The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1910-10-12
IS STRICTLY A NEGRO Town
NOT A SINGLE WHITE MAN LIVES
IN MOUND BAYOU, MISS.
In Rich Valley of YazOO River

Was rounded Dy FOfIlef slaves Oh
Jefferson Davis Brother. All Off
Gals FuII-BIoOded Blacks. Some
Things 1t Boasts of.
What would you say if you heard
of a town in the south where the
population is made up solely of black
inhabitants? You would not believe
it? Well, there is such a town.
In the lower Mississippi basin, in
the rich valley of the Yazoo river,
where the farmer laughs at the idea
of fertilizer, is Mound Bayou. A
black mayor and his black aldermen
sit in the council chamber making
laws, a black marshal carries the
billy, a black postmaster passes out
the mail, a black banker cashes the
travellers check, black ticket agent
sells him a ticket and the white
mans waiting room is at the rear
and the colored mans room is at the
front The negro is in everything
that goes to make town.
Seldom is a white face seen in
Mound Bayou. Once in a while a
newspaper man, traveller or
drummer gets off the train. He at
tends to his business, is treated with
the greatest courtesy, and is given
a place to sleep at one of the hotels
or in one of the best private homes.
He is allowed to eat at a table by
himself or to have a whole dining
room to himself; then he is sent on
mis- way feeling happy and surprised
White neighbors from adjoining
towns often drive through in their
automobiles and sometimes come
over to witness a ball game between |
two black teams or to see black !
athletes perform. Mound Bayou, |
Miss, is popular on this account
Situated on Good Soil.
Mound Bayou is situated on the !
Yazoo & Mississippi Valley railroad |
half way between Vicksburg and |
Memphis, Tenn. 1t covers in all 3O,-
900 acres of land owned by negroes. |
1t has that peculiar damp black soil
of river bottoms that needs no arti-
fetal help to grow in abundance !
whatever is planted there. Without
help of any sort it can give off two
big crops a year and still keep pace
with soil in the sister states of Ala
bama and Georgia. 1t grows crops |
that generally wither and scorch un-
der the southern soil. One can find |
there celery and rhubarb growing as
luXuriously as in Massachusetts. |
Glover fields stretch away for miles, |
while cabbages are grown all the |
year round
OF the 5000 inhabitants of Mound |
Bayou about 1000 own and till the !
soil. There are a private, a public |
and an industrial school and also a |
Carnegie library as a means of edu- |
cation; six churches, MethQdists and |
Baptists dividing the honors.
What 1t Boasts of.
In business and industries the
town has three shoe shops, two
blacksmith shops, two millinery and
dressmaking establishments, 10 or
10 grocery and general supply stores, !
two watch and clock repair shops, |
two drug stores, one large hotel, sew
eral restaurants, a soda bottling
works, two barber shops, one under
taking firm, photograph gallery, |
a weekly newspaper, one denomina-
tional paper, two loan and invest
ment clubs, bank, two saw mills, |
four cotton gins and an oil mill.
These are not only owned by ne
groes, but in building and planning
they represent negro skill and labor.
The bank at Mound Bayou has cor
respondence with the Chase National
Bank, of New York; also with big
banking houses of Memphis, Vicks-
burg and New Orleans. 1t is more
than six years old. The founder of
this bank, the real financier of the
town, is a pure blooded African.
The greatest triumph in this ne
gro town was the cottonseed oil mill.
This mill, which is now ready for
use, represents 100000 of negro
capital. Negroes designed and built
every bit of it, putting in the en-
gines and the like. They will also
manage every department of the
mill, and it will be from the negro
grown cottonseed that the oil will be
made. This is considered the best en-
terprise ever Independently launched
in business by negroes.
How 1t Was Settled.
But how did this place become a
town wholly inhabited by negroes"
Twenty-three years ago Isaiah T.
Montgomery, former slave of JEFF
ferson Davis brother, Joe Davis,
landed there with a little band of
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