Mississippi Atlas

Mississippi facts and history plus travel and tourism information.

Capital: Jackson
Abbreviations: MS (postal), Miss.
Area: 48,286 square miles
State Bird: Mockingbird
State Tree: Magnolia
State Flower: Magnolia
State Motto: Virtute et Armis - By valor and arms
Nickname: The Magnolia State

Old red barn in Mississippi

Featuring antebellum mansions and extensive cotton fields, as well as ornamental Southern Magnolia trees and Civil War battlefields, Mississippi is known as the Magnolia State. Perhaps more than any other Southern state, Mississippi symbolizes the Deep South.

The Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes occupied Mississippi when Hernando de Soto explored the area in 1540. Mississippi became the 20th state on December 10, 1817, but separated and became part of the Confederacy from 1861 until the end of the Civil War. Antebellum plantations, cotton fields, Civil War battlefields, and around a million African-American citizens in Mississippi serve as a reminder of the state's past. Although racism was especially fierce in Mississippi during the 1960s, many improvements have occurred over the past half-century.

Historical sites in Mississippi are not limited to the Civil War era. Elvis Presley was born here in 1935, and many blues players originated in this southern state. Cotton remains the major crop in Mississippi, but present-day farmers also grow soybeans, rice, and wheat.

Mississippi Map

More Mississippi Information

1. Mississippi Government - official Mississippi state website.
2. The Official Mississippi Tourism and Travel Guide - Mississippi travel and tourism.
3. National Parks in Mississippi
4. Mississippi QuickFacts - from the US Census Bureau.
5. 50States.com - Mississippi

Mississippi Resources

• Mississippi Real Estate - real estate information about Mississippi.
• Mississippi Colleges and Universities - higher education institutions in Mississippi.
• Mississippi Libraries - list of libraries in Mississippi.

Mississippi History and Geography