Mound Bayou

History

In the aftermath of the Civil War, Davis Bend became an autonomous free community when Joseph Emory Davis sold his property to former slave Benjamin Montgomery, who had run a store and been a prominent leader at Davis Bend. The prolonged agricultural depression, falling cotton prices, flooding by the Mississippi River, and white hostility in the region contributed to the economic failure of Davis Bend. The two main founders of Mound Bayou in 1887 were Isaiah T. Montgomery, Benjamin's son, and Isaiah's cousin, Benjamin Titus Green. Montgomery also served as the first mayor. The bottomlands of the Delta were a relatively undeveloped frontier, and freedmen had a chance to make money by clearing land and using the profits to buy land in such frontier areas. In 1892, the Mound Bayou Normal Institute, a Black school, was founded by the American Missionary Association. African Americans throughout the United States celebrated the Mound Bayou example. In 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt ordered his train to make a special stop in the town. From the platform, he proclaimed that he was witnessing “an object lesson full of hope for the colored people and therefore full of hope for the white people, too.” Four years later, Booker T. Washington, in a speech to a crowd of thousands, hailed Mound Bayou as a “place where a Negro may get inspiration by seeing what other members of his race have accomplished...[and] where he has an opportunity to learn some of the fundamental duties and responsibilities of social and civic life.” The belief of Mound Bayou's citizens in their role as promoting a Black model of freedom and self-government was instrumental in weathering the decline in the two decades after World War I. No person was more effective in keeping the town afloat than…

Geography

U.S. Routes 61 and 278 bypass Mound Bayou to the west and lead south to Cleveland, the largest city in Bolivar County, and north to Clarksdale. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city of Mound Bayou has a total area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Chinese tallow

  Triadica sebifera (L.) Small · Magnoliopsida
  86
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  80
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  75
• Killdeer

  Charadrius vociferus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  69
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  66
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  65
• Loggerhead Shrike

  Lanius ludovicianus Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  63
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  57

Largest nearby schools

• CLEVELAND CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL
  High · CLEVELAND · 817 students · 17.4:1 ratio
• CLEVELAND CENTRAL MIDDLE SCHOOL
  Middle · CLEVELAND · 433 students · 14:1 ratio
• NORTHSIDE HIGH SCHOOL
  High · SHELBY · 354 students · 12.6:1 ratio
• D.M. SMITH ELEMENTARY
  Elementary · CLEVELAND · 289 students · 12:1 ratio
• HAYES COOPER CENTER FOR MATH SC TEC
  Elementary · MERIGOLD · 281 students · 11.7:1 ratio
• NAILOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
  Elementary · CLEVELAND · 237 students · 13.2:1 ratio
• I T MONTGOMERY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
  Elementary · MOUND BAYOU · 225 students · 13.2:1 ratio
• PEARMAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
  Elementary · CLEVELAND · 212 students · 14.1:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 3.7 — 2019-01-08
  8 km WNW of Hollandale, Mississippi
• M 2.8 — 2003-12-31
  4 km NNE of Monticello, Arkansas
• M 3.1 — 2002-10-26
  3 km SE of Alligator, Mississippi
• M 2.8 — 2002-08-11
  8 km ESE of Darling, Mississippi