Mississippi

Map of US with Mississippi highlighted

State Quick Links:

Just the Facts

Capital	Jackson
Population	2,844,658 Source: U.S. Census Bureau GCT-PH1-R. Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density (geographies ranked by total population): 2000 Data Set: Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data
Governor	Haley Barbour (R, to January 2008)
Entered the Union	December 10, 1817 as the 20th state
Motto	Virtute et armis (By valor and arms)
Nickname	Magnolia state
Flower	Flower or bloom of the magnolia or evergreen magnolia
Bird	Mockingbird
Song	Go, Mississippi
Professional Sports Teams (sports listing policy)	No NFL, MLB, NBA, WNBA, MLS, or NHL teams.
Origin of Name	Named for the Mississippi river which forms the state's western boundary. According to the State of Missippi's "About Missisippi" page, the name means "Father of Waters," roughly translated from Native American folklore. The translation comes from the Chippewa (or Ojibwa) words "mici zibi" meaning "great river" or "gathering in of all the waters" and the Algonquin word "Messipi."
Major Industries	Agriculture, Fisheries, Manufacturing
Historical Sites	Pre-Civil War mansions, Vicksburg National Military Park, Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield, Tupelo National Battlefield, and part of Natchez Trace National Parkway
Points of Interest	Bienville, Delta, Desoto, Holly Springs, Homochitto, and Tombigbee Nation Forests; Gulf Coast
Bordering States	Mississippi borders Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Tennessee.
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Follow these links to read articles about Mississippi from Encyclopedias and Almanacs:

Mississippi: the Official State Web Site of Mississippi
http://www.state.ms.us/
This is the official website for the State of Mississippi.
The Mississippi Library Commission
http://www.mlc.lib.ms.us/
Here is the homepage for the Mississippi State Library Agency.
Mississippi Historical Society
http://mshistory.k12.ms.us/mshistsociety.html
Here is the homepage for the Mississippi State Historical Society.
Old capital Museum of Mississippi History
http://www.mdah.state.ms.us/museum/
Here is the homepage for the Mississippi State Museum.
Mississippi Department of Archives & History
http://www.mdah.state.ms.us/arlib/arlib_index.html
Here is the homepage for the Mississippi State Archives.
Mississippi State Parks
http://www.ms.gov/ms_sub_sub_template.jsp?Category_ID=40
Here is the homepage for Mississippi State Parks.
Visit Mississippi.org
http://www.visitmississippi.org/
Here is the official state tourism website for Mississippi.

The Mississippi state tree is the Magnolia, state bird is the Mockingbird, state stone is Petrified wood, state fish is the Largemouth o r black bass, state insect is the Honeybee, state shell is the Oyster shell, state water mammal is the Bottlenosed dolphin or porpoise, state fossil is the Prehistoric whale, state land mammal is the White-tailed deer, state waterfowl is the Wood duck, and the state beverage is Milk.
Hernando de Soto, a Spanish explorer, discovered the Mississippi River in 1540. Spain did not relinquish its claims on the Mississippi region until 1798.
Although cotton is the most important crop in Mississippi, corn, peanuts, pecans, rice, sugar cane, sweet potatoes, soybeans, food grains, poultry, eggs, meat animals, dairy products, feed crops and horticultural crops are all important to the state's economy.
Nearly 60% of Mississippi is covered by forests, and more than 100 species of trees are found in the state.

Elvis Presley (1935 - 1977), popular rock-and-roll singer.
Tennessee Williams (1911 - 1983), playwright, received Pulitzer prizes for A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
Hiram R. Revels (1822 - 1901), clergyman, first African American to sit in the U.S. Senate (1870 - 1871).

Updated on 26 May 2008