Armstead Hurley

How this work helped shape America

Born enslaved in Virginia in 1854, Armstead Hurley gained his freedom after the Civil War and later moved from Culpeper County to Newport, Rhode Island. After initially working as a painter, Hurley established his own successful painting and wallpapering business on Thames Street, serving many members of Newport's elite while also becoming a property owner. In 1905, he became a founding partner of the Rhode Island Loan and Investment Company, identified as the state's first Black-owned bank and established to help finance Black-owned businesses. Hurley's career transformed skilled building-trades labor into independent business ownership, property acquisition and participation in an institution designed to expand access to capital for Black entrepreneurs.