Mississippi Department of Archives and History

Mississippi state government agency

Mississippi Department of
Archives and History

William F. Winter Archives and History Building

Formation| February 26, 1902
(123 years ago) (1902-02-26)
Type| State Agency
Purpose| Archive
Location|

* 200 North Street,
Jackson, Mississippi[1]

Coordinates| 32°18′02″N 90°10′43″W﻿ / ﻿32.30056°N 90.17861°W﻿ / 32.30056; -90.17861

Region served

| Mississippi

Director

| Katherine Blount[2]
Budget| $10 million (2015)[3]
Staff| 122 (2015)[3]
Website| mdah.ms.gov

Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) is a state agency founded in 1902.[4] It is the official archive of the Mississippi Government.

## Location

[edit]

The Mississippi Department of Archives and History is located at 200 North St., Jackson, Mississippi next to the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. The William F. Winter Archives and History Building was dedicated on November 7, 2003.

## History

[edit]

The Mississippi Department of Archives and History developed from the Mississippi Historical Society in the interest of promoting and protecting "Southern Identity" through acquisition and preservation of historical records, especially those records pertaining to the American Civil War.[5] Legislation authorizing creation of Department of Archives and History was signed by Mississippi Governor Andrew Longino on February 26, 1902.[5] The Department of Archives and History is the second oldest state department of archives and history in the United States.[6]

In 1902, Dunbar Rowland, an attorney and historian, was selected as the first Director of the department and served in that position until his death in 1937.[5][7]

The Mississippi Department of Archives and History was tasked with providing clerical support of the redesign of the Mississippi state flag under the House Bill 1796,[8] which established the Commission to Redesign the Mississippi State Flag. On January 11, 2021 Governor Tate Reeves signed House Bill No. 1[9] which enacted the new Mississippi State Flag design "In God We Trust" into law.

## Mission

[edit]

The mission of Mississippi Department of Archives and History:

> 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.[10]

## Organizational structure and facilities

[edit]

A director and a nine-member board of trustees[11] presides over the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and its five divisions, which include:[12]

* Administration
* Archives and Records Services
* Historic Preservation
* Museums
* Programs and Communication

Administrative offices, as well as archivist work areas and archive storage areas, are located in the William F. Winter Archives and History Building. Completed in 2003, the 6-story structure contains 146,000 sq ft (13,600 m2).

The Historic Preservation Division is housed in the Charlotte Capers Archives and History Building, located at 100 South State Street, Jackson.[13] This division administers Historical Markers in Mississippi, Mississippi Landmarks, and National Register of Historic Places in Mississippi.[12]

The Museum Division provides administrative oversight for the following facilities and locations:[12]

* Eudora Welty House
* Manship House Museum
* Old Capitol Museum
* Grand Village of the Natchez Indians
* Historic Jefferson College
* Windsor Ruins
* Winterville Mounds
* Museum of Mississippi History[14]
* Mississippi Civil Rights Museum[15]

The Programs and Communication Division, established in 2017, oversees programming, public information, publications, marketing, and education.[16]

## See also

[edit]

* Charlotte Capers
* Mississippi State Flag
* List of historical societies in Mississippi

## References

[edit]

1. ^ William F. Winter Archives & History Building Archived 2015-01-23 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2015-01-20.
2. ^ Southern Studies Grad Katie Blount New Director of MDAH Retrieved 2015-02-01.
3. ^ a b Historic Natchez Foundation Annual Meeting, Natchez Democrat (January 21, 2015) Retrieved 2015-01-28.
4. ^ "About MDAH | Mississippi Department of Archives & History". www.mdah.ms.gov. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
5. ^ a b c Speer, Lisa and Mitchell, Heather, The Mississippi Plan: Dunbar Rowland and the Creation of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Provenance, Journal of the Society of Georgia Archivists, Vol. 22, Issue 1 (2004) Retrieved 2015-01-28.
6. ^ Agency Profile—Mississippi Department of Archives and History Archived 2015-01-29 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2015-01-29.
7. ^ American National Biography Online—Dunbar Rowland. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
8. ^ Gunn, Philip (November 19, 2020). "House Bill 1796".
9. ^ Gunn, Philip (November 9, 2021). "House Bill 1".
10. ^ "About MDAH | Mississippi Department of Archives & History". www.mdah.ms.gov. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
11. ^ MDAH Board of Trustees Archived 2015-01-20 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2015-01-20.
12. ^ a b c Mississippi Department of Archives and History (About MDAH) Archived 2015-04-19 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2015-01-28.
13. ^ MDAH—Charlotte Capers Building Retrieved 2015-01-28.
14. ^ Museum of Mississippi History Retrieved 2017-12-30.
15. ^ Mississippi Civil Rights Museum Retrieved 2017-12-30.
16. ^ "About MDAH | Mississippi Department of Archives & History". www.mdah.ms.gov. Retrieved August 13, 2020.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mississippi Department of Archives and History and William F. Winter Archives and History Building.

* Official website
* "A Sense of Place", the MDAH blog
* Yates Construction: William Winters Archives and History Building
* House Bill 1796
* House Bill 1

* v
* t
* e

Historical societies for the southern United States

South Atlantic|

| Florida|

| Orlando|

* Historical Society of Central Florida
* Orange County Regional History Center

|

Others|

* Clearwater Historical Society
* Florida Historical Society
* Friends of Seagate Inc.
* Jacksonville Historical Society
* Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation
* Taylor County Historical Society

Georgia|

| Atlanta|

* American Baptist Historical Society
* Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation
* International Time Capsule Society

|

Others|

* Historic Chattahoochee Commission
* Georgia Historical Society
* Georgia Salzburger Society
* Roswell Historical Society
* Southern Historical Association

North Carolina|

| Durham|

* Forest History Society
* Labor and Working-Class History Association

|

Others|

* Conference on Latin American History
* Hickory Sabre Society
* Society of North Carolina Archivists

South Carolina|

| Charleston|

* Historic Charleston Foundation
* Preservation Society of Charleston
* South Carolina Historical Society

|

Others|

* Beech Island Historical Society
* Sea Research Society

Virginia|

| Lexington|

* Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication
* Society for Military History

|

Richmond|

* American Association for the History of Medicine
* Historic Richmond Foundation
* Preservation Virginia
* Virginia Department of Historic Resources
* Virginia Historical Society

Others|

* Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training
* Mount Vernon Ladies' Association
* Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture
* Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
* United States Marine Corps History Division

East South Central|

| Alabama|

* Alabama Historical Commission
* Historic Chattahoochee Commission

|

Kentucky|

* The Filson Historical Society
* Kentucky Historical Society
* Southern Association for Women Historians

Mississippi|

| Jackson|

* Mississippi Department of Archives and History
* Mississippi Heritage Trust
* Mississippi Historical Society

|

Tennessee|

* American Association for State and Local History
* East Tennessee Historical Society
* Oral History Association
* Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations
* Tennessee Historical Society
* West Tennessee Historical Society

West South Central|

| Arkansas|

* Arkansas Historical Association
* Cotton Belt Rail Historical Society
* Sequoyah Research Center

|

Louisiana|

* Louisiana Historical Association
* National Center for Preservation Technology and Training
* North Louisiana Historical Association

Oklahoma|

* American Journalism Historians Association
* Cherokee Heritage Center
* Oklahoma Historical Society
* Pushmataha County Historical Society

Texas|

| Austin|

* Texas Historical Commission
* Texas Jewish Historical Society
* Texas State Historical Association

|

Fort Worth|

* North American Society for Oceanic History
* North Texas Historic Transportation

Houston|

* Modern Greek Studies Association
* Southern Historical Association

Lubbock|

* American Cowboy Culture Association
* West Texas Historical Association

Others|

* Dallas Historical Society
* Gillespie County Historical Society
* National Coalition of Independent Scholars
* Society for the History of Discoveries
* South Texas Historical Association

* v
* t
* e

Government archival agencies in the United States

Federal|

* National Archives and Records Administration

State|

* Alabama Department of Archives and History
* Alaska State Archives
* Arizona State Library
* Arkansas State Archives
* California State Archives
* Colorado State Archives
* Connecticut State Library
* Delaware Public Archives
* State Library and Archives of Florida
* Georgia Archives
* Hawaiʻi State Archives
* Idaho State Archives
* Illinois State Archives
* Indiana Archives and Records Administration
* State Historical Society of Iowa
* Kansas Historical Society
* Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives
* Louisiana State Archive and Research Library
* Maine State Archives
* Maryland State Archives
* Massachusetts Archives
* Archives of Michigan
* Minnesota Historical Society
* Mississippi Department of Archives and History
* Missouri State Archives
* Montana Historical Society
* History Nebraska
* Nevada State Library, Archives, and Public Records
* New Hampshire Archives and Records Management
* New Jersey State Archives
* New Mexico State Records Center and Archives
* New York State Archives
* State Archives of North Carolina
* State Historical Society of North Dakota
* Ohio History Connection
* Oklahoma Department of Libraries
* Oregon State Archives
* Pennsylvania State Archives
* Rhode Island State Archives
* South Carolina Department of Archives and History
* South Dakota State Historical Society
* Tennessee State Library and Archives
* Texas State Library and Archives Commission
* Utah Division of Archives and Records Service
* Vermont State Archives and Records Administration
* Library of Virginia
* Washington State Archives
* West Virginia Archives and History
* Wisconsin Historical Society
* Wyoming State Archives

Federal district|

* District of Columbia

Agencies within libraries or historical societies in italics.

Portals:

* Mississippi
* Modern history

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* 2
* VIAF

National|

* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Australia
* Israel

Other|

* IdRef
* SNAC
* Yale LUX

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