MDAH collects and preserves objects of all types that help us tell the great story of Mississippi. Our holdings include archival records, historic objects, and archaeological artifacts that span 15,000 years of Mississippi history.
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Think you might have an item of historical significance to donate? Learn more about donating to our collection here.
Archives Collections
Search our Catalog, the ultimate assemblage of Mississippi-related primary resources including government records, historic papers, documents, photographs, maps, and audiovisual media. Some of these materials are also available online in the Digital Archives. To learn more about visiting the state archives, visit our Research page.
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Collection Highlights
Eudora Welty Collection
The collections consists of manuscripts of Welty's works, incoming and outgoing correspondence, negatives and photographs, and memorabilia. Copyright ©Eudora Welty, LLC; Courtesy Eudora Welty Collection–MDAH
Medgar Wiley and Myrlie Beasley Evers Papers
This collection includes Evers and Beasley family papers, including papers of Medgar Evers as Mississippi field secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; and records relating to the case of the State of Mississippi v. Byron de la Beckwith.
William H. Turcotte Diary
William Turcotte of Jackson was a member of the United States Air Force in World War II, when he was captured in Germany and kept in Stalag - Luft III, a prisoner-of-war camp. This diary was kept by Turcotte while he was a P.O.W. from October 1943 to April 1945.
Archaeology Collection
The archaeology collection consists of prehistoric and historic artifacts recovered through systematic survey, excavation, and independent collecting. The collection is available by appointment for research and loan.
Historic Objects Collection
The Historic Objects Collection contains more than 20,000 historic items. These are three dimensional objects that tell the story of Mississippi. Historic objects are housed in our state of the art storage facility located in the Two Mississippi Museums and are available for research upon request.
What's New
2023.46.1 – Ambrotype portrait of Frederick Davis
This ambrotype features U.S. Navy Seaman Frederick Davis. Davis enlisted into the Navy on April 3, 1862 at New Bedford, Massachusetts, and was later transferred to the Ironclad USS Baron DeKalb, which traveled from Missouri to Mississippi and engaged in various actions against the Confederate forces. In March of 1863, Davis was severely injured during an exchange at Haines Bluff, Mississippi. He succumbed to the wound days later and was buried at the Vicksburg National Cemetery.
24.13.4 – “Forest Trees of Mississippi” belonged to Myrtle Clay Jones
This copy of “Forest Trees of Mississippi” was used by Myrtle Clay Jones for her class when she was teaching at Martin High School. The book was printed by the Extension Service of Mississippi State College (now Mississippi State University). Jones was born in Kemper County, Mississippi in 1908. She married Robert James Jones, a World War I veteran and a sawyer in Clarke County, in 1941. She passed away in Meridian in 1980.
2024.22.1 – Beer mug belonged to Andrew Moak
This beer mug was brought by Andrew Moak to America from Switzerland in about 1740. One of his grandchildren, also named Andrew Moak, moved to Mississippi with his family in 1811, making them the first settlers in today's Lincoln County. The area the family settled in came to be known as Moak's Creek, where a family house was built by Moak in about 1812. The house stood until the early 1940s when it was torn down.
Historic objects are housed in our storage facility located in the Two Mississippi Museums and are available for research upon request. MDAH also accepts donations of historic objects.