Artifacts

Artifacts: 1962 Ole Miss Riots

On September 28, 2012, in Artifacts, by Amanda
0

Nan Prince, Assistant Director of Collections in the MDAH Museum Division, brings us this post about interesting artifacts in the collection.

Tear gas grenade and tear gas canister from Ole Miss riots, 1962. Accession numbers: 1999.6.1 and 2007.2.1 (Museum Division Collection)

Tear gas grenade and tear gas canister from Ole Miss riots, 1962. Accession numbers: 1999.6.1 and 2007.2.1 (Museum Division Collection)

After a prolonged court battle, James Meredith became the first African-American admitted to the University of Mississippi. On September 30, 1962, federal marshals escorted Meredith onto campus. That night white segregationists rioted, hurling bricks, bottles, and gunfire at the marshals who responded by firing tear gas into the crowd. The escalating violence prompted President John F. Kennedy to send over 20,000 U.S. Army troops and federalized Mississippi Guardsmen who quelled the riots. Throughout the night, two people were killed and many more were seriously injured, including over one hundred marshals. The next morning, Meredith walked across a rubble-filled campus to register and attend his first class at Ole Miss. This tear gas grenade and tear gas canister were both found on campus the day after the riot.

Artifacts from the Museum Division collection that are not on exhibit are available for viewing by appointment. Please contact Nan Prince, Assistant Director of Collections, by email to schedule an appointment.

Sources:

John Dittmer, Local People: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1995).

Charles W. Eagles, “The Fight for Men’s Minds”: The Aftermath of the Ole Miss Riot of 1962 (http://mdah.state.ms.us/pubs/riot.pdf).

Tagged with: •
 

Civil War Sesquicentennial: Today in 1862

On September 12, 2012, in Artifacts, by Amanda
0

The Mississippi Civil War Sesquicentennial continues and in the coming months we will be highlighting Museum Division collections related to 1862 and the Civil War. Special thanks to Nan Prince, Asst. Director of Collections, for writing this series.

Figure of a Bible carved by Alexander A. Lomax, 12th Mississippi Infantry. Accession Number: 1967.1.1 (Museum Division Collection)

Figure of a Bible carved by Alexander A. Lomax, 12th Mississippi Infantry. Accession Number: 1967.1.1 (Museum Division Collection)

This figure of a Bible was carved by Alexander A. Lomax who served as a private in Company I, 12th Mississippi Infantry. According to his service records, Lomax was taken as a prisoner of war in Frederick, Maryland, on September 12, 1862, and was admitted to the USA General Hospital No. 1 in Frederick. Family tradition states that this Bible was carved while Lomax was in an Army hospital so it was most likely carved in Frederick. Lomax was exchanged from Fort Delaware on November 10, 1862, and later became a chaplain in the 16th Mississippi Infantry. He was paroled at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, on April 9, 1865, and served as a pastor in Clinton, Mississippi, after the war. Lomax’s diary and notebook from his service as chaplain in the 16th Mississippi can be found in the archives collection, click here to view the catalog record.

Artifacts from the Museum Division collection that are not on exhibit are available for viewing by appointment. Please contact Nan Prince, Assistant Director of Collections, by email to schedule an appointment.

Tagged with: •
 

Artifacts: 19th Century Quilt

On August 28, 2012, in Artifacts, by Amanda
0

Nan Prince, Assistant Director of Collections in the MDAH Museum Division, brings us this post about interesting artifacts in the collection.

Princess Feather pattern quilt. Accession number: 1974.27.1 (Museum Division Collection)

Princess Feather pattern quilt. Accession number: 1974.27.1 (Museum Division Collection)

This Princess Feather pattern quilt was made by Mary Hicks Stovall, ca. 1825 – 1845. Mary Hicks married Josiah Stovall in Virginia in 1768. The Stovalls moved from Virginia to North Carolina and later to Georgia around 1785 where Josiah died in 1798, leaving Mary and seventeen children. Around 1817, Mary and her children moved to the Mississippi Territory where she spent the remainder of her life. Mary Stovall died in Hinds County on December 12, 1845, at the age of ninety-four.

Artifacts from the Museum Division collection that are not on exhibit are available for viewing by appointment. Please contact Nan Prince, Assistant Director of Collections, by email to schedule an appointment.

Tagged with:
 

Artifacts: MSU Varsity Football Sweater

On July 25, 2012, in Artifacts, by Amanda
0

Nan Prince, Assistant Director of Collections in the MDAH Museum Division, brings us this post about interesting artifacts in the collection.

Mississippi A & M (Mississippi State University) varsity football squad sweater. Accession Number: 1984.42.1 (Museum Division Collection)

Mississippi A & M (Mississippi State University) varsity football squad sweater. Accession Number: 1984.42.1 (Museum Division Collection)

This varsity football squad sweater was worn in 1928 by Homer R. “Peewee” Lewis of Laurel, Mississippi. He was a student at Mississippi Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Mississippi State University) from 1925 to 1929.

Artifacts from the Museum Division collection that are not on exhibit are available for viewing by appointment. Please contact Nan Prince, Assistant Director of Collections, by email to schedule an appointment.

Tagged with: •
 

Today in Mississippi History: State Sales Tax Enacted

On May 1, 2012, in Artifacts, by Amanda
0

Nan Prince, Assistant Director of Collections in the MDAH Museum Division, brings us this post about interesting artifacts in the collection.

Sales tax tokens. Accession Numbers: 1966.13.2, 1966.13.3, 1966.13.8, 1966.13.9 (Museum Division Collection)

Sales tax tokens. Accession Numbers: 1966.13.2, 1966.13.3, 1966.13.8, 1966.13.9 (Museum Division Collection)

In order to ease Mississippi’s $13 million deficit, Governor Martin Connor (1891-1950) proposed and the legislature passed the state’s first sales tax in 1932. Beginning in 1936, merchants used tax tokens to make change for the newly levied sales tax.  The first ones were one-mill and five-mill tokens made of aluminum and brass. However, due to the shortage of metal during World War II, the material used to make the tokens was changed from metal to fiber and then later to plastic.  The state abolished the use of tax tokens in 1952. Pictured above are examples of tax tokens made from 1936 to 1952.

Artifacts from the Museum Division collection that are not on exhibit are available for viewing by appointment. Please contact Nan Prince, Assistant Director of Collections, by email to schedule an appointment.

Sources:

MDAH, “May 1, 1932: State sales tax of 2% goes into effect on retail goods,” Mississippi History Timeline, http://mdah.state.ms.us/timeline/zone/1932/.

V.B. Wheeless, The Sales Tax Token in Mississippi, Mississippi State Tax Commission.

Tagged with: •
 
« Previous Entries Next Entries »