I. T. Montgomery House

I. T. Montgomery House
I. T. Montgomery House (circa 1980)
I. T. Montgomery House is located in Mississippi
I. T. Montgomery House
I. T. Montgomery House is located in the United States
I. T. Montgomery House
LocationWest Main Street, Mound Bayou, Mississippi
Coordinates33°52′37.25″N 90°43′43.6″W / 33.8770139°N 90.728778°W / 33.8770139; -90.728778
Built1910 (1910)
NRHP reference No.76001092
USMS No.011-MBU-0001-NHL-ML
Significant dates
Added to NRHPMay 11, 1976[2]
Designated NHLMay 11, 1976[3]
Designated USMSAugust 13, 2003[1]

The I. T. Montgomery House is a historic house on West Main Street in Mound Bayou, Mississippi, United States. Built in 1910, it was the home of Isaiah Montgomery (1847–1924), a former slave of Jefferson Davis who was instrumental in founding Mound Bayou, one of the first economically successful towns established by freed slaves. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976,[3][4] and a Mississippi Landmark in 2003.[1]

Description and history

The I.T. Montgomery House is located in an residential area south of the Mound Bayou town center, on the west side of South Main Avenue midway between Green Street West and West South Street. It is a two-story brick building, with a hip roof and an elevated brick foundation. It has a single-story porch extending across its front, with a hip roof supported by sloped square Doric columns set on brick piers. The porch is reached by a long stair with a right-angle turn. Sections project from several of the house's sides, capped by gables with deep eaves.[4]

Isaiah Thomas Montgomery was a leading figure in the founding of Mound Bayou, one of Mississippi's most successful communities established by slaves freed by the American Civil War. He and a cousin, both former slaves from the plantation of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, had been part of an unsuccessful attempt to establish such a community at one corner of Davis's plantation. After a railroad line was built through Bolivar County in the 1880s, this land, granted to the railroad, was considered a more suitable site for such a settlement. Montgomery was instrumental in recruiting settlers and helping to build the new community, which was given a town charter by the state in 1912. This house was built for Montgomery in 1910, and was his home until his death.[4] After Montgomery's death in 1924 the home was used for nursers, teachers, and a private residence.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Mississippi Landmarks" (PDF). Mississippi Department of Archives and History. May 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 9, 2010. Retrieved April 20, 2009.
  2. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  3. ^ a b "I. T. Montgomery House". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved October 22, 2007.
  4. ^ a b c Lynne Gomez Graves (October 30, 1975). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: I. T. Montgomery House" (pdf). National Park Service. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) and Accompanying 2 photos, exterior, from 1974 and undated. (981 KB)
  5. ^ "Isaiah T. Montgomery House". Knights and Daughters of Tabor. Archived from the original on July 10, 2019. Retrieved July 10, 2019.