Museum of Mississippi History

In 1998, the Mississippi State Legislature authorized MDAH to begin planning construction of a new Museum of Mississippi History. Subsequently, a coalition of Mississippi architects – Eley Guild Hardy; Cooke Douglass Farr Lemons; and Dale Partners – was selected to design the building in association with The Freelon Group (Perkins&Will) of Durham, NC.{{cite report|author=Mississippi Department of Archives and History|title=Museum of Mississippi History & Mississippi Civil Rights Museum: Fact Sheet|location=Jackson, Miss.|publisher=Mississippi Department of Archives and History|date=April 27, 2015|page=2|url=http://mdah.state.ms.us/2MM/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/2MM-factsheet-1.pdf|accessdate=June 18, 2022|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905114847/http://mdah.state.ms.us/2MM/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/2MM-factsheet-1.pdf|archivedate=September 5, 2015}}{{Cite web |last=Foundation for Mississippi History |first= |date=October 20, 2011 |title=MDAH to Oversee Construction of Mississippi Museums |url=http://www.mshistory.net/?p=20 |access-date=2022-06-12 |website=mshistory.net |language=en-US}} Because of unforeseen state funding priorities created by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and subsequent budget shortfalls, appropriations for museum construction were delayed.

In 2011, Governor Haley Barbour and the Mississippi Legislature approved $38 million in bond funding to begin construction of the two museums.{{Cite web |last=MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE |date=2011 |title=HOUSE BILL NO. 1463 |url=http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2011/pdf/HB/1400-1499/HB1463SG.pdf |access-date=2022-06-13 |website=billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/}} The legislative bill specified that the museums were to be operational by 2017 to coincide with the bicentennial year when Mississippi was admitted to statehood. An additional $16.6 million bond authorization for the museums was approved by Governor Phil Bryant in 2016.{{Cite web |last=Pender |first=Geoff |title=Gov Bryant signs bond bill, last of 2016 measures |url=https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/politics/politicalledger/2016/05/17/bryant-signs-bills/84508730/ |access-date=2022-06-14 |website=The Clarion-Ledger |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE |date=2016 |title=HOUSE BILL NO. 1729 |url=http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2016/pdf/HB/1700-1799/HB1729SG.pdf |access-date=2022-06-14 |website=billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/}}

In total, the Mississippi State Legislature appropriated $90 million for construction of the two museums. An additional $19 million for exhibits and endowments was provided through private donations, such as the Foundation for Mississippi History.{{Cite web |title=Foundation for Mississippi History{{!}}About the Foundation |url=http://www.mshistory.net/?page_id=2 |access-date=2022-06-12 |language=en-US}} Construction began in December 2013 by Thrash Commercial Contractors from Brandon, MS. The museums opened December 9, 2017.

The two museums share an auditorium, classrooms, storage areas, and a workshop for preparation of exhibits. The museums cover an area of {{convert|200000|ft2|m2|abbr=on}}.

The Museum of Mississippi History examines 15,000 years of state history through exhibits, educational programs, and historical artifacts. As of 2022, there were 8 galleries based on historic timelines:{{Cite web |last= |date= |title=Galleries |url=https://mmh.mdah.ms.gov/exhibits/galleries |access-date=2022-06-12 |website=Museum of Mississippi History |language=en}}

• The First People (13,000 BC – AD 1518) – Native Americans in Mississippi
• Cultural Crossroads (1519 – 1798) – Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans
• Joining the United States (1799 – 1832) – Territory, Statehood, and Treaties
• Cotton Kingdom (1833 – 1865) – Cotton, Enslavement, and the American Civil War
• The World Remade (1866 – 1902) – Freedom, Reconstruction, and Regression
• Promise and Peril (1903 – 1927) – Progressivism, Repression, and World War I
• Bridging Hardship (1928 – 1945) – Great Depression, New Deal, and World War II
• Forging Ahead (1946 – Present) – Civil Rights, Diversification, and Innovation

{{reflist}}

• {{Commons category-inline}}
• [https://2mm.mdah.ms.gov/news/mississippi-department-archives-and-history-announces-new-director-two-mississippi-museums New Director of the Two Mississippi Museums Michael Morris]

{{U.S. state history museums}}

{{authority control}}

Category:History museums in Mississippi

Category:Museums in Jackson, Mississippi

Category:2017 establishments in Mississippi

Category:Government buildings completed in 2017

Category:Government buildings in Mississippi