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Jackson Mississippi
State Capital and Tripple Mississippi Tour Stop!
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Located near the center of Mississippi's Natchez Trace is the state's capital, Jackson. Characterized by museums and art galleries, Jackson is also Mississippi's cultural capital. Jackson is a recommended stop on three Mississippi driving tours: African-American Heritage Tour, Civil War Tour and the Natchez Trace.
For many years, Jackson was home to Pulitzer Prize winning author, Eudora Weltz. Her home in the historic Belhaven neighborhood is now a museum. Jackson is also home too the quadrennial International Ballet Competition where future ballet stars compete for gold, silver and bronze medals.
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During frontier days, the Natchez Trace was a major trade route used by Native Americans. Today it is an enchanted parkway that runs diagonally through Mississippi from Natchez to Nashville Tennessee. Jackson is home to two nature-based museums: Mississippi Agricultural & Forestry Museum/National Agricultural Aviation Museum and the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science.
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During the Civil War, Union forces burned the city of Jackson three times. Hence, the city became known as Chimneyville. Jackson is also the placce where General Sherman first uttered the words, "War is Hell".
Several buildings survived the Civil War: Old Capitol Museum houses Mississippi's history exhibits. Boyd's House, a Greek Revival Cottage, was once the home of James Boyd, Jackson mayor during the 1840s and 1850s. Jackson City Hall was once a hospital for Confederate and Union soldiers. Manship House Museum, a pre-Civil War Gothic Revival structure, was once the home of Charles Manship, Jackson mayor during the Civil War. The Govenor's Mansion is the United States' 2nd oldest continuously occupied gubernatorial residence.
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Jackson features a four-part self-guided driving tour of sites significant to Mississippi's 1950s and 1960s Civil Rights Movement. Sites include Medgar Evers' home -- the site of his assassination, Medgar Evers Library/Statue and Tougaloo College -- a Mississippi Civil Rights cornerstone. Jackson State University is Mississippi's leading African-American university. Margaret Walker Center at Jackson State is an archive and museum of African-American history and culture. Piney Woods Country Life School, located south of Jackson was founded in the early 20th century by Professor Laurence C. Jones to educate Mississippi African-Americans.
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