Best things to do in Jackson Mississippi

Old Capitol Museum

Originally called State House, the Old Capitol building has filled three purposes in its long history. From 1839 to 1903 it served as the state capitol, between 1917 and 1959 it housed government offices, and from 1961 to the present it has become an award-winning museum enshrining Mississippi's history. The exhibits are arranged in several categories, the highlight being 'Mississippi 1500 to 1800', which depicts the era when Americans, Europeans, and Africans first encountered each other in the state, drastically altering the lives and society of the Native Americans who lived here. Full-scale dioramas illustrate the importance of cotton in the state's development, and interactive audio-visual experiences explain the profound effects of the Civil War on Mississippi.

Website www.mdah.ms.gov/explore-mississippi/old-capitol-museum

The Governor's Mansion

The Mississippi Governor's Mansion in downtown Jackson is the second oldest continuously occupied governor's residence in the United States. Built in the Greek revival style, the most popular style of the period, it was first occupied in 1842 by Governor Tilghman Tucker and his family. Today architectural historians consider the mansion one of the best surviving examples of this style in the country, and in 1975 the building was designated a National Historic Landmark. The historic section of the mansion, furnished in period Empire style, is open to the public.

Website www.mdah.ms.gov/explore-mississippi/governors-mansion

Russell C. Davis Planetarium

Jackson's impressive planetarium is one of the largest in the world, with a huge hemispheric wrap-around screen that presents regular Sky Shows on astronomy, astronauts, and space exploration. The planetarium, situated in the downtown cultural district, also presents laser light concerts featuring the music of contemporary and classic rock and roll artists combined with the imagery of a powerful indoor laser system, as well as astronomy hobby courses and workshops.

Website www.jacksonms.gov/russell-c-davis-planetarium/

Mississippi Museum of Art

The State's largest art museum, the Mississippi Museum of Art in Jackson houses more than 4,000 works, including the world's largest collection by Mississippi artists. Seventy five percent of the permanent collection comprising American artists; visitors will be able to view important works such as some of Georgia O'Keeffe's striking flowers and landscapes, and Walker Evans' carefully photographed Depression images. The rest of the permanent exhibition consists of European, Asian and Ethnographic art. Contemporary masters such as Miro, Picasso, Degas and Cezanne are on display, as are gorgeous Japanese prints and South American ceramics.

Website www.msmuseumart.org

Farish Street Historical District

The 125-acre neighbourhood near downtown known as Farish District is bounded by Mill Street, Amite Street, Fortification Street, and Jackson Street. It's one of the few historically black districts, built by former slaves, listed on the national register. It takes its name from Walter Farish, a freed slave who settled on the northeast corner of Davis and Farish Streets. The district was once the centre of political, religious, economic, educational and entertainment activities for the black professionals and craftsmen who lived in the area's 700-odd buildings, most dating from between 1890 and 1930. Visitors should look out for 229 East Church Street, as it's one of the more notable buildings in the district. It's the former home of Dr Sidney Redmond, who was a wealthy and successful businessman, and the old Farish Street Baptist Church. Renovation in the district is ongoing and private home ownership is being encouraged in an effort at urban renewal. The area is being redeveloped as an entertainment district, and there are many theatres, live music venues and historic landmarks such as Ace Records and the Speir Phonograph Company.

Vicksburg National Military Park

The Vicksburg National Military Park commemorates one of the most decisive battles of the American Civil War: the campaign, siege, and defence of the city of Vicksburg, 44 miles (71km) west of Jackson in Mississippi. Vicksburg was under siege for 47 days in 1863 as confederate forces vainly tried to defend the city high on the bluff guarding the Mississippi River. The battlefield at Vicksburg is in a good state of preservation and visitors can explore 1,325 historic monuments and markers, 20 miles (32km) of reconstructed trenches and earthworks, an antebellum home, 144 cannon emplacements, the restored Union gunboat, USS Cairo, and the Vicksburg National Cemetery.

Website www.nps.gov/vick/index.htm

Elvis Presley Birthplace

The King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley, was born in Tupelo, northern Mississippi in 1935 in a humble home where he began his meteoric rise to fame. The simple two-room house where Elvis drew his first breath is now contained in a park, which has become a place of pilgrimage for thousands of fans every day. The city of Tupelo has other attractions to make a trip north of Jackson worthwhile. Elvis Presley Park includes not only the period-furnished house, but also a museum, memorial chapel, gift shop, and a life-size statue of the legend, aged 13, as he was when he moved from Tupelo to Memphis, Tennessee, with his family.

Website www.elvispresleybirthplace.com

Mississippi Museum of Natural Science

The Mississippi Museum of Natural Science was founded in 1932 by biological researcher, Francis Cook, and to this day remains the Magnolia State's largest museum. A passionate student of Mississippi's natural resources, Cook's vision was to establish a museum that would focus on the promotion and protection of the state's natural landscape. In LeFleur's Bluff State Park, she chose an ideal setting for such a project. The museum grounds feature a 73,000 square foot complex overlooking a 300-acre natural landscape, 2.5 miles (about 4km) of nature trails, an open-air amphitheatre, a series of life-size displays of the state's diverse habitats, a 100,000-gallon aquarium network housing more than 200 living species, and a 1,700 square foot greenhouse. It's obvious that Cook's conservancy ideals have been faithfully followed over the last 80 or so years, as the museum's astonishing collection of more than a million specimens of fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds, mammals, invertebrates, plants, and fossils is nothing less than a living, breathing monument to biodiversity conservation.

Website www.visitjackson.com/directory/mdwfps-mississippi-museum-of-natural-science/

Eudora Welty House

One of America's most influential writers, Eudora Welty lived for 76 years at 1119 Pinehurst Plaza in Jackson, before bequeathing the house to the State of Mississippi when she passed away in 2001. The beautiful, Tudor Revival-style house was built by Welty's parents in 1925, and has since been added to the National Register of Historic Places and declared a National Historic Landmark. Significantly, the interior of the house has remained untouched; visitors to the Eudora Welty house will be given the chance to see exactly how this Pulitzer Prize-winning author lived and worked. Her books still line the shelves, and her typewriter still sits on the writing desk by the window in the upstairs bedroom. Included in the tour is a walk around the exquisite gardens that Welty and her mother cultivated over the years. For fans of American literature, a visit to the Eudora Welty house-cum-museum is an absolute must.

Website welty.mdah.ms.gov/

Jackson Mississippi

Things to do in Jackson Mississippi

Old Capitol Museum

The Governor's Mansion

Russell C. Davis Planetarium

Mississippi Museum of Art

Farish Street Historical District

Vicksburg National Military Park

Elvis Presley Birthplace

Mississippi Museum of Natural Science

Eudora Welty House

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Old Capitol Museum

The Governor's Mansion

Russell C. Davis Planetarium

Mississippi Museum of Art

Farish Street Historical District

Vicksburg National Military Park

Elvis Presley Birthplace

Mississippi Museum of Natural Science

Eudora Welty House