Mississippi History Timeline

The Evers family home, the site of the assassination of Medgar Evers in 1963, is now a museum, operated by Tougaloo College. It contains period furnishings, exhibits, and Evers family photographs. The home was used in the film “Ghosts of Mississippi,” which tells the story of the 1994 retrial and conviction of Evers’s killer, Byron de la Beckwith.

Location: 2332 Margaret Walker Alexander Drive Jackson, MS 39213. Visit by appointment. Call: 601-977-7839 or 601-977-7710 or email mwatson@tougaloo.edu. To see a virtual tour of the home produced by Mississippi Public Broadcasting, visit everstribute.org/tour_lr.php

mdah.state.ms.us/timeline/index.php?section=people&pid=43

Tougaloo College, chartered by the state of Mississippi in 1871, began offering college courses in 1897. This private, historically black liberal arts institution has a long history of social commitment and played a pivotal role during the Civil Rights Movement. Woodworth Chapel, built around 1901 and restored from 1998-2002, was the center of much of that activity.

Location: 500 W. County Line Road, Tougaloo (Jackson), MS 39213. Call 601-977-7700.

tougaloo.edu

One of America’s most intact literary house museums and a National Historic Site, the Eudora Welty House was the home of the acclaimed author from 1925 until her death in 2001. The exterior and interior are restored to 1986, when she made the decision to leave her home to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, which administers it. The garden is restored to the period 1925-45.

Location: 1119 Pinehurst Street Jackson, MS 39202. Check in for tours at the Education and Visitors Center at 1109 Pinehurst next door, where orientation video and exhibits are located. Open Wednesday—Friday with tours at 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., and 3:00 p.m. Small admission fee but free when the 13th of the month falls on a Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday. Reservations required. To schedule a tour, call 601-353-7762 or email weltytours@mdah.state.ms.us.

eudorawelty.org
eudoraweltyhouse.com/

mdah.state.ms.us/timeline/index.php?section=people&pid=44

The museum is located in the former Smith Robertson School, the first public school for African Americans in Jackson, which was opened in 1894. Dedicated to increasing public understanding about the historical experience and cultural expressions of people of African American descent, the museum is run by the City of Jackson.

Location: 528 Bloom Street Jackson, MS 39202-4005. Open Monday—Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Saturdays 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Small admission fee, groups welcomed. Call 601-960-1457.

Jacksonms.gov/visitors/museums/smithrobertson

Mississippi’s most historic building, the Old Capitol opened in 1839, housing all three branches of state government. Damaged during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the building has been extensively restored to its 19th century glory and reopened as a museum. Films, displays, and interactive multimedia exhibits interpret the history of the building itself and the historic events that took place there.

Location: State at Capitol Streets in Jackson. Open 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tuesday—Saturday and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free. Call 601-576-6920

http://mdah.state.ms.us/museum/oldcap/index.php