Belen is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Quitman County,

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

. Belen is located on Mississippi Highway 316, west of

Marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks A collective trademark, collective trade mark, or collective mark is a trademark owned by an organization (such ...

History

Belen is named for the assault that occurred at the Belén Gate during the

Battle for Mexico City The Battle for Mexico City refers to the series of engagements from September 8 to September 15, 1847, in the general vicinity of Mexico City during the Mexican–American War. Included are major actions at the battles of Molino del Rey and ...

. John A. Quitman, for whom Quitman County was named for, commanded one of the divisions at this assault. Belen was originally located a few miles east of the current location, but in 1880 it was moved to its current location. The former location became known as Old Belen. A few years later, Leopold Marks founded a mercantile business in Old Belen and changed the community's name to

. In 1883, the county seat of Quitman County was moved from Old Belen to Belen. The community was incorporated on March 6, 1888. After the courthouse in Belen burned in 1908, the citizens of Quitman County voted to move the county seat back to Marks in 1910. Belen is located on Cassidy Bayou, a tributary of the Tallahatchie River. Belen was connected to Greenwood via steamboat service. In 1900, Belen had a population of 177 and two churches. ''The Quitman Quill'', a weekly newspaper, was once published in Belen beginning in 1890.

Notable people

* John Brown, former professional football player * Delma Furniss (1934-2022), American politician, was born in Belen.Votesmart.org.-Delma Furniss
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References

Unincorporated communities in Quitman County, Mississippi Unincorporated communities in Mississippi {{QuitmanCountyMS-geo-stub