Former slaves Isaiah T. Montgomery and Benjamin T. Green founded Mound Bayou on July 12, 1887, as a cooperative, self-governed African American community. They purchased land from the Louisville, New Orleans, and Texas Railroad Company. Incorporated in 1898, Mound Bayou, at its height, had numerous private businesses and public institutions, including a high school and two hospitals. Education and health care were provided for residents of Mound Bayou, as well as for African Americans across the Mississippi Delta.