Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) is a
state agency
A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administratio ...
. It is the official
archive
An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located.
Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual ...
of the Mississippi Government.
Location
The Mississippi Department of Archives and History is located in
Jackson. The William F. Winter Archives and History Building was dedicated on November 7, 2003.
History
The Mississippi Department of Archives and History developed from the
Mississippi Historical Society in the interest of promoting and protecting "Southern Identity" through acquisition and preservation of historical records, especially those records pertaining to the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
.
[Speer, Lisa and Mitchell, Heather, ''The Mississippi Plan: Dunbar Rowland and the Creation of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History'', Provenance, Journal of the Society of Georgia Archivists, Vol. 22, Issue 1 (2004)]
Retrieved 2015-01-28. Legislation authorizing creation of Department of Archives and History was signed by
Mississippi Governor Andrew Longino on February 26, 1902.
[ The Department of Archives and History is the second oldest state department of archives and history in the United States.][Agency Profile—Mississippi Department of Archives and History]
Retrieved 2015-01-29.
In 1902, Dunbar Rowland
Dunbar Rowland (August 25, 1864 − November 1, 1937) was an American attorney, archivist, and historian.[board of trustees
A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit org ...]
presides over the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and its five divisions, which include:[Mississippi Department of Archives and History (About MDAH)]
Retrieved 2015-01-28.
* Administration
* Archives and Records Services
* Historic Preservation
* Museums
* Programs and Communication
Administrative offices, as well as archivist work areas and archive storage areas, are located in the William F. Winter Archives and History Building. Completed in 2003, the 6-story structure contains .
The Historic Preservation Division is housed in the Charlotte Capers Archives and History Building, located at 100 South State Street, Jackson. This division administers Historical Markers
A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other ...
in Mississippi, Mississippi Landmarks, and National Register of Historic Places in Mississippi.[
The Museum Division provides administrative oversight for the following facilities and locations:][
* Eudora Welty House
* Manship House Museum
* Old Capitol Museum
* Grand Village of the Natchez Indians
* Historic Jefferson College
* Windsor Ruins
* Winterville Mounds
* ]Museum of Mississippi History
The Museum of Mississippi History is a museum in Jackson, Mississippi. The museum opened December 9, 2017, in conjunction with the adjacent Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in celebration of Mississippi's bicentennial. The theme of the history m ...
* 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 in the U.S. state of Mississippi between 1945 and 1970. ...
The Programs and Communication Division, established in 2017, oversees programming, public information, publications, marketing, and education.
See also
* Charlotte Capers
Charlotte Capers (June 28, 1913 − December 23, 1996) was director of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) from 1955 to 1969 and was the first woman to become the head of a state agency in Mississippi. Her tenure in various ...
References
External links
*
"A Sense of Place", the MDAH blog
Yates Construction: William Winters Archives and History Building
{{authority control
1902 establishments in Mississippi
Government agencies established in 1902
Government buildings in Mississippi
History of Mississippi
Office buildings in Jackson, Mississippi
Open government in the United States
Organizations based in Jackson, Mississippi
Research libraries in the United States
State agencies of Mississippi
State archives of the United States
State history organizations of the United States
Tourist attractions in Jackson, Mississippi