Most of Mound Bayou was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. 4 places in town are on the National Register, among them the I. T. Montgomery House, a National Historic Landmark, and a historic district with 34 buildings. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1935 on, and the census since 1900.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1888.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Mound Bayou’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mound Bayou is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mound Bayou’s overall grade.
Mississippi towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Mississippi town has 71.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Mound Bayou’s 255 sits above most of its state (81% of Mississippi towns have fewer) while its 37 historic buildings outnumber those of 83% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share (±1.3 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1887.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Mound Bayou’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
In 1887, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Mound Bayou’s post office opened in 1888, and the census of 1900 counted 287 people here.
How does Mound Bayou rank for history?
Mound Bayou is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Mound Bayou?
4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the I. T. Montgomery House (a National Historic Landmark since 1976), and 1 historic district, the Mound Bayou Historic District, with 34 contributing buildings. 37 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Mound Bayou?
1% of Mound Bayou’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.3 points), against a typical 4.5% for a Mississippi town; the median home was built in 1977.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (1), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
★ Landmark
1912
1912
