Mississippi Department of Archives and History Director Katie Blount Announces Her Retirement
Mississippi Department of Archives and History Director Katie Blount—who led the agency through the establishment of the nationally recognized Two Mississippi Museums and supported efforts to adopt a new state flag—has announced her retirement after leading MDAH since 2015. Blount’s retirement will be effective June 30, 2026.
Blount, who began her career at MDAH as a public relations coordinator in 1994, is the agency’s seventh director since 1902 and only the second woman to hold the position. (Charlotte Capers became the first woman to head MDAH and a state agency in 1955.) Blount has more than three decades of public service in Mississippi.
Under her leadership, MDAH has strengthened relations with Tribal Partners through repatriation and begun work on several renovation or development projects at historic sites across the state, including the new Vicksburg Civil War Visitor Center, Historic Jefferson College near Natchez, the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians, the stabilization at Windsor Ruins, and the upcoming Margaret Ann Crigler Park in downtown Jackson.
Earlier this year, Blount was recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) for her commitment to inclusive storytelling, which has reshaped programming, interpretation, and staffing at the agency charged with preserving historical records, artifacts, and properties. Blount also developed the agency’s own long-term strategic plan that is implemented concurrently with the state-mandated plan.
Blount said MDAH achievements during her tenure should be credited to the agency’s staff, who are committed to preserving Mississippi’s history and telling the stories of the state’s people and places.
“Mississippi’s history is the central arc of American history—from the Native American experience to cotton and slavery, Civil War, Reconstruction, up to the Civil Rights Movement and beyond,” Blount said. “I’m extremely grateful I’ve had the opportunity to serve the people of this state and work alongside a staff whose passion to preserve history runs as deep as mine.”
Spence Flatgard, president of the MDAH Board of Trustees, said the board will begin the search for Blount’s successor immediately. He described Blount’s leadership as “transformational.”
“Her commitment to telling the full story of Mississippi’s compelling history has elevated the work of MDAH,” Flatgard said. “Katie is universally respected by her peers and state leaders. Her love for public service and for Mississippians has helped us tell our story to schoolchildren and to presidents. Our state has been blessed by her leadership, and she will always have our profound gratitude.”
Businessman Kane Ditto, a former Jackson mayor who previously served as president of the MDAH Board of Trustees and is currently a member of the Foundation for Mississippi History Board of Directors, said Blount “has provided inspirational and strategic leadership for MDAH” in the 10 years since she became director.
“When visiting with department staff, I am struck by their enthusiasm and sense of purpose. That attitude starts at the top,” Ditto said. “Building on the legacy of the department as a national leader in documenting and preserving our state history, Katie has led the department to new heights of achievement and recognition.”
Blount said the key is to tell honest stories.
“Embracing complex stories draws audiences and earns the trust of partners in a position to pour resources into Mississippi,” Blount said. “We have consistently shared Mississippi’s layers of rich narrative through our work.”
Blount rose through the ranks at MDAH, working under previous directors, Elbert R. Hilliard and H. T. Holmes. She served as assistant to the director and deputy director for communication before she was promoted to director in 2015.
During her tenure at MDAH, Blount shepherded the opening of the Two Mississippi Museums in 2017, during the state bicentennial. Since then, more than 744,000 people have visited from across the nation and other countries.
In 2022, the William and Elise Winter Endowment was established by the Foundation for Mississippi History, the nonprofit that supports MDAH. The endowment ensures Mississippi students can attend the museums free of charge and covers the cost of transportation and lunch for the school field trips.
“Ensuring that future generations have access to world-class museums that tell our state’s powerful history is a lasting legacy we can all be proud of,” Blount said.