Travel and Explore Jackson, MS!

Jackson, MS In 1792, a French Canadian named Louis Le Fleur established a trading post on the banks of the Pearl River called Le Fleur's Bluff, where people traveled through the Old Natchez Trace to the Southwest. The Natchez Trace Parkway runs from Nashville to Natchez and is now a scenic highway manicured by the National Park Service. Later in 1821, the legislature for Mississippi chose Le Fleur's Bluff as the state's capital and then renamed to honor the nation's 7th president, Major General Andrew Jackson. Since then the city of Jackson has almost been destroyed by fire twice in the Civil War by Union forces. It once was burned in the July of 1863, when General William Tecumseh Sherman set Jackson on fire and the city earned a rueful nickname "Chimneyville." The Old Capitol is now a historical museum and shows the early history of the state. Other museums to visit in the city are the Jim Buck Ross Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum, the Mississippi Museum of Art, the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, the Oaks House Museum, and the Smith Robertson Museum and Cultural Center. Places worth exploring are Battlefield Park, where the Confederate trenches can be seen from the Civil War, the New Capitol, Mynelle Gardens, City Hall, the Jackson Zoological Park, the Manship House, the Govenor's Mansion, headquarters for generals W. T. Sherman and Ulysses S. Grant during the Civil War. Events to see and hear include, the Jackson Zoo Blues at the Jackson Zoological Park on the 1st Saturday in April, the Jubilee Jam on the 3rd weekend in May at One Jackson Place, the Mississippi State Fair, and the Dixie National Livestock Show shows in February for the first 3 weeks. Today Jackson is Mississippi's largest city and is a major distribution center for Mississippi's metropolis.  City Hall  S. President St.  Jackson  Mississippi  (601) 960-1034  It is one of the few buildings that is remaining after Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman's troops set fire to the city in July of 1863.  Jackson Zoological Park  2918 W. Capitol St.  Jackson  Mississippi  (601) 352-2585  There are more than 500 animals from around the world.  Manship House  420 E. Fortification St.  Jackson  Mississippi  (601) 961-4724  It's a Gothic Revival house that was constucted in 1857 by Charles Henry Manship.  Metro Jackson Convention and Visitors Bureau  921 N. President St., P.O. Box 1450, Jackson, MS 39215-1450  Jackson  Mississippi  (601) 960-1891 or (800) 354-7695    Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry/National Agricultural Aviation Museum  I-55 exit 98B, follow signs, on Lakeland Dr.  Jackson  Mississippi  (601) 354-6113  This 39-acre complex has four areas of exhibitsabout technological and economic events that changed American life.  Mississippi Museum of Art  201 E. Pascagoula St.  Jackson  Mississippi  (601) 960-1515  The art museum offer changing and permanent exhibits of international, national, and regional artwork.  Mississippi Museum of Natural Science  111 N. Jefferson St.  Jackson  Mississippi  (601) 354-7303  The museum offers ecological exhibits, mounted wildlife specimens, and a technical library.  Municipal Art Gallery  839 N. State St.  Jackson  Mississippi  (601) 960-1582  The gallery presents a small collection of contemporary paintings and some monthly changing exhibits.  Mynelle Gardens  4736 Clinton Blvd.  Jackson  Mississippi  (601) 960-1894  The gardens feature six acres of botanical gardens with scenery.  Oaks House Museum, The  823 N. Jefferson St.  Jackson  Mississippi  (601) 353-9339  The museum was built in 1846 and was also occupied by Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman.  Old Capitol, The  N. State and Capitol Sts.  Jackson  Mississippi  (601) 359-6920  The capitol was completed in 1838, now houses the State Historical Museum, and offers self-guiding tours.  Russell C. Davis Planetarium/Ronald McNair Space Theater  201 E. Pascagoula St.  Jackson  Mississippi  (601) 960-1550  The center offers programs of astronomy, science, art, and travel.  Smith Robertson Museum and Cultural Center  at 528 Bloom St.  Jackson  Mississippi  (601) 960-1457  The center is housed in Jackson's first public school building for African-Americans and has exhibits of the lives, culture, and history of African-American Mississippians.  State Capitol  President and West Sts.  Jackson  Mississippi  (601) 359-3114  The capitol was built from 1901 to 1903 and offers tours of the state capitol.