personal papers are preserved at the Indiana Historical Society, and the factory was renamed the Madame Walker Theatre Center in 1927 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
For more like this, check out these nine moments in Indiana history that will never be forgotten.
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Address: Indianapolis, IN, USA
