Early black history has often been lost to the past. This town was one of the few communities in the United States that was established by an African American. Very few of us have ever heard the name Isaiah Montgomery. Isaiah was born into slavery in 1847. He was able to procure an education through his father’s connections with the Davis Bend plantation. Following the Civil War he went into business with his father. His father always dreamed of establishing an independent black community. In 1877, his father Ben Montgomery died and never achieved his dream. Isaiah continued to work hard and to save the money he had earned. In 1887, Isaiah and his cousin, Benjamin T. Green, purchased property in the Mississippi Delta bottomlands to establish a new town. They called their new community Mound Bayou which described the surrounding area. Isaiah had finally accomplished his father’s dream.
Funny Names Of Towns 