Did you know there is an all-black town in Mississippi that was founded by former slaves? – Essence

The town of Mound Bayou, Mississippi, is a historic, all-black town founded in 1887 by former black slaves who created a thriving haven for hundreds of black Americans in the course of the Jim Crow era. By 1900, this small town in the central Mississippi Delta had grown from its humble beginnings right into a “thriving community of black businesses and prosperous farmers.” Early black towns like this one were once economic, political, and social sanctuaries where black American families and businesses could thrive.

Here are five facts you have to know about this historic black town.

Founding of a totally black city

Founded in 1887 and incorporated in 1898, Mound Bayou is often known as “The Jewel of the Delta.” “The city is the oldest exclusively black city in the United States, founded by former slaves.”

It was founded by Isaiah T. Montgomery and his cousin Benjamin Green. The two former slaves purchased the 840-acre land for $7 an acre. Their vision was groundbreaking on the time, as the town was to be a self-sufficient, independent, all-black city from the beginning.

Mound Bayou was named for a big Indian mound that sat on the confluence of two swamps, draining the world. However, the placement was chosen due to Louisville, New Orleans and Texas Line Railroad that ran through its center.

A thriving economy in the “jewel of the Delta”

What began as a desolate swamp town in the Mississippi Delta had by 1900 transformed right into a thriving community of black businesses and profitable farms. Bayou Mound became a haven for hundreds of black Americans in the course of the Jim Crow era. The community included 40 businesses, two mills, three cotton gins, a train station, a library, several schools, a bank, and a hospital.

At the time, a town of that size was unheard of, and the economic growth it enjoyed attracted the eye of many, including President Theodore Roosevelt, who nicknamed Mound Bayou the “Jewel of the Delta.”

Mound Bayou’s Role in the Civil Rights Movement

Medgar Evers moved to Mound Bayou in 1952 to sell insurance to Dr. TRM Howard. It was here that he first encountered civil rights activism. From 1952 to 1955, the town also hosted annual Regional Council of Negro Leadership rallies. Mound Bayou is also known for its involvement in the aftermath of the murder of 14-yr-old Emmett Till. Dr. Howard welcomed reporters and witnesses to his home, offering them a spot to sleep in the course of the trial.

The importance of education

As documented in the town newspaper, The Demonstrator (1900), Mound Bayou advocated education as an essential element of community survival, particularly vocational training in scientific agriculture on the Mound Bayou Normal and Industrial Institute. Mound Bayou boomed between 1907 and 1915 as a railroad hub, allowing it to achieve 8,000 people by 1911. A dramatic decline occurred in the course of the Great Migration (1915–1930), as cotton prices collapsed, Booker T. Washington died, and black paths to freedom moved from small towns to large cities.

Now let’s take a take a look at Mound Bayou

Despite a precipitous decline in population over the course of a century, Mound Bayou is still a predominantly black city. Few shops and jobs remain, but this noble and historic community, which is 98 percent black, continues to thrive. The city opened Mound Bayou Museum as a strategy to tell local and state history.