Mound Bayou, in Bolivar County, Mississippi, was founded in 1887 as an independent black community by former slaves led by Isaiah Montgomery. Its roots actually lead from Davis Bend, Mississippi, where Joseph Emory Davis, an older brother of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, established a 5000-acre plantation as a model slave community. After the war, Davis sold the property to his former slave, Benjamin Montgomery, who operated it as a cooperative until the 1880s, when is failed due to a number of reasons that included falling cotton prices. His son, Isaiah Montgomery, led many of the residents to form a new black community in northwestern Mississippi, creating Mound Bayou. Cotton prices continued to fall however, and many of its early residents lost their land by 1920, and were sharecroppers, declining further in the 1920s and 1930s. When the Taborian Hospital was opened in 1942, the community began to revive. In 1952, Medgar Evers moved to Mound Bayou to sell insurance, and it was here that he was introduced to civil rights activism through the Regional Council of Negro Leadership, whose rallies drew crowds of ten thousand or more. At the time of the 2000 census, almost ninety-nine percent of the town’s population was black. Mary Booze, the first African-American woman to sit on the Republican National Committee, was born in Mound Bayou. However, the town has lost population steadily since 1980. Mound Bayou is situated along US Highway 278, south of Winstonville and Shelby, and north of Merigold, Renova and Cleveland. Greenville, Mississippi is about forty-five miles southwest of Mound Bayou.
Recommended Resources
Mound Bayou, Mississippi was founded in 1887. The official municipal web site offers a history of the historically black community and a profile of the city, a calendar of events, departmental contacts, and a map showing the location of its offices. Public notices are posted to the site.
http://www.moundbayoums.com/
Based in Mound Bayou, Mississippi, the health care network has clinics in Mound Bayou as well as in Greenville, Moorhead, Cleveland, and Indianola. Its locations are shown on a map, and addresses are included, along with an overview of its services, career information, a calendar of events, and patient resources.
http://www.deltahealthcenter.org/
Mound Bayou Public School District
Serving the Mound Bayou, Mississippi area, MBPSD is a public school system offering a PK-12th grade curriculum operating I.T. Montgomery Elementary School and John F. Kennedy High School, both of which are highlighted here, with directions, schedules, and contacts.
http://www.mbpsd.com/
North Bolivar Consolidated School District
Headquartered in Mound Bayou, Mississippi, the NBCSD works in conjunction with the Mound Bayou Public School District to operate the I.T. Montgomery School and John F. Kennedy High School, as well as Brooks Elementary in Duncan, Shelby Middle School in Shelby, and Broad Street High School in Shelby. A calendar of events, teacher salary schedule, and employment applications are put forward.
http://nbcsd.k12.ms.us/
In operation since 1999, the Center is located in Mound Bayou, Mississippi, serving Mound Bayou, Shelby, Winstonville, Renova, Marigold, Duncan, and Cleveland, offering emergency assistance, senior outreach, a learning laboratory and GED program, as well as other programs which are outlined here.
http://www.saintgabrielmc.org/
Settled on July 12, 1887 by former slaves of Joe Davis, who conceived the idea before the Civil War, Mound Bayou is a historically black town. Its history is told in detail here, with biographical sketches of its founders and other significant people in the community as well as several photographs.
http://www.orgsites.com/ms/moundbayou/
Affiliated with the Evangelical Covenant Church, the congregation meets at its facilities on Howard Memorial Highway in Mound Bayou, Mississippi. Its purposes, practices and beliefs are outlined, along with photographs, an overview of its ministries and programs, schedules, and contacts.
http://walkoffaith.net/
