Location: Jackson
Top Things to do in Jackson
Things to do in Jackson, Mississippi (MS): The Best Museums
Hospitality and history make the capital city a great choice for a weekend jaunt. At Smith Robertson Museum, examine African-American struggles and triumphs. Historic Farish Street, a growing entertainment district, reveals a rich Blues heritage. Visit the Old Capitol Museum, the Museum of Art, the Museum of Natural Science, the Zoo, the Mississippi Children’s Museum and more. Find events, accommodations and restaurants to complete your experience in a city with soul.
Restaurants in Jackson
1. Eudora Welty House and Garden
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 121 reviews
For seventy-six years, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Eudora Welty lived and wrote in her Jackson home at 1119 Pinehurst Street. Restored by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History after her death in 2001, the house is open for tours.
Reviewed By 530JulieB530 - New Orleans, United States
I loved every moment of my time here. I had read the book "One Writer's Garden" and it was the perfect stage-setter for my visit. The docent was knowledgeable and gave a good tour. The tour begins with a video which was very helpful, and I returned to the Visitor Center after the tour. It helped that I was there on a gorgeous April day. The camellias were almost done, but azaleas were beautiful and roses just beginning to bloom.
2. Museum of Mississippi History
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 43 reviews
Located in the heart of downtown Jackson, the museum explores over 15,000 years of state history. Visitors will enjoy innovative exhibits, educational programs, and hundreds of artifacts.
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
Mississippi has come a long way since the Civil War and the turbulent 1960s and it's all available for one and all to see at the Museum of Mississippi History in Jackson, Mississippi. Located at 222 North Street, combined with the equally impressive Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, it covers the history of the state as far back as 13,000 BC. Exhibits cover everything from Hernando De Soto to 19th century slavery to the Cotton Kingdom to the Civil War to Reconstruction to the Great Depression to Prohibition to the Civil Rights Movement to Hurricane Katrina. On the cutesy side, see the crown that Mary Ann Mobley wore when she won the Miss America pageant in 1958. But start with the First Peoples exhibit, which dates to 13,000 BC and traces life in Mississippi to 1518, with stories of Choctaw and Chickasaw people and artifacts such as a 500-year-old dugout canoe, weapons, pottery, tools and other archaeological discoveries. Other must-see exhibits are Mississippi Distilled, popping the cork on Prohibition, with stories of piety and politics in the "wettest dry state," where Prohibition began in 1908, 12 years before it became a national law; Cultural Crossroads 1519-1798, documenting Native Americans who first inhabited the state and Hernando De Soto and other European explorers who came later; Joining the United States 1799-1832, documenting the arrival of African-Americans, statehood for Mississippi, examining the Bowie knife, dueling pistols and other weapons that determined frontier justice and how federal laws forced Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations to leave their ancestral homelands; Cotton Kingdom 1833-1865, featuring the earliest photographs taken in Mississippi and comparing the lives of an enslaved family, yeoman farmers and wealthy planters, noting that by 1984 there were more slaves than whites in Mississippi; The World Remade 1866-1902, Reconstruction in Mississippi, the story of a Mississippi businessman who first bottled Coca-Cola and a collection of tools used by African-American blacksmiths; Promise and Peril 1903-1927, witness the struggles of suffragettes Nellie Nugent Somerville and Belle Kearney in their quest for equal rights, see a lamp used during the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and explore changes and challenges that Mississippi faced at the turn of the century; Bridging Hardship 1928-1945, documents how the Great Depression crippled Mississippi, how FDR's New Deal put Mississippi back to work and displays a baseball glove owned by Willie Mitchell, a Mississippi native who once struck out Babe Ruth; and Forging Ahead, 1946 to present, allows visitors to survey damage caused by Hurricane Katrina and see how the struggle for civil rights raged in courtrooms, how Mississippi moved forward in industry, technology and immigration, how a diverse array of activists, artisans, entrepreneurs, politicians and everyday citizens contributed to the Mississippi story. For outsiders, it's a very fascinating journey through the history of a state that has undergone dramatic changes.
3. Mississippi Civil Rights Museum
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 194 reviews
The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum shares the stories of a Mississippi movement that changed the nation. The museum promotes a greater understanding of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement and its impact by highlighting the strength and sacrifices of its peoples. Visitors will witness the freedom struggle in eight interactive galleries that show the systematic oppression of black Mississippians and their fight for equality that transformed the state and nation. Seven of the galleries encircle a central space called This Little Light of Mine. There, a dramatic sculpture glows brighter and the music of the Movement swells as visitors gather.
Reviewed By grandmareviews1952
The museum is amazing. You can step into the jail cell or watch videos of what led to the civil rights movement. The museum is filled with people and events that are displayed from the floor to the ceiling. We didn't have enough time to see the upstairs, so be sure to allow enough time to see everything. It is very moving to see how men and women believed in a better world for their families and what the sad reality of it was like for them to do so.
4. Smith Robertson Museum and Cultural Center
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 37 reviews
Located in Jackson's first public school building for African-Americans, this museum, named after a former slave who went on to become the first African-American Alderman in Jackson, chronicles the everday lives and culture of people of African decent living in the South during the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Reviewed By Sherisoo - Bellevue, United States
This building was once a thriving school for African American children. Author, Richard Wright, is one of their famous alumni. Displays include a brief history of slavery, the Great Migration, and Civiil Rights. For me the most powerful sights were the Medgar Evers exhibit and the Slave Ship. Seeing the bloody clothing of Evers's neighbor hanging on a fence really brings home the lack of justice available for African Americans. Walking through a cramped and darkened slave ship was eerie and impactful. The staff is rightfully passionate about their museum and their subject matter. Take the time to visit this hidden gem!
5. Old Capitol Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 213 reviews
COVID-19 UPDATE: Based on information provided by the Mississippi Department of Health about the coronavirus epidemic, we are temporarily closed until further notice. Jackson’s oldest building, the Old Capitol is home to a museum exploring the history of the site when it was the seat of Mississippi government from 1839 to 1903. The Old Capitol was the site of some of the state’s most significant legislative actions, such as the passage of the 1839 Married Women’s Property Act, Mississippi’s secession from the Union in 1861, and the crafting of the 1868 and 1890 state constitutions. The building is a National Historic Landmark, and one of the country’s premier examples of Greek Revival public architecture. When it was built in 1839, the massive limestone exterior, copper dome, and grand interior spaces made the Old Capitol the most distinguished building in Mississippi.
Reviewed By ianmantel
So much history packed into just 200 years. Great staff, well informed, happy to help Brits understand the way the Capitol worked and the set up of US politics, state and federal.
6. Mississippi Museum of Natural Science
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 314 reviews
Meet over 200 living species in our 100,000 gallon aquarium network. See native reptiles, fishes, and amphibians! Explore an entire wall of fossil specimens, Zygorhiza, Mosasaurus, and a giant Sloth. Check out deer, waterfowl, and Mississippi's endangered species exhibits. The Preschool Discovery Room features colorful murals and an iconic, giant treehouse with a slide. Plus, two miles of outdoor walking trails that wind through natural habitats. The museum was named the "2014 Escape to the Southeast Travel Attraction of the Year" by the Southeast Tourism Society.
Reviewed By cherylmG1601HW - Jackson, United States
Great place to take the family. Kids love it, and the dinosaur exhibit is wonderful. Lots of exhibits showing the ecology of Mississippi along with the history.
7. Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 48 reviews
The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum exists to tell –and preserve– the stories of Mississippi's greatest athletes and coaches, without question some of the world's greatest athletes and coaches. Question: What other state can boast the leading scorer and receiver in NFL history (Jerry Rice), the leading passer in NFL history (Brett Favre), the second leading rusher (Walter Payton) and the patriarch of the first family of football (Archie Manning)? Answer: Only Mississippi. And those guys are just for starters. Mississippi male and female athletes have excelled on national and international levels, winning Olympic gold, Super Bowl MVP trophies, World Series games and NBA championships. Our museum tells those stories, and many more, including being home to the largest Dizzy Dean collection. Stop by soon and see for yourself!
Reviewed By TheBigEasy - Jackson, United States
5 stars across the board for a great experience even if you're not a giant sports fan like myself. Knowledgeable and friendly staff, cool exhibits, admission price is a bargain, and a room for private events. It would be great if it were larger, but it still rates 5 stars!
8. Municipal Art Gallery
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 5 reviews
9. William F. Winter Archives and History Building
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2 reviews
The William F. Winter Archives and History Building is headquarters to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and home to the MDAH Archives and Records Services Division. Lobby hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.
10. Mississippi Museum of Art
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 144 reviews
The Mississippi Museum of Art is the largest art museum in the state and has been a community-supported institution for more than 100 years. Come enjoy our exhibitions, events, and The Art Garden year round. Admission to the Museum is free, with the exception of some special ticketed exhibitions. Art is the story. Find it here.
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
We were too late to view the special exhibition at the Mississippi Museum of Art that closed in January featuring 74 masterworks by former French artists of the 19th and 20 centuries, including Degas, Manet, Monet, Picasso, van Gogh, Delacroix, Rousseau and Morisot. But we were more than impressed with what we were able to see. Located at 380 South Lamar Street in Jackson, at the corner of South Lamar and East Pascagoula, the Mississippi Museum of Art was founded in 1978. With a permanent collection that includes paintings by American, Mississippi and British painters as well as photographs, collage artworks and sculptures, it was located in the Arts Center of Mississippi until 2007 when it was moved to his current location, which features a beautiful entry hall, extensive galleries and a 1.2-acre sculpture and flower garden which translates into a wonderful picnic area for visitors. Among the American painters whose artwork is on display are James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Georgia O'Keefe, Robert Henri, Thomas Sully, Reginald Marsh and Jacob Lawrence. Locals embrace the works of several Mississippi and Southern artists, including Eudora Welty, Gaines Ruger Donoho, Ken Marlow, Edgar Parker, Walter Inglis Anderson, Tom Rankin, Birney Imes and George Ohr. Also photography and sculpture by Andy Warhol, Alexander Calder, Mose Tolliver, Sarah Mary Taylor, Reuben Nakian, John Marin, Walker Evans and Elizabeth Catlett. You don't have to be an artist or be knowledgable about art to appreciate it for what it is.
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