It is common for each generation to feel like they are re-inventing the way we live and work. Recent shifts to working from home may seem new and were a reaction to our isolation during Covid. Something that is interesting is when you enter Banks Bed and Breakfast you are becoming part of its work from home history. The Historic Banks house started out as a family home and business. Dr. Braxton Banks purchased the home around 1897 from Dr. George Montague, a local pharmacist. Originally, a one story house, Dr. Banks added the second level to make sleeping quarters for the family and used part of the downstairs for his medical practice. When you are waiting for breakfast to be served in the dining room you are actually in the original patient waiting room. The examination room now serves as our office.
Unfortunately Dr. Banks died in 1903, so his time practicing in the home was cut short. He did however have four children with his wife, Mrs. Nannie Banks and after growing up, one child later used the home for his work. That son, Thomas “Tom” Banks (born 1900) was a graduate of Harvard Law School and went on to use his degree to serve the Wake County area in several ways. One way was his service to Governor Broughton as his personal secretary. Mr. Banks also served Wake County as the lead attorney during a dynamic period of time that included the development of the Raleigh Regional Airport and Research Triangle Park. He also used to run his own practice out of the library where his oldest daughter said, “If the doors were shut you knew daddy had a client and were NOT to disturb him.”
Nannie Banks was a strong widow and used the home to bring in income through the renting of various rooms. In fact one of the renters who worked across the tracks on Main Street went on to marry one of her sons. Nannie Banks also was very active in the purchasing and selling of land and likely had a home office somewhere in the house. A prolific reader, Nannie Banks managed the household until 1960 and also helped support the first public library in Garner.
We continue the tradition of work from home by turning the historic Banks house into a full service bed and breakfast. Guest rooms upstairs housed many of the Banks children through the years, but the addition of en-suite bathrooms has definitely increased the comfort level for those staying overnight. The library remains and contains many of the original family books that have been passed down through the years but the doors no longer get shut so it’s always available for exploration. When you stand on the front porches or look out the library window you can still see many of the original buildings that make up Main St. There are lots of changes happening around us, many of which feel new to each generation. But some things remain the same. Carving out a space in our homes for our work, looking for meaningful work that balances our home life with our careers, has been a long time challenge, even pre-Covid. Today the Banks House general layout remains basically the same, and while the owners still work from the home, even though the work is different – as fortunately for our guests, medical examinations no longer happen in our office!
