The Museum of Mississippi History is a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...

. The museum opened December 9, 2017, in conjunction with the adjacent

Mississippi Civil Rights Museum The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum is a museum in Jackson, Mississippi. Its mission is to document, exhibit the history of, and educate the public about the American Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social a ...

in celebration of Mississippi's bicentennial. The theme of the history museum is "One Mississippi, Many Stories". Both museums are administered by the

Mississippi Department of Archives and History Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) is a state agency. It is the official archive of the Mississippi Government. Location The Mississippi Department of Archives and History is located in Jackson. The William F. Winter Archives ...

(MDAH).

Background

In 1998, the

Mississippi State Legislature The Mississippi Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The bicameral Legislature is composed of the lower Mississippi House of Representatives, with 122 members, and the upper Mississippi State Senate, with 52 me ...

authorized MDAH to begin planning construction of a new Museum of Mississippi History. Subsequently, a coalition of Mississippi architects – Eley Guild Hardy; Cooke Douglass Farr Lemons; and Dale Partners – was selected to design the building in association with The Freelon Group ( Perkins&Will) of

Durham, NC Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County and Wake County. With a population of 283,506 in the 2020 Census, Durham is the 4th-mos ...

. Because of unforeseen state funding priorities created by

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

in 2005 and subsequent budget shortfalls, appropriations for museum construction were delayed. In 2011, Governor

Haley Barbour Haley Reeves Barbour (born October 22, 1947) is an American attorney, politician, and lobbyist who served as the 63rd governor of Mississippi from 2004 to 2012. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as chairman of the Republican ...

and the Mississippi Legislature approved $38 million in bond funding to begin construction of the two museums. The legislative bill specified that the museums were to be operational by 2017 to coincide with the bicentennial year when Mississippi was admitted to statehood. An additional $16.6 million bond authorization for the museums was approved by Governor

Phil Bryant Dewey Phillip Bryant (born December 9, 1954) is an American politician who served as the 64th governor of Mississippi from 2012 to 2020. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 31st lieutenant governor of Mississippi from 2008 to 2012 and 4 ...

in 2016. In total, the

appropriated $90 million for construction of the two museums. An additional $19 million for exhibits and endowments was provided through private donations, such as the Foundation for Mississippi History. Construction began in December 2013 by Thrash Commercial Contractors from

Brandon, MS Brandon is a city in and the county seat of Rankin County, Mississippi, United States. It was incorporated on December 19, 1831. The population was 21,705 at the 2010 census. Brandon is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is lo ...

. The museums opened December 9, 2017. The two museums share an auditorium, classrooms, storage areas, and a workshop for preparation of exhibits. The museums cover an area of .

Exhibits

The Museum of Mississippi History examines 15,000 years of state history through exhibits, educational programs, and historical artifacts. As of 2022, there were 8 galleries based on historic timelines: * The First People (13,000 BC – AD 1518) – Native Americans in Mississippi * Cultural Crossroads (1519 – 1798) – Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans * Joining the United States (1799 – 1832) – Territory, Statehood, and Treaties * Cotton Kingdom (1833 – 1865) – Cotton, Enslavement, and the American Civil War * The World Remade (1866 – 1902) – Freedom, Reconstruction, and Regression * Promise and Peril (1903 – 1927) – Progressivism, Repression, and World War I * Bridging Hardship (1928 – 1945) – Great Depression, New Deal, and World War II * Forging Ahead (1946 – Present) – Civil Rights, Diversification, and Innovation After viewing the galleries, visitors are invited to participate by sharing their own history stories inside a video reflections booth.

References

{{authority control History museums in Mississippi Museums in Jackson, Mississippi 2017 establishments in Mississippi Government buildings completed in 2017 Government buildings in Mississippi