About MDAH

Empowering people through Mississippi’s many stories is our vision.

Whether you are interested in researching Mississippi history, visiting historic places, preserving history, attending or sponsoring history-themed events, engaging students with history, properly managing government records or finding opportunities for volunteering, internships and careers, MDAH can connect you with the experiences and information you seek.

By preserving Mississippi’s diverse historic resources and sharing them with people around the world, MDAH inspires discovery of stories that connect our lives and shape our future.

Who We Are

The Mississippi Department of Archives and History was founded in 1902 to collect, preserve, and provide access to the archival resources of the state. Our commitment to preservation continues today through the work of the department’s five divisions.

MDAH is governed by a nine-member board of trustees whose president is Spence Flatgard of Ridgeland. Katie Blount has served as department director since February 2015.

Administration

Administration comprises human resources, financial services, operations, and information systems.

Archives and Records Services

Archives and Records Services oversees the state archives and public reading rooms, where documents, photographs, and other items from the state’s vast collection are made available free of charge to the public.

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Historic Preservation

Historic Preservation works with property owners to preserve the state’s historic sites and structures.

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Programs and Communication

Programs and Communication focuses on programming, education, public relations, and marketing for the entire department.

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Museums

The Museum Division oversees the Museum of Mississippi History, Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, Eudora Welty House & Garden, Manship House Museum, Old Capitol Museum, and the historic section of the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion in Jackson; the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians in Natchez; Historic Jefferson College in Washington, and Winterville Mounds in Greenville.

Eudora Welty House

Eudora Welty House

See where the Pulitzer Prize-winning author lived, entertained, and wrote all her stories.

Mississippi Civil Rights Museum

Mississippi Civil Rights Museum

Discover stories of Mississippians such as Medgar Evers, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Vernon Dahmer, who changed America as local leaders in the Civil Rights Movement. 

Museum of Mississippi History

Museum of Mississippi History

Explore 15,000 years of history and learn how our shared past influences our future together.

Old Capitol Museum

Old Capitol Museum

The Old Capitol is the site of some of the state's most significant history.

Grand Village of the Natchez Indians

Grand Village of the Natchez Indians

The Grand Village is a museum and 128-acre park featuring three prehistoric Native American mounds, a reconstructed Natchez Indian house, and a nature trail.

Historic Jefferson College

Historic Jefferson College

Historic Jefferson College is the birthplace of Mississippi’s statehood in 1817.

Manship House Museum

Manship House Museum

The Manship House Museum interprets the daily life of a 19th-century Mississippi family through the house the family lived in for so many years.

Winterville Mounds

Winterville Mounds

For hundreds of years, travelers have visited the communal gathering space at Winterville Mounds.

Governor's Mansion

Governor's Mansion

The Governor’s Mansion has been the residence of Mississippi governors and their families since 1842.

News & Articles

The Mississippi Department of Archives and History and Mississippi State University have signed an agreement that establishes a framework to create a regional hub for education, research, and workforce development at Historic Jefferson College near Natchez.
The family of Fannie Lou Hamer has donated the civil rights leader’s Presidential Medal of Freedom to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History to ensure her legacy of activism is shared with future generations.
Roland Weeks, longtime publisher of Gulf Coast newspapers The Daily Herald and the Sun Herald and a former member of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Board of Trustees, died October 4, aged 89.
The Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) is accepting applications for four 2026 fellowships: the Eudora Welty Research Fellowship, the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Research Fellowship, the Religion in Mississippi History Research Fellowship, and the Robert “Bob” Moses Civil Rights Research Fellowship.
America250 Mississippi is excited to announce the October 2025 dates for the national America250 initiative, Our American Story — a national oral and visual storytelling project designed to gather and preserve the voices that shape our nation.
The board of trustees of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History will convene next month in Jackson, hosting a public reception at the Old Capitol Museum ahead of its regular board meeting.

Events

Life Shards Revisited: Mississippi Remembers Katrina
October 17, 2025, 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

How can art help communities heal after disaster? Join us for a panel discussion exploring the power of creativity and resilience on Friday, October 17, at 6 p.m. at the Mississippi Museum of Art. Presented in partnership with the Two Mississippi Museums and the Walter Anderson Museum, this program is part of the 20th-anniversary commemoration of Hurricane Katrina.

Community Curation Day: Donating Family Artifacts and Papers
October 18, 2025, 10:00 am - 11:00 am

Do you have artifacts that tell a family story or illuminate a piece of Mississippi history? Join us for Community Curation Day: Donating Family Artifacts and Papers at 10 a.m. on Saturday, October 18, in the William F. Winter Archives and History Building. Laura Heller, acquisitions and collections coordinator, will explain MDAH's collections policy.

Ghosts in the Garden Scavenger Hunt
October 18, 2025, 12:30 pm - 4:00 pm

Join a monthlong scavenger hunt in the Eudora Welty House & Garden. Kids and kids-at-heart are invited to go on a Ghosts in the Garden Scavenger Hunt throughout the month of October. Visitors can pick up a scavenger hunt sheet from the Little Free Library.

Articles and Publications

MDAH and our partner organizations produce a number of detailed publications related to Mississippi history and prehistory. Select a publication for information on topics, purchasing or subscribing.

Board of Trustees

Board of Trustees

Annual Report

Annual Report

Partnerships

Volunteer

Be part of history. Volunteer with MDAH and help us preserve and connect Mississippi’s rich historic resources with people around the world.


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