Est. 1870 · Jonestown, Mississippi

A farmers' association, 150 years in the making

Black churches bought this land together after Emancipation so freed families could farm it as their own. Today, a new generation is training on the same ground.

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1870 · Our Story

Land as an act of freedom

In 1870, Black churches across the Mississippi Delta came together to form the Swan Lake Farmers Association — a bold act of land ownership and self-determination in the years after Reconstruction. Pooling their resources, the association bought farmland outside Jonestown so newly freed families could work the ground, own equipment, and build something of their own for the first time.

By the early 1900s, the association had grown to more than 600 acres. Even as the Great Migration pulled many Black families north to Chicago and Detroit in the 1940s and '50s, the Swan Lake churches stayed rooted — farming not just for food, but for freedom.

A radical experiment in land ownership, built one Sunday offering at a time.
Founders & Legacy

Silas Kelly and a tradition of self-reliance

Memorial plaque honoring Silas Kelly, Founder, and John Melchor, President
A memorial honoring Silas Kelly, founder, and John Melchor, president, of the Delta Burial Corporation.

Among the association's visionaries was Silas Kelly, a Black landowner and businessman in nearby Lambert, Mississippi, known for stepping in to give a lynching victim a dignified burial when others were too afraid. That act of courage led him, alongside co-founders I.W. LouAndrew and Reuben Price, to start the Delta Burial Corporation in 1928.

Under founding president John Melchor, the company grew from a single office in Marks into branches across the Delta — and remains one of the region's only Black stockholder-owned businesses of its kind today. It's part of the same spirit that built Swan Lake: Black Mississippians organizing to care for their own.

Today's Work

A farm incubator for the next generation

Rev. Bennie Brown standing outdoors near Jonestown, Mississippi
Rev. Bennie Brown, pastor of St. James Missionary Baptist Church, on the association's land.

Rev. Bennie Brown, pastor of St. James Missionary Baptist Church, now leads that legacy forward. On the same historic acres, he runs a farm incubator training a new generation of Black farmers — seven so far — to grow crops for Jonestown and neighboring towns like Coahoma, Lula, Friars Point, and Clarksdale, none of which have a full-service grocery store nearby.

A recent grant from the Reuben V. Anderson Center for Justice helped the association buy a tractor and equipment, putting new tools behind old ground. It's work that echoes Fannie Lou Hamer's Freedom Farm Cooperative and the vision of Mound Bayou — proof that when Black communities organize around land, they build more than a harvest.

Timeline

Key moments

1870

Black churches across the Delta form the Swan Lake Farmers Association, buying land for newly freed families to farm together.

Early 1900s

The association grows to more than 600 acres, becoming one of the era's most significant Black land-holding ventures.

1928

Association visionary Silas Kelly co-founds the Delta Burial Corporation, one of the Delta's first Black-owned businesses.

1940s–50s

Even as the Great Migration draws families north, the Swan Lake churches keep farming the land.

Today

Rev. Bennie Brown leads a farm incubator on the same acres, training new Black farmers and feeding Delta communities.

Programs

The farm incubator

On the same acres the association has held since 1870, Rev. Bennie Brown runs a farm incubator that trains new and beginning Black farmers directly on the land. Seven farmers are currently working through the program, learning to plant, tend, and harvest crops while getting hands-on experience running a farm.

Signature Crop

Purple hull peas

A cornerstone crop for the co-op, with acreage planned to expand year over year.

Row Crops

Vegetables & staples

Additional crops grown to diversify what the farm can offer nearby communities.

Equipment

Tractor & tools

A recent grant from the Reuben V. Anderson Center for Justice helped purchase a tractor and other equipment.

Jonestown has no full-service grocery store — this incubator grows food for the whole area, not just for itself.
Membership

Becoming part of the association

Since 1870, Swan Lake has worked the way cooperatives are meant to: members pooling what they have — land, labor, equipment, knowledge — for the benefit of everyone involved. That spirit hasn't changed, but the association's formal membership structure is still evolving as the farm incubator grows.

Right now, farmers join by working directly with Rev. Bennie Brown. If you're interested in becoming a member, training as a farmer, or supporting the association in an ongoing way, reach out and he'll walk you through what's currently possible.

Open

Voluntary membership

Anyone willing to put in the work and share in the responsibilities is welcome to be part of what we're building.

Shared

Community-held land

The land belongs to the community that farms it, not to any single owner — the same principle that founded Swan Lake in 1870.

Mutual

Support in both directions

Members give labor and knowledge; in return, they gain training, equipment access, and a share in what's grown.

Get Involved

Nobody's coming through but us

Hands-On

Volunteer

Lend a hand during planting or harvest, or help host a farm tour or community event on the land.

Give

Donate

Financial gifts, land, and equipment all directly support the farm incubator and the farmers training on it.

Equip

Land & equipment support

Tractors, tools, seed, and irrigation gear are always needed as the incubator takes on more farmers and more acres.

Buy

Purple hull peas & produce

Interested in buying what the co-op grows, or setting up a standing order or CSA share? Reach out — we're building this out and want to hear what you're looking for.

News

What's happening at Swan Lake

June 2026

Juneteenth farm tour brings visitors to the association's land

Around 30 people toured four Black-owned farms across the north Mississippi Delta for Juneteenth, stopping at the Swan Lake land in Coahoma County to hear Rev. Bennie Brown talk about the site's history and his plans for purple hull peas.

Recent

New tractor and equipment purchased

A grant from the Reuben V. Anderson Center for Justice helped the association purchase a tractor and other equipment, giving the farm incubator new tools to work with as it grows.

Ongoing

Farm incubator training new farmers

Seven new and beginning Black farmers are currently training on the association's land, growing crops for Jonestown and neighboring Delta communities.

Get In Touch

Contact us

Swan Lake Farmers Association is based on the historic Swan Lake land outside Jonestown, Mississippi, alongside St. James Missionary Baptist Church. Rev. Bennie Brown, the church's pastor and the association's farm leader, would love to hear from you.

Email
Contact
Rev. Bennie Brown, Pastor
Location
St. James Missionary Baptist Church
Jonestown, Coahoma County, Mississippi