Jackson Metro
Historic Homes & Buildings
MISSISSIPPI CAPITOL BUILDING - JACKSON
The Mississippi State Capitol in Jackson, is the state capitol building of Mississippi, intended to house all three branches of government: Legislative, Judicial, and Executive.
Designated a Mississippi Landmark in 1986 and a National Historic Landmark in 2016, the Mississippi State Capitol has been the seat of the state’s government since 1903. The National Park Service describes the building as “…an exceptional example of the Beaux Arts style, vividly illustrating the nationwide spread of academic classical revival architecture in the early 20th-century.”
While Governor Andrew Houston Longino was in office (1900-1904), the decision was agreed upon to construct a new Capitol, a design was chosen through an architectural contest, and the Capitol was built between 1901 -1903 in 28 months on the site of the old state penitentiary. The 171,000 square-foot building was designed by Theodore Link, an architect from St. Louis, Missouri, and was constructed by the Wells Brothers Company of Chicago. Construction cost more than $1 million, which was funded by back taxes from a lawsuit settlement with the Illinois Central Railroad.
Admission: Free
Hours: Monday – Friday, 8 AM – 5 PM
Closed Saturday & Sunday.
The gift shop is open Monday – Friday, 9 AM – 4 PM
Tours: The Capitol is now open for guided tours:
To reserve a guided tour for groups of 70 or fewer, please call (601) 359-3114 or email tours@house.ms.gov.
Drop-in tours for visitors, which do not require a reservation, will be conducted at 9:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., and 2:30 p.m., Monday-Friday. Groups of 10 people or more must schedule a tour.
Self-guided tours are available Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Address: 400 High St., Jackson, MS 39201
Phone: (601) 359-3114
photos by Kid-Friendly Mississippi
OLD CAPITOL MUSEUM - JACKSON
The Old Capitol is Mississippi's most historic building. Built in 1839, it 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.
Hours: Wednesday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m
Address: 100 State St, Jackson, MS 39201
Phone: (601) 576-6920
photo courtesy of Old Capitol Museum
EUDORA WELTY HOUSE AND GARDEN - Jackson
For 76 years, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Eudora Welty lived and wrote in her Jackson home at 1119 Pinehurst Street. Her parents finished construction of the house in 1925, when Eudora was 16 years old and had recently graduated from high school.
Restored by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History after her death in 2001, the Eudora Welty House and Garden is open for tours by reservation Tuesday - Friday, four times a day at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. and 9 and 11 a.m. the second Saturday of each month. To make a reservation for individual or group tours, email tours@eudoraweltyhouse.com.
The Eudora Welty Collection, which consists of manuscripts, papers, and photographs donated by Welty, is available to researchers in the William F. Winter Archives and History Building in Jackson. For more information on the Welty Collection, email refdesk@mdah.state.ms.us.
Admission:
Eudora Welty House Admission:
Adults - $5.00
Adult group rate (13 or more) - $4.00
Students - $3.00
Children under 6 - Free
13th day of each month - Free, when the 13th falls on a day the museum is open to the public.
The Eudora Welty Visitors Center is free: Visitors are welcome to visit the EVC, watch the orientation film and stroll through the garden at no charge.
Hours:Tours of the Eudora Welty House and Garden are given Tuesday - Friday, four times a day at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. and 9 and 11 a.m. the second Saturday of each month.
Eudora Welty Visitors Center: Tuesday - Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m
8:30 a.m. to noon the second Saturday of each month.
Address: 1109 Pinehurst Street, Jackson, MS 39202
Phone: 601-353-7762
photo by Kid-Friendly Mississippi