On Mondays, at noon CST, the Eudora Welty House & Garden will host live book discussions of In the Valley, a new collection of short stories and novellas written by award-winning novelist, poet, and short story writer Ron Rash as part of its #WeltyatHome virtual book club program. Welty's friend and biographer Dr. Suzanne Marrs will lead the discussions. This event is free and open to the public.
Museum of Mississippi History and Mississippi Civil Rights Museum
The Possum Ridge model train exhibit will be on display at the Two Mississippi Museums through December. Regular museum hours are Tuesday-Saturday 9 a.m.–4 p.m. The museums are open free of charge on Sundays from noon–4 p.m. Safety precautions at museums include requiring all visitors to wear masks and observe social distancing guidelines. The museums will close Thursday–Friday, December 24–25, for Christmas and Friday, January 1, for New Year's Day.
Eudora Welty House & Garden
Eudora Welty House & Garden tours take place 9 & 11 a.m. and 1 & 3 p.m., Tuesday–Friday, and 1 & 3 p.m. on Saturday. Purchase tickets by phone at 601-353-7762 or by email info@eudoraweltyhouse.com. The museum will close Thursday–Friday, December 24–25, for Christmas and Friday, January 1, for New Year's Day.
William F. Winter Archives and History Building
The state archives will close November 26–28, December 24–December 26, and December 31–January 1. Due to safety precautions for COVID-19, the reading rooms at the William F. Winter Archives and History Building will be open Monday–Saturday, 8:15 a.m.–12:45 p.m. Appointments are recommended. and available times are 8:15–10:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.–12:45 p.m. Call 601-576-6837 to schedule your time. Patrons without an appointment will be accommodated as space allows.
For more information email info@mdah.ms.gov.
Discover the tranquility of nature in a family-friendly outdoor activity at the Eudora Welty House & Garden. Guests will learn how to design their very own mandalas using foliage from the Welty Garden. Participants are encouraged to bring a basket or container to forage for natural materials. Face masks and social distancing guidelines are required while on site. Email info@eduoraweltyhouse.com to RVSP for this free event.
Learn how to press flowers and foliage at the Eudora Welty House & Garden with master floral designer and volunteer gardener Marsha Cannon. Registration fee is $20 and seating is limited to twenty participants. Face masks and social distancing guidelines are required while on site. For more information, call 601-353-7762 or email info@eudoraweltyhouse.com.
The second "Welty at Home" book club pick is Margaret Walker's signature novel, Jubilee. An award-winning poet, novelist, and English professor at Jackson State University, Walker formed a special literary friendship with Welty. They referred to their friendship as their "sister act." This is the final installment of the three-part discussion of Jubilee. On Tuesday, at noon CST, the Eudora Welty House & Garden will host the live book discussion on Zoom, led by Margaret Walker Center director and civil rights historian Dr. Robby Luckett.
The second "Welty at Home" book club pick is Margaret Walker's signature novel, Jubilee. An award-winning poet, novelist, and English professor at Jackson State University, Walker formed a special literary friendship with Welty. They referred to their friendship as their "sister act." Together, we'll read and discuss Jubilee over the course of three weeks. On Tuesdays, at noon CST, the Eudora Welty House & Garden will host live book discussions on Zoom, led by Margaret Walker Center director and civil rights historian Dr. Robby Luckett.
On Tuesday, July 7, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) reopened the Eudora Welty House & Garden, Museum of Mississippi History, Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, and William F. Winter Archives and History Building in Jackson, and the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians in Natchez.
COVID safety precautions at each site include requiring all visitors to wear masks and observe social distancing guidelines. Masks are available on-site. All public spaces have been sanitized, and thorough cleaning will continue every day. Staff are on-site to ensure that social distancing guidelines are maintained.
A list of sites and their hours is below.
Museum of Mississippi History and Mississippi Civil Rights Museum
222 North Street, Jackson
Hours are Tuesday–Saturday 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Visitors are encouraged to purchase their tickets online at tickets.mdah.ms.gov. Due to safety precautions for COVID-19, the maximum number of people per group is twenty. Groups must follow social distancing guidelines and remain six feet apart from all guests, including each other.
Hours are Tuesday–Friday, 9 a.m.–4 p.m., with tours at 9 and 11 a.m., and 1 and 3 p.m. Tours will be by reservation only. Due to safety precautions for COVID-19, the maximum capacity is two guests per tour. To make a reservation, call 601-353-7762 or email tours@eudoraweltyhouse.com.
Hours are Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Appointments are recommended for research in the Archival and Media Reading Rooms. Available weekday appointment times are 9–11 a.m., 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m., and 2–4 p.m. Call 601-576-6837 during working hours to schedule a time. Patrons without an appointment will be accommodated as space allows.
The library will reopen on Saturdays beginning August 1, 2020. Saturday hours will be 8:15 a.m.–12:45 p.m. Appointment times for Saturdays are 8:15–10:15 a.m. and 10:45 a.m.–12:45 p.m.
Grand Village of the Natchez Indians
Hours are Monday–Saturday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m., and Sunday, 1:30–5 p.m. Due to safety precautions for COVID-19, the maximum capacity for the Visitor Center is fifteen visitors at one time. Admission is free.
On Tuesday, July 7, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) will reopen the Eudora Welty House & Garden, Museum of Mississippi History, Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, and William F. Winter Archives and History Building in Jackson, and the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians in Natchez.
“We are excited to reopen our museums and welcome the public at this historic moment. As our nation deals with COVID-19, economic hardship, and the legacy of racial injustice, MDAH has an ever more important role to play,” said Reuben Anderson, president of the MDAH Board of Trustees. “Our archives and museums document and teach about epidemics, recessions, and other crises in our past that we have overcome together. They also teach about the history of racial injustice in America from the days of slavery through the Civil Rights Movement.”
Anderson continued, “By helping build a shared understanding of our history, we are strengthening our resolve, uniting our people, and paving the way for a brighter future together.”
In a continuing effort to stem the spread of COVID-19, each site will limit the number of visitors inside. Visitors will be required to wear masks, and masks will be available on site. All the public spaces have been sanitized, and thorough cleaning will continue every day. Staff will be on site to ensure that social distancing guidelines are maintained. Visitors are encouraged to purchase their tickets online to the Eudora Welty House & Garden, Museum of Mississippi History, and Mississippi Civil Rights Museum.
“We are especially eager to welcome visitors to our brand new exhibit at the Two Mississippi Museums—Mississippi Distilled—which explores our state’s tumultuous relationship with alcohol,” said MDAH director Katie Blount. “As soon as it is safe to gather in larger numbers, we will celebrate this exhibit with a series of public events.”
The popular Wednesday noon lecture series History Is Lunch continues online—viewers will find the programs on the MDAH Facebook page.
For more information email info@mdah.ms.gov.
The Eudora Welty House & Garden has launched a new website that allows visitors to experience the home of the Pulitzer Prize–winning author online. The website features educational resources for students and teachers, photographs of the home, a calendar of upcoming events, and a bloom calendar of Welty’s historic botanical garden.
“Gardening was a creative outlet for Welty, who mentions more than 150 kinds of plants in her stories,” said Lauren Rhoades, director of the Eudora Welty House & Garden. “We are pleased that the website also highlights the important bond that Welty and her mother, Chestina Andrews Welty, formed while working together in the garden.”
The website provides links to free resources for teachers and students to develop a deeper appreciation for Welty’s life and works. Visitors can learn about Welty's life and writings, as well as the MDAH Eudora Welty Collection, one of the most varied literary collections in the United States. Teachers can access learning tools geared for the classroom through the Eudora Welty Foundation.
From online events to film screenings and live music on the lawn, visitors have access to a calendar of Welty House events on the new website. Currently, staff are leading a “Welty at Home” book club around Welty’s Losing Battles, with live virtual discussions that take place each Wednesday through June.
The website’s bloom calendar informs visitors of the heirloom plants blossoming in Welty’s garden throughout the year. The garden, designed by Chestina in 1925, mixes annuals, perennials, and bulbs in borders—not beds—creating distinct “rooms” to enjoy. The bloom calendar includes lively photographs of the garden, which is one of only two public botanical gardens in Mississippi.
“Thanks to the generosity of Eudora Welty and her family, MDAH holds a comprehensive collection that offers a full picture of the life, work, and creative experience of one of the world’s great writers,” said Katie Blount, director of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. “This new website offers an attractive and user-friendly portal to Welty’s life, literary accomplishments, house, and garden. We are thrilled to welcome the public to the new website today, and we look forward to reopening the site as soon as it’s safe.”
Visit the new website for the Welty House & Garden at eudoraweltyhouse.com.