History is a very fickle thing. Although it’s a constant reminder of how far we’ve come, some of our most captivating stories have been lost in the abyss of time. But this is Black folklore, the time machine of storytelling, and our mission is to uncover the stories from our past that are steeped in Black excellence. One of those tales is the story of Ben Montgomery, the former slave who purchased his master’s plantation to build a utopia for Black people escaping the harsh realities of Jim Crow. Montgomery’s story is another great testament to Black resilience. He was one of the most influential Black men in all of American history.

Benjamin Montgomery was born a slave in Loudon County, Virginia, in 1819. When he was 17, he was sent to a slave market in Natchez, Mississippi. Natchez was one of the largest domestic slave markets in the Deep South. It was known as the epicenter of American capitalism in the mid-19th century. The market operated for almost 30 years and tens of thousands of Black people were transported from Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky, and the Carolinas to the Natchez market to be sold–but all slave owners were not created equal.

Benjamin Montgomery was purchased by Joseph Emory Davis at the Natchez market in 1836. Joseph Davis was the older brother of future Confederate president Jefferson Davis. The Davis family owned several plantations in Mississippi, including the Brierfield plantation and the Hurricane plantation in Davis Bend. Joe Davis took a different approach to manage his slaves than most other plantation owners in the deep south.

Davis didn’t believe in punishing his slaves with violence and mistreatment. Instead, he developed a system of self-government for his slave community. No slave living on the plantation in Davis Bend could be punished without being tried and convicted by a jury of his peers. If a slave happened to be convicted by his or her peers, Davis was usually very lenient when it came to handing down punishments. He also made sure his slaves live better than most in the antebellum south. Slave cabins were well-built, food was rarely rationed, and slaves were left to govern themselves. But don’t be confused, it was still slavery. Joesph Davis owned more than 300 slaves and never once freed any of them. No matter the conditions, people did not want to be owned by other people.

Ben Montgomery was originally from Virginia, which at the time was mostly a city environment compared to Mississippi’s isolated woodlands. When he first arrived at the Hurricane Plantation at Davis Bend he tried to run away seeking freedom, but was tracked down and returned to his owner. In 1793, congress passed the first-ever Fugitive Slave Act, which allowed local governments to seize and return escapees to their owners. It also imposed penalties on anyone who helped slaves hide or escape.

When Montgomery was caught and returned to Davis, he was not punished. Historians believe that instead of violence, Davis chose a diplomatic route and talked to Montgomery about why he was so unhappy. Their conversation impressed Davis and the two developed a mutual understanding that Montgomery would be allowed to flourish as a human being, as many slaves in the south were not afforded the same luxuries.

Regardless, Ben took full advantage. He learned to read and had access to the plantation library. Eventually, he began working as an office clerk for Davis, who was also an attorney. Montgomery wrote letters as well as legal briefs for his owner. He also learned land surveying and construction plans, designing special levees that protected the plantation during floods–they are still holding to this day. But Montgomery didn’t stop there. He was also the architect of several plantation buildings including the garden cottage, which became the Hurricane plantation library.

Montgomery was a true renaissance man–a person with many talents or areas of knowledge. Not only was he an office clerk and architect, but he also became a skilled mechanic who regularly maintained steam engines that operated the cotton gins and invented a boat propeller to improve the paddle wheels of river steamboats. His boat propeller invention was so efficient that his owner Joesph Davis tried to patent it under Montgomery’s name. U.S. law prohibited slaves from owning patents and it was ultimately denied.