[Mississippi History Newsletter Online.]

A MDAH Publication  |  Volume 46 No. 7  |  July 2004

Bowman House Marker Dedicated


Unveiling the Bowman Hotel marker were (l-r) William F. Winter, president, MDAH Board of Trustees; Elbert R. Hilliard, MDAH director; and Ken P'Pool, director, Historic Preservation, MDAH.

A historical marker at the site of two hotels in downtown Jackson was dedicated on Friday, May 14. From 1832 to 1856 the Eagle Hotel stood on the corner of State Street and Amite where the Standard Oil Building now stands. Andrew Jackson stayed there during his visit to the city in 1840.

The Bowman House was built on the site in 1857 and burned in 1863. It was the site of frequent political and social events and served briefly as headquarters for both Union and Confederate armies during the Civil War.

MDAH Gathers Information on Notable Women's Sites

The Mississippi Department of Archives and History is participating in a nationwide search for historical sites associated with notable women. The information from each state will be compiled and used in the establishment of the Museum of Women's History in New York City as well as on that organization's Web site. All sites submitted must be open to the public. Gravesites are eligible, but if a cemetery contains the graves of several prominent women it should be listed as a single entry with brief information about each woman included. All submissions must be made by August 15, 2004.

MDAH would also like information on significant sites that are not open to the public, such as homes of notable women. This list will be posted on the MDAH Web site, along with the site information gathered for the national museum.

Anyone with questions or wishing to recommend a site should contact Chrissy Wilson, MDAH, at 601/ 576-6857 to request a submission form. Forms may also be printed from the department's Web site.

The Museum of Women's History will be located in Manhattan. The ten-story, 125,000-square-foot building will house permanent exhibition galleries and state-of-the-art interactive permanent exhibits and temporary exhibits. Other projects will include an oral history program, a library, and archives.

MDAH Events

Winterville Mounds, Greenville

Monday, July 12, through Friday, July 16, 10 a.m. to noon: Winterville Adventures, a series of workshops for children ages 6-12. For more information call 662/ 334-4684.

Grand Village of the Natchez Indians, Natchez

Monday, July 12, through Friday, July 16, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.: Discovery Week, daily sessions introducing children 8-11 to Native American culture, archaeology, and nature studies. There is a $25 registration fee and a limit of 20 participants. For more information call 601/ 446-6502.

Manship House Museum, Jackson

Monday, July 12, 10 to 11 a.m.: Storytelling through Performance, a summer workshop for children. Participants will learn about Punch and Judy puppet shows and make their own puppets. Free of charge, for ages 5-12. Reservations required. For information or reservations, call 601/ 961-4724.

Monday, July 19, 10 to 11 a.m.: Storytelling through Oral History, a summer workshop for children. Professional storyteller Nell Shivers will teach participants how to collect and tell their own family's stories. Free of charge, for ages 5-12. Reservations required.

Monday, July 26, 10 to 11 a.m.: Storytelling through the Written Word, a summer workshop for children. Participants will share collected stories and record them using nineteenth-century techniques. Free of charge, for ages 5-12. Reservations required.

Corinth Civil War Center Opens

The new Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center will be formally dedicated July 24 at 1:30 p.m. The 12,000-square-foot center is the first component of the Corinth Unit of the Shiloh National Military Park and will serve visitors wishing to explore the area's many surviving Civil War resources.

The $9.5 million center will interpret the total Civil War experience in the north Mississippi and southwest Tennessee region, particularly the 1862 Siege and Battle of Corinth. The 24-acre site overlooks downtown Corinth and the railroad junction, key items in Corinth's strategic importance during the war. "Our goal for Corinth is to create an important destination for both Civil War buffs and the public at large," said Shiloh National Military Park Superintendent Woody Harrell. "The new Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center will provide visitors an opportunity to explore both the causes and consequences of this terrible conflict, as well as the war's impact on an entire population, soldiers and civilians alike."

The center includes an interactive museum, 80-seat auditorium, 5,000 square feet of exhibit space, and a museum shop. For more information about the center, contact the Corinth Area Tourism Promotion Council at 800/748-9048.

 


John Dittmer, author of the award-winning Local People, spoke to Mississippi social studies teachers June 15 on The Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi, the first Old Capitol Museum Summer Social Studies Teachers Workshop. (Below) William F. Winter, right, joins panel discussion of the Brown decision on its 50th anniversary. Former Hinds Co. Circuit Court Judge Robert Gibbs, left, and Sara Jane Alston, Jackson, also took part.

Contraband Camp Park Dedication July 24

The historic Contraband Camp Park in Corinth will be dedicated on July 24 at 11 a.m. The Contraband Camp project was principally funded by a Mississippi African American Heritage Preservation grant awarded by the MDAH Board of Trustees. The camp was established after the battle of Corinth in late 1862 and housed several thousand freed African Americans until the Union army abandoned the city in January, 1864. The camp's facilities included homes, hospitals, schools, and churches and was one of the first and most efficiently operated refugee camps in the Civil War period.

Copies may be purchased from the Old Capitol Shop, Jackson, for $20 each plus $1.40 tax. Orders by mail should add shipping charges of $4 for the first book, $1 for each additional book. To order this or other Archaeological Reports, call the Old Capitol Shop at 601/ 576-6921.

Virtual Tour: Eudora Welty House

A virtual tour of the Eudora Welty House, Jackson, is now available on the MDAH Web site. The house will open to the public in 2005 as a literary house museum. The garden is now open to the public on Wednesdays, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., by appointment. Call Mary Alice White, Welty House director, at 601/ 576-6965 or 601/ 353-7762.

Subscribe to the print version of the Mississippi History Newsletter by sending your name and postal address to pubinfo@mdah.state.ms.us.

Winson Hudson, 1917-2004

Civil rights activist Winson Hudson, a native of Harmony, Mississippi, died April 26 at the age of eighty-seven. Hudson and her sister, Dovie, established a Leake County branch of the NAACP in 1961. In 1963, Hudson became one of the first African Americans to register to vote in the county, after years of rejection. In 1964 the sisters pushed the first school-desegregation lawsuit in a rural Mississippi county. Winson Hudson also worked to improve health care and to bring early childhood education to Leake County. The Head Start center there now bears her name.

PREVIOUS ISSUES:

2004 JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEPT | OCT | NOV | DEC
2003 JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEPT | OCT | NOV | DEC
2002 JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEPT | OCT | NOV | DEC
2001 MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEPT | OCT |NOV |DEC

Published by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History • Elbert R. Hilliard, director • Chrissy Wilson, editor
Please send correspondence to: MHN, P.O. Box 571, Jackson, MS 39205 or email to pubinfo@mdah.state.ms.us