A Photographic Tour of Mound Bayou, Mississippi {Part 1}

Just a 4.5 hour drive from us lies a truly remarkable place: Mound Bayou, Mississippi. This isn’t just any town; it’s a testament to resilience and self-determination, founded over a century ago by a community of formerly enslaved people. Because I took so many pictures, this will will be a three-part series.

The Hubs and I are always on the hunt for historic towns that are within a few hours drive from our house, while we don’t mind staying overnight, sometimes we prefer shorter trips. I’m not sure how we heard about Mound Bayou, but the decision to visit was an easy one. The drive to Mound Bayou was nice and uneventful, we listened to music and talked about life, what we were expecting to find once we arrived…

As always when visiting historic towns, The Hubs and I did a bit of research to identify the best ways to see all the historic sites. Mound Bayou made it pretty easy by providing QR codes next to the historic markers to assist visitors with identifying buildings and locations. At each stop, I hopped out of the car and snapped a few pictures. What you can tell is that many of these places are either far back from the road surrounded by fences or overgrown grass, so it’s not easy to get up close to the buildings {however, I did get as close as possible to capture details}.

ABOUT MOUND BAYOU, MISSISSIPPI

Mound Bayou was founded as an independent Black community in 1887 by formerly enslaved people led by Isaiah Montgomery. Mound Bayou was one of the first independent Black settlements established during the Post-Reconstruction period. Mound Bayou’s Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

For more information about Mound Bayou, visit their website or read this brief article from NPR.

First Baptist Church, 1887.

First Brickcrete Home, 1972.

Taborian Hospital, 1942.

Site of Mound Bayou Oil Mill & Manufacturing Company, 1912.

Mound Bayou Museum of African American Culture and History, 2021. The museum was closed during our visit, so we were unable to tour the inside.

Mound Bayou Common Cemetery.

Bolivar County Training School, 1921.

This tank wasn’t part of the tour, it was just a random tank mounted on the side lot of the church. There’s no placard or anything stating why it’s there and no one was around to ask.

This also wasn’t on the tour, but how often do you see a phone booth in the wild? There isn’t a phone book, I checked.

Boarded up buildings fascinate me. Especially when there’s still “stuff” inside. I always want to know what made someone lock up for the night and never return. What happened to the family? How come no one has claimed the space?

FINAL THOUGHTS

The one thing that made my breath catch was the realization that every person we saw was a direct descendant of a formerly enslaved person who helped to settle this community. It made me think back to my father’s funeral when I sat in a church that was built by my grandfather. I wanted to run my fingers across every floor board, feel every groove, I wanted to feel the connection to my family. I wonder if the people who still live in Mound Bayou feel that need as well?

IT’S YOUR TURN

Have you ever stayed at a bed and breakfast? Where? Did you enjoy it?

BOOKISH THINGS

Bookshop.org – Shop for books selected by me, for you!

NetGalley Professional Reader – I receive free ARCs from NetGalley to review on my blog and share on Instagram.

StoryGraph – A reading app that shares all the nerdy details of my bookish life.

THANK YOU

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