One of the most famous Mississippians to grace the halls of the Old Capitol, the Dummy Mummy has become a legend and local delight. In 1923, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History acquired a collection of thousands of artifacts from James Sessions Butler. Included in those artifacts were Native American tools, pottery, and a mummy believed to be an Egyptian princess.

The mummy was on display for many years at the New Capitol. After the restoration of the Old Capitol in 1961, former MDAH director Charlotte Capers decided the mummy would no longer be on display because of a lack of relevance to Mississippi, but agreed to periodic special appearances. 

In 1969, medical student Gentry Yeatman was granted the opportunity to x-ray the mummy. Yeatman’s X-rays presented peculiar findings: Mississippi’s Egyptian princess was not royalty. In fact, she was not even a mummy, but made of papier-mâché, old newspapers, and as Capers reported, “a heart full of nails.”

Today, the mummy spends much more time out of the limelight, but she still makes a yearly special appearance.