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The Mississippi Portal
The State of Mississippi is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. The capital of Mississippi, and the largest city in the state, is Jackson based on 2000 census data.The largest county by population is Hinds and largest by area is Bolivar. The Jackson metropolitan area is Mississippi's largest.
The first European expedition into the territory that became Mississippi was that of Hernando de Soto, who passed through in 1540. The first settlement was Fort Maurepas (or Old Biloxi) at Ocean Springs, settled by Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville in April 1699. In 1716, Natchez was founded on the Mississippi River (as Fort Rosalie); it became the dominant town and trading post of the area. After spending some time under Spanish, British, and French nominal jurisdiction, the Mississippi area was deeded to the British after the French and Indian War under the terms of the Treaty of Paris (1763).
The Mississippi Territory was organized on April 7, 1798, from territory ceded by Georgia and South Carolina; it was later twice expanded to include disputed territory claimed by both the U.S. and Spain. Land was purchased (generally through unequal treaties) from Native American tribes from 1800 to about 1830.
Mississippi was the 20th state admitted to the Union, on December 10, 1817. (read more . . . )
Selected articleMcKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 –April 30, 1983), better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician and is generally considered "the Father of Chicago blues". He is also the actual father of blues musicians Big Bill Morganfield and Larry "Mud Morganfield" Williams. A major inspiration for the British beat explosion in the 1960s, Waters was ranked #17 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
Although in his later years Waters usually said that he was born in Rolling Fork, Mississippi in 1915, he was actually born in neighboring Issaquena County, Mississippi in 1913. For many years a birth year of 1915 was accepted; recent research uncovered documentation showing that in the 1930s and 1940s he had reported his birth year as 1913 on both his marriage license and musicians' union card; a 1955 interview in the Chicago Defender is the earliest claim of 1915 as his year of birth, which he continued to use in interviews from that point onward. On the other hand, the 1920 census lists him as five years old as of March 6, 1920, suggesting that his birth year may have been 1914. The Social Security Death Index, relying on his Social Security card application, lists him as being born April 5, 1915.
His grandmother Della Grant raised him after his mother died in 1918. His fondness for playing in mud earned him the nickname "Muddy" at an early age. He later changed it to "Muddy Water" and finally "Muddy Waters". (read more . . . )
Selected picture
Battle of Jackson, Mississippi - Gallant charge of the 17th Iowa, 80th Ohio and 10th Missouri, supported by the first and third brigades of the seventh division / sketched by A.E. Mathews, 31st Reg., O.V.I. Selected biography"Mississippi" John Smith Hurt (born July 2, 1892 in Teoc, Mississippi in Carroll County - died November 2, 1966 in Grenada, Mississippi) was an influential blues singer and guitarist.
Raised in Avalon, Mississippi, he learned to play guitar at age 9. He spent much of his youth playing old time music for friends and dances, earning a living as a farm hand into the 1920s. In 1923 he often partnered with the fiddle player Willie Narmour (Carroll County Blues) as a substitute for his regular partner Shell Smith. When Narmour got a chance to record for Okeh Records in reward for winning first place in a 1928 fiddle contest, Narmour recommended John Hurt to OKeh Records producer Tommy Rockwell. After auditioning "Monday Morning Blues" at his home, he took part in two recording sessions, in Memphis and New York City (See Discography below). The "Mississippi" tag was added by OKeh as a sales gimmick. After the commercial failure of the resulting disc and OKeh records going out of business during the depression, Hurt returned to Avalon and obscurity working as a sharecropper and playing local parties and dances. (read more . . . )
Did you know...- ...that condensed milk was invented and first canned in Liberty by Gail Borden?
- ...that the first bottle of Dr. Tichener's Antiseptic was produced in Liberty also?
- ...that the first female rural mail carrier in the United States was Mrs. Mamie Thomas? She delivered mail by buggy to the area southeast of Vicksburg in 1914.
- ...that in 1963 the University of Mississippi Medical Center accomplished the world's first human lung transplant and, on January 23, 1964, Dr. James D. Hardy performed the world's first heart transplant surgery?
- ...that the world's largest cactus plantation is in Edwards?
- ...that Burnita Shelton Mathews of Hazelhurst was the first woman federal judge in the United States and served in Washington, D.C.?
- ...that Mississippi was the first state in the nation to have a planned system of junior colleges?
- ...that David Harrison of Columbus owns the patent on the Soft Toilet Seat? Over 1,000,000 are sold every year.
- ...that the first football player on a Wheaties box was Walter Payton of Columbia?
- ...that the Vicksburg National Cemetery is the second largest national cemetery in the country? Arlington National Cemetery is the largest.
- ...that Pine Sol was invented in 1929 by Jackson native Harry A. Cole, Sr.?
- ...that root beer was invented in Biloxi in 1898 by Edward Adolf Barq, Sr. and is still sold today as Barq's Root Beer?
- ...that Natchez was settled by the French in 1716 and is the oldest permanent settlement on the Mississippi River? Natchez once had 500 millionaires, more than any other city except New York City.
- ...that S.B. Sam Vick of Oakland played for the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox? He was the only man ever to pinch hit for Babe Ruth.
State symbolsFlower Magnolia 
Motto Virtute et armis (By Valor and Arms) Nickname The Magnolia State Toy Teddy bear Rock Petrified wood See: Mississippi Symbols for more Mississippi news- Tornadoes in central US kill nearly two dozen people
- Many killed in tornadoes across southern U.S.
- Ole Miss player arrested; charged with selling steroids
WikiProjects
You are invited to participate in WikiProject Mississippi, a WikiProject dedicated to developing and improving articles about Mississippi. CategoriesSelect [+] to view subcategories Web resourcesOfficial State of Mississippi website - Mississippi Governor
- Mississippi Lieutenant Governor
- Mississippi Attorney General
- Mississippi Secretary of State
- Mississippi State Auditor
- Mississippi State Treasurer
- Mississippi State Insurance Commissioner
- Mississippi State Supreme Court
- Mississippi State Legislature
- U.S. Census Bureau Mississippi Data
- USDA Mississippi Statistical Facts
- USGS real-time, geographic, and other scientific resources of Mississippi
Spotlight cityClinton is a city in Hinds County, Mississippi, United States. Situated in the Jackson metropolitan area, it is the tenth largest city in Mississippi.
Clinton, founded in 1823 was originally known as Mount Salus, which means "Mountain of health". Mount Salus was also the name of the home of Walter Leake, third governor of Mississippi, which was located in Clinton and built in 1812. It is supposedly the first brick house built in the United States. In 1828, the name was changed from Mount Salus to Clinton in honor of DeWitt Clinton, the former governor of New York. The first road through Mount Salus/Clinton was the Natchez Trace.
Confederate forces, as well as Union troops - both under the command of Ulysses S. Grant and General Sherman - briefly occupied Clinton during the American Civil War on the way to the Battle of Vicksburg in May 1863. During World War II, Camp Clinton was established, a German POW camp south of town which housed about 3,000 German soldiers. (read more . . . )
Mississippi topicsTopics: Constitution - Governors - Lieutenant Governors - Legislature - Supreme Court - History - Music
Regions: Golden Triangle - Mississippi Plain - Mississippi Delta - Mississippi Gulf Coast - Natchez District - Pine Belt - Tennessee Valley
Cities: Biloxi - Clarksdale - Clinton - Columbus - Greenville - Gulfport - Hattiesburg - Jackson - Meridian - Olive Branch - Pascagoula - Pearl - Ridgeland - Southaven - Starkville - Tupelo - Vicksburg
Geography: Rivers - Lakes - Mountains - National forests - Islands - Wilderness areas - Natural disasters - Parks - State Parks
People: Actors - Writers - Musicians - Native American Tribes
Industries: Agriculture - Oil
CDPs: Byram - Diamondhead - Kiln - Lyman - Pearlington - Saucier - Shoreline Park - West Hattiesburg
Metros: Gulfport‑Biloxi - Hattiesburg - Jackson - Memphis - Pascagoula
Counties: Adams - Alcorn - Amite - Attala - Benton - Bolivar - Calhoun - Carroll - Chickasaw - Choctaw - Claiborne - Clarke - Clay - Coahoma - Copiah - Covington - DeSoto - Forrest - Franklin - George - Greene - Grenada - Hancock - Harrison - Hinds - Holmes - Humphreys - Issaquena - Itawamba - Jackson - Jasper - Jefferson - Jefferson Davis - Jones - Kemper - Lafayette - Lamar - Lauderdale - Lawrence - Leake - Lee - Leflore - Lincoln - Lowndes - Madison - Marion - Marshall - Monroe - Montgomery - Neshoba - Newton - Noxubee - Oktibbeha - Panola - Pearl River - Perry - Pike - Pontotoc - Prentiss - Quitman - Rankin - Scott - Sharkey - Simpson - Smith - Stone - Sunflower - Tallahatchie - Tate - Tippah - Tishomingo - Tunica - Union - Walthall - Warren - Washington - Wayne - Webster - Wilkinson - Winston - Yalobusha - Yazoo
Statistics: Population
Lists: Mississippi-related lists
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Here are some tasks you can do:- Stubs: Mississippi stubs
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