The Museum of Mississippi History is a museum in Jackson, Mississippi located at 222 North St. #2205. The museum opened December 9, 2017, in conjunction with the adjacent Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in celebration of Mississippi's bicentennial.[2] The theme of the history museum is "One Mississippi, Many Stories".[3] Both museums are administered by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH).[4]
 | |
 Museum of Mississippi History (center left), next to the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum (center right) | |
  Location within Mississippi | |
| Established | December 9, 2017[1] |
|---|---|
| Location | 222 North St, Jackson, Mississippi |
| Coordinates | 32°18′07″N 90°10′41″W / 32.301807°N 90.17809°W |
| Type | Public |
| Visitors | 500,000+ |
| Director | Michael Morris |
| Website | mmh |
Background
editIn 1998, the Mississippi State Legislature 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.[5][6] Because of unforeseen state funding priorities created by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and subsequent budget shortfalls, appropriations for museum construction were delayed.[6]
In 2011, Governor Haley Barbour and the Mississippi Legislature approved $38 million in bond funding to begin construction of the two museums.[7] 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.[7] An additional $16.6 million bond authorization for the museums was approved by Governor Phil Bryant in 2016.[8][9]
In total, the Mississippi State Legislature 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.[1][2][10] Construction began in December 2013 by Thrash Commercial Contractors from Brandon, MS.[2] 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 200,000 sq ft (19,000 m2).[1]
Exhibits
editThe 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:[11]
- 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
References
edit- ^ a b c "State History, Civil Rights Museums Open". Museum of Mississippi History. December 9, 2017. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
- ^ a b c "Two Mississippi Museums". give2mississippimuseums.com. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
- ^ "One Mississippi, Many Stories". Museum of Mississippi History. February 23, 2017. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
- ^ "About MDAH » Mississippi Department of Archives and History". April 19, 2015. Archived from the original on April 19, 2015. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
- ^ Mississippi Department of Archives and History (April 27, 2015). Museum of Mississippi History & Mississippi Civil Rights Museum: Fact Sheet (PDF) (Report). Jackson, Miss.: Mississippi Department of Archives and History. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 5, 2015. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
- ^ a b Foundation for Mississippi History (October 20, 2011). "MDAH to Oversee Construction of Mississippi Museums". mshistory.net. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
- ^ a b MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE (2011). "HOUSE BILL NO. 1463" (PDF). billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
- ^ Pender, Geoff. "Gov Bryant signs bond bill, last of 2016 measures". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
- ^ MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE (2016). "HOUSE BILL NO. 1729" (PDF). billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
- ^ "Foundation for Mississippi History|About the Foundation". Retrieved June 12, 2022.
- ^ "Galleries". Museum of Mississippi History. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
External links
edit
Media related to Museum of Mississippi History at Wikimedia Commons- New Director of the Two Mississippi Museums Michael Morris
