Davis Bend

Davis Bend is a small community in Mississippi, historically significant as a planned settlement established in the 1860s by Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest and others for newly freed African Americans. It was designed to provide land and opportunity for freed slaves and became one of the earliest attempts at Black self-governance in the United States. Over time, its governance changed, but Davis Bend remains notable for its unique history related to Reconstruction, African American land ownership, and its ongoing legacy of community resilience and development.