Museum of Mississippi History

Mississippi Made, a special exhibit highlighting the people, industries and creative traditions that have shaped Mississippi and influenced the nation, will open March 7 at the Two Mississippi Museums. 

Presented in celebration of America’s 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Mississippi Made traces more than two centuries of innovation, craftsmanship and cultural influence through approximately 250 artifacts. The free exhibit spans from the early 19th century to the present day, reflecting Mississippi’s role in agriculture, manufacturing, music, fashion, science, literature and the arts.

“The stories featured in Mississippi Made illustrate how Mississippi’s people and ideas have made a lasting impact on both the nation and the world,” said Katie Blount, director of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. “This exhibit offers visitors an opportunity to better understand those contributions through the objects that document that legacy.”

Objects on display include a 19th century cotton spin-ginner used on small plantations, patent models and tools tied to Mississippi inventors, and a Lindsey eight-wheel log wagon developed in the early 20th century to support the state’s timber industry. Together, these objects illustrate how Mississippians responded to local needs with ingenuity that achieved national and global reach.

The exhibit also highlights Mississippi’s impact on music and literature. Elvis Presley’s bathrobe and a Velvet Elvis wall tapestry are among the artifacts, along with those tied to music icons B.B. King and Jimmie Rodgers, and Leontyne Price. Literary contributions are represented through portraits of William Faulkner and Richard Wright, painted by Mississippi artists, and Eudora Welty’s typewriter.

Design, craft and cultural expression are featured through pottery by George Ohr, an embroidered piece by Ethel Wright Mohamed, a loom and a coverlet woven on that loom, a dress designed by Vicksburg native Patrick Kelly, and a gown worn by Miss America Mary Ann Mobley. Film and popular culture are reflected through set pieces from “A Time to Kill,” a film based on John Grisham’s novel of the same name. The movie was filmed primarily in Mississippi.

Mississippi’s connections to science, transportation and industry are explored through objects such as a NASA flight jacket worn by astronaut Richard Truly, along with vehicles manufactured by Toyota and Nissan in Mississippi. Artifacts tied to tourism and leisure highlight Mississippi’s mid-century tourism and hospitality culture.

“Mississippi Made brings together objects that tell a broader story about the state’s creativity, industry and innovation,” said Michael Morris, director of the Two Mississippi Museums. “Each artifact reflects how Mississippians responded to local needs in ways that shaped life far beyond the state.”

Mississippi Made is sponsored by Wayne-Sanderson Farms and will be on exhibit through Nov. 6, 2026.

"As a company with deep Mississippi roots, Wayne-Sanderson Farms has a long history in the state—beginning with the separate legacy operations of Sanderson Farms and Wayne Farms and combining to become the industry leader we are today,” said Wayne-Sanderson Farms President and CEO Kevin McDaniel. “It's exciting to see the progress we've made together in Mississippi as business partners and as neighbors, and we're proud to sponsor this exhibit and share that story."

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. Free parking is available along North Street and in the visitor garage on Jefferson Street.

For more information, visit www.mdah.ms.gov.

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The Foundation for the Mid South will sponsor a free admission day at the Two Mississippi Museums on July 2 in honor of the birthday of civil rights leader Medgar Wiley Evers. Education staff from the Two Mississippi Museums—the Museum of Mississippi History and Mississippi Civil Rights Museum—will host flash tours at 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. that day.

“Thanks to the Foundation for the Mid South, visitors can explore the Two Mississippi Museums free of charge and discover the stories about the activism of civil rights leaders like Medgar Evers, who fought to dismantle segregation and improve the lives of Black Mississippians,” said Michael Morris, director of the Two Mississippi Museums.

Medgar Evers became the first field secretary for the NAACP in Mississippi. He advocated for nonviolent but direct action, helping to establish new local chapters and leading initiatives such as boycotts, voter registration drives, and protests aimed at desegregating public parks, schools, and beaches. Evers also investigated incidents of racial violence and injustice by interviewing eyewitnesses, gathering evidence, and briefing members of the press.

Despite threats, he continued his activism, linking Mississippi's civil rights struggle to the national movement. On June 12, 1963, he was assassinated by White supremacist Byron De La Beckwith. His legacy endures through numerous honors and institutions bearing his name.

“At the Foundation for the Mid South, we believe equity begins with access—to history, to truth, and to the tools that shape our future,” said Greg Johnson, president and CEO of the Foundation for the Mid South. “As we honor the legacy of Medgar Evers, we’re proud to support this free admission day at the Two Mississippi Museums, creating greater access to the stories that continue to educate and inspire.

“This is more than just a day at the museum. It’s a chance for individuals and families to reflect, learn, and engage with the transformative journey toward justice that Evers championed. His unwavering commitment to activism reminds us of the power each of us holds to effect change in our communities.”

The Foundation for the Mid South works in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, bringing together public and private sectors to focus resources on increasing social and economic opportunity in the region.

The Museum of Mississippi History opened in tandem with the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum on Dec. 9, 2017, in celebration of the state's bicentennial and is administered by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum explores the period from 1945 to 1976 when Mississippi was ground zero for the national Civil Rights Movement. The Museum of Mississippi History explores the entire sweep of Mississippi’s history from its earliest inhabitants to the present day.

Atomic Alert!: Confronting ‘The Bomb’ in the New Atomic Age, a free traveling exhibition designed by Overland Traveling Exhibits, opens Sept. 7 at the Two Mississippi Museums and will be on display through Nov. 8. The exhibition explores the history of the Federal Civil Defense Administration (FCDA) established to prepare Americans for the perils of the new Atomic Age.

In August 1945, in the waning days of World War II, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on cities in Japan. Four years later, the Soviet Union tested its first atomic weapon, and the Cold War began. Nuclear testing made its way to Mississippi through the detonation of two nuclear devices outside of Hattiesburg. The first test, Project Salmon, occurred in October 1964 and, roughly two years later, Project Sterling followed, which used a smaller bomb in the cavity left behind by the first blast.

“The Two Mississippi Museums are excited to share this free, special exhibit,” said Michael Morris, director of the Two Mississippi Museums. “We welcome the public to explore and learn about Mississippi’s role in nuclear testing during the Atomic Age.”

The exhibition puts a special focus on the educational and volunteer programs of the FCDA, which encouraged the building of bomb shelters, the establishment of neighborhood wardens, and taught children to “duck and cover.” Atomic Alert! includes a striking artistic interpretation of the impact of a nuclear blast, featuring the silhouette of a bomb roughly the size and shape of the bombs dropped in World War II.

Visitors can immerse themselves in the era with Mississippi artifacts that tell the story of the state’s response to nuclear threat, including stocking civil defense hospital supplies. Other exhibit artifacts include a Geiger counter used to detect ionizing radiation on objects at ground level and a booklet that instructed families who did not have designated shelters on how to construct a shelter within their home.

Atomic Alert!: Confronting ‘The Bomb’ in the New Atomic Age programming includes two free History Is Lunch programs on Sept. 25 and Oct. 9 and two free gallery talks on Oct. 10 and Oct. 22.

Atomic Alert! was developed, designed, built, and toured by Overland Traveling Exhibits and independent Atomic Age scholar Michael Scheibach. Founding institutions for the exhibition include the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County in Moorhead, Minnesota.

For more information, go to https://2mm.mdah.ms.gov/atomic-alert or call 601-576-6850. 

In honor of Juneteenth, HII's Ingalls Shipbuilding division is sponsoring free admission to the Two Mississippi Museums from Saturday, June 17, through Monday, June 19. Visitors can explore themes of emancipation and liberation in Mississippi.

“We are grateful to Ingalls Shipbuilding for making it possible for so many Mississippians to visit the Two Mississippi Museums and celebrate emancipation in the United States,” said Katie Blount, director of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.

Saturday, June 17, Juneteenth-themed tours through the Two Mississippi Museums are available at 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 18, a Juneteenth-themed tour is available at 2 p.m.

During Juneteenth Jubilee on Monday, June 19, visitors can enjoy free Juneteenth-themed tours at 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. and register for an on-site, behind-the-scenes historic object collections tour happening at 2:30 p.m.

This free, family-friendly day continues 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. with extended museums hours, craft-making activities for children, card games, live music from Jerry Jenkins, DJ Lil Walt, Jermaine Van Buren Jr., Montage, and Mastadon, and on-site food trucks Smokin 7, Oops All Vegan and Fertile Ground Brewery.

Visitors may also enjoy Juneteenth family gallery activities at the This Is Home: Medgar Evers, Mississippi, and the Movement exhibit, on display now through June 30, in the FedEx Exhibition Hall.

Signed into law on June 17, 2021, Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, or Juneteenth, is a federal holiday to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States at the end of the Civil War.

Celebration of Juneteenth began on June 19, 1865, when Union general Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, with some 2,000 troops, and decreed the Emancipation Proclamation freed all enslaved people, officially enforcing emancipation in the Confederate-controlled state.

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

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Two Mississippi Museums in December 2017, former Governor William F. Winter declared, “These two museums were built for all of us, but most especially they were built for our children and our grandchildren and future generations.” His dream was that every Mississippi student would visit these museums at least once.  

Winter would have turned 100 on Tuesday, February 21. To honor his legacy, the Two Mississippi Museums will be free to the public on that day. This day of free admission is made possible by Jones Walker LLP, which acquired Watkins, Ludlam, Winter and Stennis where Governor Winter worked for over 50 years. 

“Governor Winter had a such a profound impact on the people of Mississippi and our nation. We are pleased that more people will have access to the museum on the day of his birthday. This is the perfect way to honor Governor Winter’s legacy in such a meaningful and impactful way—the exact way he lived his life,” said Bill Hines, managing partner of Jones Walker LLP. 

Winter was known for his strong support for public education in Mississippi. He helped to raise endowment funds to bring Mississippi’s school children to the Two Mississippi Museums, or as he called them, “Mississippi’s largest classroom.” 

“On this day, which would have been our father’s 100th birthday, we can think of no greater way to celebrate his life,” said his daughter Eleanor Winter. “He and others worked for years to make these museums a reality. It would bring him the greatest pleasure to know that the doors are flung wide open on his birthday for all to explore and learn about our state’s history.”   

The Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum stand at the intersection of Winter’s greatest passions—history, education, and racial justice—and he was the leading force behind the public/private partnership through which they were built.  

He believed the museums would, in his words, “challenge us to have a better understanding of where we have come from, and then inspire us to work harder to find our common ideals and goals.” He believed that “we will find that we have much more in common than what might appear to divide us.”   

“All Mississippians should have the opportunity to experience the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum,” said Katie Blount, director of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH). “We are grateful to the Winter family and to Jones Walker for this wonderful tribute to Governor and Mrs. Winter at the Two Mississippi Museums.” 

Pamela D.C. Junior, director of the Two Mississippi Museums, said, “We hope you will visit us Tuesday, February 21, to honor this living memorial to Governor’s Winter’s life and work.”   

Winter served on the MDAH Board of Trustees for more than 50 years and was president for nearly that long. He died December 18, 2020, at the age of 97. Elise Winter, his wife of 70 years who was a community activist and author, died just six months after her husband on July 17, 2021.    

The William and Elise Winter Education Endowment was established by the Foundation for Mississippi History to memorialize Mississippi’s former governor and first lady and their commitment to education and preservation. Funds are used to defray costs such as admission, travel, and on-site lunches for students.   

For more information about free Tuesday, February 21, at the Two Mississippi Museums, email info@mdah.ms.gov, or call 601-576-6850. 

To learn more about school field trips to the Two Mississippi Museums or to make a field trip reservation visit https://2mm.mdah.ms.gov/learn/field-trips.