Mississippi: Jackson Offers Two Capitols and Several Great Museums to Visit

Jackson, the capital of Mississippi, has plenty for visitors to see and do. The city includes two capitols—the old and current building—two Mississippi museums, a governor’s mansion and more places to go that make this an unforgettable destination. We found driving around Jackson to be easy compared to other cities and parking isn’t a challenge. We parked in the garage at the Museum of Mississippi History all day for no charge and walked around the downtown area from there.

STATE CAPITOL

The Mississippi State Capitol, located at 400 High Street, has been the seat of Mississippi’s government since 1903 and currently houses the legislature, a ceremonial office of the governor, and an office of the secretary of state. It is 402 feet wide and has a dome 180 feet high. The gold-plated eagle on top of the capitol’s central dome is eight feet high and 15 feet wide.

The visitor entrance is under the main staircase in front of the capitol. After going through security, we stopped at the information desk and began our tour. Everyone we met treated us as friends even after admitting that we live in the Louisiana capital. The Sergeant at Arms surprised us by volunteering to shoot a photo to commemorate our visit. We gladly accepted and posed at the podium in the Senate chamber.

OLD CAPITOL MUSEUM

While our travel journal begins with the current capitol, we started our walking tour at the Old Capitol Museum, which gave us a great introduction to the history of both buildings. The museum, located at 100 South State Street, was completed in 1839 and used as the state’s capitol until 1903. It is Jackson’s oldest building.

The museum includes interactive exhibits about the early days of Jackson, how the capitol was built and then much later renovated, and what key moments in history happened in the building. Examples include:

Mississippi’s Primary Election Law of 1902 became a model for other states by replacing primary conventions with elections.
In 1884, the legislature chartered the first public college for women in America.
Alcorn University (now Alcorn State University), was established by an act of the state legislature in 1871. Named for the governor at the time (James L. Alcorn), it is the oldest land-grant college for black students in the United States.
In 1839, the legislature passed the Married Women’s Property Act, which was the first law in the U.S. that allowed a married woman to own property herself.

War memorial building

Don’t miss this Jackson landmark next to the Old Capitol Museum.

MUSEUM OF MISSISSIPPI HISTORY

The museum covers the state’s history from antiquity to the present time. It is located at 222 North St. and shares a ticket office and parking garage with the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. It provides a chronological journey through history that begins on the museum’s ground level, goes upstairs for about sixty years of history and then takes you down a flight of stairs to cover the rest of the story. These periods include:

13,000 BC to AD 1798 (the first peoples, cultural crossroads and enduring cultures)
1799 to 1865 (joining the United States, cotton kingdom and Mississippians in the military)
1866 to present (reconstruction, promise and peril, bridging hardship, soul of the state and forging ahead)

The history of “King Cotton” and the crop’s impact on the state stood out as the most interesting section to us even though it was a relatively brief portion of the 15,000-year timeline. Films play in four theaters in different parts of the museum.

MISSISSIPPI CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM

The museum flows in a circle around a central gallery—This Little Light of Mine—where heroes of the Civil Rights Movement are honored and a light sculpture changes colors in synch with songs related to the movement. Go clockwise around the rim of the circle to visit galleries that range from Mississippi Freedom Struggle to Black Empowerment. Five films play throughout the day in three different galleries. The film that touched us the most was “Chaney, Goodman, Schwerner: Missing.” It was an 8-minute film about the disappearance of three civil rights activists in Neshoba County, Miss.

MISSISSIPPI GOVERNOR’S MANSION

You don’t want to miss going to the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion because it’s a beautiful structure surrounded by magnolia trees and gorgeous flowers that create a perfect photo opportunity. It’s also fun to say that you’ve been to the second oldest continuously occupied governor’s residence in the United States.

Jackson City Hall

Jackson’s City Hall dates to 1846 and survived Civil War attacks that left much of the city in ruins.

SHOPPING

Highland Village off I-55 North in Jackson includes a diverse mix of shops in an unusual setting. We spent most of an afternoon there, collecting a few items to take home. We’re looking forward to having our home decorated with a touch of Mississippi. Turkoys (pronounced “turquoise”) features paintings and ceramic artwork at affordable prices. We noticed other shopping areas and dining options in the Jackson area, with some of the best options in nearby Ridgeland where we stayed.

The restored senate chamber in the Old Capitol Museum uses mannequins to portray the debates that took place there in the 19th century.

LINDA’S TAKEAWAY

Linda: The most interesting thing I learned at the Old Capitol Museum was the impact Hurricane Katrina had on the building in 2005. The powerful storm destroyed sections of the capitol’s old copper roof. Several weeks later, rain from Hurricane Rita damaged ceilings, walls and historical artifacts. Four years later, the museum was restored and reopened. This restoration story touched me personally because I was living in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina severely devastated both Louisiana and Mississippi. I loved hearing this heartwarming story from a kind, knowledgeable museum staff member who took joy in sharing how the museum has blossomed since its reopening. It was like hearing a familiar story of how many historic buildings in New Orleans were severely damaged by Katrina, but they were restored and returned to use.

An exhibit at the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum describes how nine students from Tougaloo College staged a “read-in” in 1961 at the Jackson Public Library designated for use by white residents.

DOUG’S HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHT

Doug: Wow! We learned so much about Mississippi’s history that I’m struggling to focus on a single highlight. There’s no doubt the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum had the most significant emotional impact on me. The museum began with a display that did an excellent job defining civil rights as “a legal term meant to ensure that all American citizens are treated fairly and equally under the law.” Symbolic support comes from the Declaration of Independence, but the legal power comes from the U.S. Constitution, especially four amendments. They include the 13th (outlawed slavery), 14th (due process and equal protection for all citizens under the law), 15th (voting not to be denied based on race, color or previous condition of servitude), and 19th (right of women to vote) amendments.

The story of the Tougaloo Nine was one of my favorite examples of the courageous people who fought to ensure that they would receive these civil rights. The Tougaloo Nine were students at Tougaloo College who wanted equal rights to a Jackson Public Library designated for white residents only. They staged a “read-in” on March 27, 1961, at that library, which led to their arrest for “breach of the peace.” The students spent 32 hours in jail until bond was granted. Later, they were fined $100 each and given a 30-day suspended sentence with one year of probation. Partially as a result of the visibility of their protest, members of the America Library Association adopted a statement the next year calling for all libraries to be open to everyone regardless of race, religion, or personal belief.

A mural welcomes you to Jackson, the state capital of Mississippi.

GEE WHIZ FACTS

Jackson currently has about 164,000 residents, which places it at the midpoint in the size of state capitals based on population.
Natchez was Mississippi’s first territorial capital in 1802, but it moved six miles east to Washington where it remained until an outbreak of yellow fever forced the move back to Natchez. After a treaty with the Choctaws opened land for new settlements, the capital moved in 1821 to within 35 miles of the state’s geographic center—a town named Jackson in honor of General Andrew Jackson, the hero of the Battle of New Orleans.
The first capitol in Jackson was completed in 1822, but it no longer exists.
After the new state capitol was opened in 1903, the first use of the old state capitol was an exhibition hall used by the Mississippi State Fair to promote pine products.
During the Civil War, Jackson became known as “Chimneyville” because Union troops burned the city three times, only leaving chimneys where houses had once stood.

PARTING SHOT: LINDA AT THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE

Linda patiently waits for the governor to visit his office.