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The Mississippi coast is blessed with a portion of the Gulf Islands National Seashore, which extends from Cat Island to the eastern tip of Santa Rosa Island in Florida. Cherished for its emerald coast waters and a string of barrier islands featuring magnificent white beaches, fertile marshes, and dense maritime forests, this protected environment still bears the scars of Hurricane Sally that battered the region in 2020. Fortunately, a series of recovery projects has seen the habitats pretty much restored to their former glory.
Inland, but still within the Gulf Islands National Seashore boundaries is tranquil Davis Bayou, set near the town of Ocean Springs. A network of hiking trails snake through this magical wetland habitat, which is also marked by a number of camping and picnicking areas.
On January 8, 1935, one Elvis Aaron Presley was born in a shotgun shack in Tupelo, Mississippi. His birthplace, a two-room house built by his father, grandfather, and uncle, is now a much-visited pilgrimage site for rock 'n' roll fans from across the United States and beyond.
Visitors can admire the cozy but austere interior, and muse upon the fact that from these humble roots sprang one of the most important and influential cultural icons of the 20th century.
Civil War buffs will likely be aware that it was at Vicksburg that Union forces under Major General Ulysses S. Grant gained control of the Mississippi River by defeating John Pemberton's Confederate troops in one of the most decisive battles of the conflict. The Vicksburg National Military Park marks the location of the historic battlefield.
Fought between May 18 and July 4, 1863, Vicksburg marked a turning point in the fortunes of the Union Army. But victory came at a huge cost: Vicksburg National Cemetery is the final resting place of up to 17,000 fallen Union soldiers, as well as another 1,300 US military veterans who have lost their lives in overseas conflicts since then.
The military park is home to what remains of the USS Cairo, one of the first American ironclad warships built at the beginning of the Civil War and sunk in 1862. The vessel's hull forms part of a fascinating museum complex.
B.B. King is one of Mississippi's most famous sons. He was born in Indianola, which is where the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center is located. Besides serving as a museum dedicated to the life and work of the late musician, the center seeks to help preserve Delta Blues and its culture by promoting its importance. B.B. King himself is buried within the grounds of the museum.
Located at Gulfport, the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies is one of the few dolphin rescue centers found on the Gulf coast. Besides meeting some of these wonderful mammals, visitors can explore an engaging museum facility and learn more about ocean life.
Built in 1852, Beavoir, in Biloxi, became the home of the Confederate States of America's only president, Jefferson Davis, in 1877. It now houses the Confederate Presidential Library and Museum.
Local boys Robert Johnson, B.B. King, and Elvis Presley are among the Mississippi-native musicians honored at the flashy Grammy Museum in Cleveland.
The museum's exhibits reflect both the glamorous aspects of the Grammys as well as the Delta's rustic culture, but is designed to reflect all sorts of music genres. A must for any music fan, whatever their tastes.
The related Natchez Trace Trail follows a similar path. Though segmented and not as long as the Parkway, the trail, developed for hiking, mountain biking, and horse-riding, nevertheless offers up superb outdoor adventure opportunities and great sightseeing moments.
Treading the Natchez Trace Trail will bring you to natural wonders like the Cypress Swamp (pictured), as well as several prehistoric mounds and archaeological sites, scenic viewpoints, and historic places of interest like the Tupelo and Brices Cross Roads battlefields.
Located in Tupelo, this wonderful wildlife reserve is home to a large herd of American bison, and is the largest zoological facility in the state.
The current Mississippi state capitol can also be explored, again by joining a guided tour of the interior. This building was completed in 1903 and is distinguished by a huge dome roof surmounted by a eagle coated in gold leaf.
The capitol's interior is grand and lavish and overflows with marble and gilt. When in session, visitors can witness Senate and House debates from the public gallery. Both capitol buildings are deserving of their National Historic Landmarks status.
An Instagram favorite, the Biloxi Lighthouse, erected in 1848, was one of the first cast-iron lighthouses built in the South. It stands guard over the Biloxi Visitors Center and is the the city's signature landmark.
One of Mississippi's more unusual visitor attractions is this unique petrified forest. Found in Flora, the remains of what was once a vast forest, believed to date back 36 million years ago, can be admired as huge blocks of petrified wood.
Visiting the Mississippi Children's Museum in Jackson will bring a smile to any youngster's face. Educative and inspiring, the myriad of exhibits are designed to spark the curiosity and imagination of children, from toddlers to teenagers. Emphasis is placed on geography, history, culture, and the environment. And hey, grown-ups will be impressed, too.
Inaugurated in 2017, the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson is required browsing, offering as it does a fascinating, poignant, and often harrowing history of the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi between 1945 and 1970.
The museum provides a series of compelling exhibits dedicated to those who campaigned to end legalized racial discrimination, disenfranchisement, and racial segregation in the state and across the United States. In addition, a series of theaters screen films about pivotal moments in the movement, including the murders of Emmet Till and Medgar Evers.
Jackson is home to the Mississippi Museum of Art, the largest museum in the state. The collection numbers nearly 6,000 works of art, ranging from pre-Columbian ceramics to contemporary paintings. American artists represented here include Georgia O'Keeffe, Robert Henri, and Andy Warhol, as well as photographers such as Walker Evans and Cindy Sherman.
The house where Pulitzer Prize-winning author Eudora Welty once lived is now a Mississippi landmark. Born in Jackson in 1909, Welty's 'The Optimist's Daughter,' published in 1972, is one of the most celebrated novels in recent American literature history.
You can't miss this downtown Jackson landmark. Completed in 1841, it's the second-oldest governor's residence in active use in the nation. The mansion is open for free guided tours, unless there are official functions or other uses of the building scheduled.
Back on the coast, Fort Massachusetts on West Ship Island stands as a relic from the War of 1812. It later served as a garrison for Union troops during the Civil War.
A poignant reminder of Mississippi's dark past is the location marked by a way sign of Bryant's Grocery. It was here in August 1955 that a white married shopkeeper accused a 14-year-old African-American boy, Emmett Till, of flirting with her. Till was subsequently kidnapped, tortured, and killed. His murder is generally regarded as sparking the Civil Rights Movement. The plaque can be found on the Freedom Trail near Money.
Sources: (History) (Britannica)
See also: Defining moments in black history
Founded in 1821 and named for General Andrew Jackson, later the seventh president of the United States, Mississippi's capital city serves as an ideal base from which to explore the "Magnolia State." But not before you've discovered what this historic destination has to offer.
Jackson's old state capitol building dates back to 1839. The former seat of government now serves as a museum, and anybody interested in architecture and the political history of Mississippi will be well rewarded by joining a guided tour of the early 19th-century structure.
Mississippi boasts in part one of the most interesting cultural trails in the United States—the Natchez Trace Parkway. Following a route once used by Native American Indians, the recreational road and scenic drive snakes 444 miles (714 km) from Natchez through Alabama to Nashville, Tennessee.
Mississippi, located in the southeastern portion of the United States, is a state crammed with history and culture. It's a land that saw some of the most decisive battles of the Civil War fought out, and where the Civil Rights Movement was sparked. It's a destination famed for being the birthplace of the Delta blues, and later rock 'n' roll. And Mississippi is home to a Gulf coast seashore that boasts one of the most popular beach destinations in the South. Want to know more?
Click through and find out what not to miss in Mississippi.
What not to miss in Mississippi
Today is National Mississippi Day
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Mississippi, located in the southeastern portion of the United States, is a state crammed with history and culture. It's a land that saw some of the most decisive battles of the Civil War fought out, and where the Civil Rights Movement was sparked. It's a destination famed for being the birthplace of the Delta blues, and later rock 'n' roll. And Mississippi is home to a Gulf coast seashore that boasts one of the most popular beach destinations in the South. Want to know more?
Click through and find out what not to miss in Mississippi.