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MDAH Hosts Windsor Ruins Program in Port Gibson

The Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) will host a community engagement program titled “The Untold Stories of Enslavement at Windsor” at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 3, at the Mississippi Cultural Crossroads building in Port Gibson. This program is funded by a grant from the Mississippi Humanities Council, with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The featured speaker, Hasan Kwame Jeffries, an associate professor of history at The Ohio State University, will explore the historical context of the 19th-century cotton boom that led to the establishment of the Windsor plantation. Jeffries will also address the challenges of uncovering and presenting the narratives of enslaved individuals in historical interpretations of sites like Windsor.

In addition, MDAH staff will share findings from recent research that bring to light the stories of those enslaved at Windsor. Using a combination of wills, census data, military and banking records, and oral histories, researchers have uncovered details that add depth and humanity to these once-overlooked lives.

“We know Windsor Ruins as an iconic Mississippi site that draws people in,” said Katie Blount, director of MDAH. “This program will shed light on the lives of the enslaved people who lived and labored there, honoring their contributions to Mississippi’s culture and history.”

Windsor Ruins, one of Mississippi’s most renowned historic landmarks, was originally constructed as the Windsor plantation for Smith Coffee Daniell II in 1861 and was later destroyed by fire in 1890. Today, 23 full columns and five partial columns remain standing, marking the site’s historical significance. In 2024, MDAH completed a stabilization project at Windsor Ruins, which included adding parking and an ADA-accessible walking trail that allows visitors to view the remains of the former mansion. The site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and holds Mississippi Landmark status.

Founded in 1902, MDAH is dedicated to preserving and sharing Mississippi’s rich history through its five divisions: Administration, Archives and Records Services, Historic Preservation, Programs and Communication, and Museum. The department currently oversees 11 historic sites and projects statewide.

The program will take place at Mississippi Cultural Crossroads, located at 507 Market Street in Port Gibson. No registration is required to attend. 

For more information, contact MDAH at 601-576-6850 or email info@mdah.ms.gov.

The Foundation for Mississippi History has been awarded $225,000 by the Mississippi Arts Commission for the construction of Margaret Ann Crigler Park in Jackson. The foundation is one of 20 organizations in Mississippi awarded a Building Fund for the Arts grant for 2025.  

Margaret Ann Crigler Park will be adjacent to the Two Mississippi Museums and will include a large open green space, an outdoor stage, and a natural play area for children. A new anchor on the city’s museum trail, a walking and biking trail that connects the museums at LeFleur’s Bluff to museums downtown, Crigler Park will feature Mississippi’s native foliage.

“This project not only links the Two Mississippi Museums to downtown but also expands our capacity for public programming that contributes to a vibrant arts and culture landscape in the community,” said Katie Blount, Mississippi Department of Archives and History director.  

Plans for Margaret Ann Crigler Park align with the original layout for Jackson from 1822, which included public green spaces on alternating blocks. Only two of the original parks remain: the Old Capitol Green and Smith Park. MDAH has selected Perkins&Will, a national architecture firm that specializes in park design, to develop Crigler Park. The park will be open to the public every day from dawn to dusk. 
 

The first $1 million for the project was donated by retired businessman Noble T. Crigler, and the park will be named after his late wife, Margaret Ann Crigler. The Mississippi Legislature has provided $3 million for the project, and the remaining funds will be raised privately by the Foundation for Mississippi History.    

MDAH is the second-oldest state department of archives and history in the United States. The department collects, preserves, and provides access to the archival resources of the state, administers various museums and historic sites, and oversees statewide programs for historic preservation, state and local government records management, and publications.  

The Foundation for Mississippi History is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that conducts fundraising efforts to support and promote the projects and programs of MDAH, which operates the Museum of Mississippi History, Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, Eudora Welty House & Garden, Grand Village of the Natchez Indians, Old Capitol Museum, Windsor Ruins, Historic Jefferson College, and Winterville Mounds.  

For more information, call 601-576-6850 or email info@mdah.ms.gov.  

 The Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) is the recipient of three 2024 Southeastern Museums Conference (SEMC) Awards.

During the recent SEMC awards luncheon in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, MDAH was recognized with the following:

• Silver Award in the poster category for the Two Mississippi Museums 2024 Makers Fest Poster.
• Silver Award in digital education over $10,000 budget category for MDAH Digital Snapshots – exhibits designed to introduce to a broader audience lesser-known, selected collections from the state agency’s Digital Archives Collection.
• Bronze Award in the gallery guides category for the Two Mississippi Museums Family Guide.

“These resources created by our staff and partners allow visitors to immerse themselves in Mississippi’s history and culture and empower people and communities to tell their own stories,” said Katie Blount, director of MDAH. “We’re honored by the recognition.”

The poster and family guide were submitted to the SEMC Publication Design Competition, which rewards excellence in graphic design in southeastern museum publications. The Two Mississippi Museums are among the sites administered by MDAH.

The MDAH Digital Snapshots were an entry in the SEMC Technology Competition that recognizes effective design, accessibility, creativity and pride in work, and recognition of institutional identity. MDAH Digital Snapshots are developed in partnership with the University of Southern Mississippi’s Digital Humanities Center.

Award winners will be listed in the Fall 2024 edition of “INSIDE SEMC,” a digital publication of the Southeastern Museums Conference.  

About the Southeastern Museums Conference:

The Southeastern Museums Conference (SEMC), a nonprofit membership organization, is an association of museums, museum staff, independent professionals, and corporate partners. We focus on the Southeastern United States including: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Puerto Rico, and US Virgin Islands.

A free, public screening of “Little Brother of War” will be held Sunday, Oct. 13, at 2 p.m. in the Craig H. Neilsen Auditorium of the Two Mississippi Museums. This screening is part of a monthly series and is made possible through partnership with the Mississippi Humanities Council, the Mississippi Film Society, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, and the Mississippi Film Office.

Directed by Bryan W. Carpenter, the 89-minute film focuses on the origins of the Native American game of stickball and the struggle by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians to keep their traditions alive. The Oct. 13 screening is the first public screening outside of Philadelphia, Mississippi. The film premiered Oct. 3 at the reservation.

For centuries, stickball has been an important custom of the Choctaws, originally serving to handle disputes between different Native American tribes. Since 1975, various stickball teams have competed in Mississippi. The sport, which serves as the basis for lacrosse, consists of two teams of 30 players who attempt to control and shoot a ball at the opposing team’s goal, where each player has two sticks.

Following the screening, Carpenter will moderate a panel discussion with Jay Wesley and Casey Bigpond, members of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.

Bigpond serves as the director of cultural affairs for the Jena (Louisiana) Band of Choctaw Indians. He also makes stickballs, handcrafting sticks for players. Wesley is the director for the Department of Chahta Immi, which consists of the Choctaw Tribal Language Program, the Cultural Affairs Program, the Special Projects/Media Program, and the Chahta Immi Cultural Center.

Carpenter is a Carthage native who has worked as an armorer on several projects and provides armorer and stunt services and consultation through his company Dark Thirty Film. He is also a producer with several upcoming Mississippi-made projects through his 13 South Productions.

The Two Mississippi Museums opened Dec. 9, 2017, in celebration of the state's bicentennial. Museum hours are Tuesday–Saturday, 9 a.m.– 5 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m.– 5 p.m. Admission to the museums is free every Sunday. The Two Mississippi Museums are located at 222 North St. in Jackson. For more information, visit the MDAH Facebook page or email info@mdah.ms.gov. 
 

The Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) is accepting applications for three 2025 fellowships: the Eudora Welty Research Fellowship, the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Research Fellowship, and the Religion in Mississippi History Research Fellowship.

All three competitive awards offer a $5,000 stipend that may be used for research at MDAH for a minimum of two weeks during the summer of 2025.

Eudora Welty Research Fellowship

Offered in partnership with the Eudora Welty Foundation, the annual Eudora Welty Research Fellowship is awarded to one student enrolled in a graduate or doctoral program at an accredited college or university to conduct research using the Eudora Welty Collection and related materials at MDAH.  

The Eudora Welty Collection is the world’s finest collection of materials related to Welty and one of the most varied literary collections in the United States. The collection is divided over 45 series and includes manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, drawings, essays, family papers, and audio and visual material, spanning Welty’s entire life.  

Medgar and Myrlie Evers Research Fellowship

The Medgar and Myrlie Evers Research Fellowship is offered in partnership with the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Institute and is awarded to one graduate student or faculty member within the first five years of their academic career to conduct research using the Medgar Wiley and Myrlie Beasley Evers Papers at MDAH.  

The Medgar Wiley and Myrlie Beasley Evers Papers at MDAH include Evers and Beasley family papers dating from the early 1900s to around July 1964, when Myrlie Evers and her children moved to Claremont, California. The papers are divided into four subgroups: the papers of Medgar Evers as Mississippi field secretary of the NAACP; family papers of Medgar Evers; family papers of Myrlie Evers; and records relating to the 1964 and 1994 cases of the State of Mississippi v. Byron De La Beckwith.  

Religion in Mississippi History Research Fellowship

The Religion in Mississippi History Research Fellowship seeks to encourage and support the use of the many archival collections concerning religious history in Mississippi held by MDAH. The fellowship is part of MDAH's Religion Initiative, made possible by funding from Lilly Endowment Inc.

This fellowship opportunity is awarded to a student enrolled in a graduate or doctoral program at an accredited college or university with an interest in conducting primary source research in the wealth of archival materials concerning religious history in Mississippi and related materials at MDAH.  

The recipient of each fellowship is expected to conduct research in residence at the archives for at least two weeks during the summer.

The deadline for all 2025 fellowship applications is March 7, 2025. Additional information, including the application portal for the individual fellowships, can be found at mdah.ms.gov/careers-volunteering/fellowship-opportunities.

For additional information and questions about the Eudora Welty Research Fellowship, the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Research Fellowship, or Religion in Mississippi History Research Fellowship, email fellowships@mdah.ms.gov. 

A display of creepy dolls from the MDAH Collection opens Oct. 1 at the Two Mississippi Museums. The free monthlong display features six dolls from the mid-19th century to the early 20th century and provides an eerie glimpse into children’s playthings from the past.

“These dolls were donated by people who wanted to ensure their preservation for generations,” Two Mississippi Museums Director Michael Morris said of the collection curated by Mississippi Department of Archives and History staff. “We’re excited to share them with the public.”

One of the oldest dolls in the collection, the “rag doll,” starkly contrasts the porcelain doll with its simple features and patchwork design. Rag dolls were more durable and could handle being dressed, carried, and even cuddled, compared to their wax and porcelain counterparts.

Other dolls in the collection include two “clown dolls” that once formed part of the Humpty Dumpty Circus set, a toy design made by the A. Schoenhut Company in America.

“Hopefully, this exhibition will inspire others to donate artifacts that help tell the stories in Mississippi history,” Morris said.

The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum opened in tandem with the Museum of Mississippi History on Dec. 9, 2017, in celebration of the state's bicentennial. The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum explores the period from 1945 to 1976 when Mississippi was ground zero for the Civil Rights Movement nationally. The Museum of Mississippi History explores the entire sweep of Mississippi’s territorial and state history and the inhabitants of its land.

For more information, call 601-576-6850 or email info@mdah.ms.gov.

Mississippi educators are encouraged to register now for the Mississippi Department of Archives and History’s free Fall Teacher Workshop, set for Nov. 7, at the Two Mississippi Museums.

Registration is free for teachers, who will be able to earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for participation. The workshop, funded by a Library of Congress grant, will provide cross-curricular instruction on a broad range of topics, including literature, Mississippi music, cold case journalism, and primary source education.

Speakers include University of Mississippi professor Beth Kruse; Andrew Wiest, co-director of the Center for the Study of War and Society at the University of Southern Mississippi; Emilye Crosby, professor of history at State University of New York at Geneseo, who works with the SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) Legacy Project; award-winning journalist Jerry Mitchell; University of Mississippi instructor and author Scott Barretta; and Anna Traylor, education specialist at the Eudora Welty House and Garden, among others.

Representatives from Belhaven University, Mississippi College, Mississippi State University, and the University of Mississippi will share information about education master's programs.

Additionally, exhibitors on site will be the COFO Civil Rights Education Center, Emmett Till Interpretive Center, Eudora Welty House and Garden, Medgar Evers Home Museum, Grammy Museum Mississippi, Mississippi Historical Society, Mississippi History Day, The MAX Museum, and the Two Mississippi Museums. Teachers can register here.

The Mississippi Department of Archives and History is the second-oldest state department of archives and history in the United States. The department collects, preserves, and provides access to the archival resources of the state, administers various museums and historic sites, and oversees statewide programs for historic preservation, state and local government records management, and publications. For more information, call 601-576-6850 or email info@mdah.ms.gov.