Jackson, MS

27 Jan 10--Before we went to see downtown Jackson, I thought I would show you guys how I had to get up on the RV roof yesterday...Julie and Fifi seemed to think it was a funny subject, so here goes the explanation. As you can see from the first picture, the ground drops off from the back of the RV, so the ladder that is attached to the RV is even higher than normal. As you can see in the second picture, my foot reaches the 1st step, but at 54 I am no longer strong enough to heave this fat butt up the back of the RV. So, necessity being the mother of invention, I got our step ladder and my problem was solved!!! As you can see from picture #4, Cathy had no problems, due to her long legs and skinny body!!! (Cathy hates that I make her take these stupid pictures!)

Early this afternoon we drove into Jackson, the capital of Mississippi, to see the capitol buildings and whatever else we could see walking around. I say capitol buildings because Jackson has had 2 different capitol buildings--the original was built and used from 1839 to 1903, and the current one has been used since then.

The old capitol building is now a museum, originally the Mississippi History museum, but now really a history of the building itself. They covered a lot of the stuff that happened in the building, but the History Museum that was moved out is still under construction, so anything they have on MS history is here.

Shown below is the front and back of the same building. The front and sides of the capitol building were covered in stucco made to look like stone, while the rear of the building back then faced a swamp and was not considered important, so they left the bricks bare.

Directly to the right of the Old Capitol Building was a huge memorial to those who died for the Confederacy. At the base of the statue, inside the gate, is a statue of Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederacy during the Civil War.

And directly to the left of the Old Capitol is a War Memorial to all those who served in our various wars.

So this area was quite an eyeful. Like I said, the Old Capitol itself was mostly a history of the building, but they did have some displays on things that happened in the building, like Constitutional Conventions, Secession votes prior to the Civil War, Poll taxes, etc. They even had a display showing how the "Keeper of the Capitol" lived in the building to make sure he was there to open and close the building.

Mississippi has had 4 Constitutions, and this display was talking about how the 1890 Constitution was more conservative than the previous one in 1868. The 1868 Constitution gave all males the right to vote, while the 1890 Constitution instituted Poll taxes to preclude blacks and poor whites from voting. When the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was passed in 1920, that meant that women in Mississippi now had to pay a poll tax, too. The poll tax was not repealed until 1968!

In 1849 the first discussions of Secession from the Union took place in the Mississippi House. Here they told us that Mississippi was the 2nd state to secede from the Union. Knowing now that Florida was 3rd...who was 1st??? Anyone know?

Another display explained that, like Texas, Mississippi has a constitutionally weak Governor, with offices like the Lt Governor directly elected by the people. Also, the legislature only meets 90-125 days a year, so for Congressman and Senators, it is a part-time job. I wonder if it is like that all over the country? Or is it mostly just southern states?

These are pictures of the House Chamber from the Gallery (middle picture).

Here are some "Firsts in the nation" for Mississippians to proud of. I especially liked the Married Women's Propery Act and the University for Women.

Here are some pictures of the Senate Chamber. This really was a very pretty building.

We left the Old Capitol Building and walked a few blocks to the current Capitol Building, passing a few things of note along the way. Here is the 1st skyscraper in Jackson.

And here is the Governor's Mansion...we are going to take a tour of this tomorrow morning.

When was the last time you saw a phone booth like this? If ever? Looks British to me.

Here is the United Methodist Church, on one corner across the street from the Capitol.

And here is the First Baptst Church...across a different street from the Capitol. This is the biggest church I have seen since the Vatican! haha No kidding, the 1st picture shows you the front of the church, while the 2nd picture shows the back of that part of the church connected to another part of the church across the street. We spoke to 2 security people who worked there and they said this church actually owns 8 city blocks of property and has 10,000 members, including 2 former governors and a former US Senator (Trent Lott).

This is the new Capitol building, in use since 1903 and even more beautiful than the Old Capitol. Leading up to it is a replica of the Liberty Bell and then a monument to the women of the Confederacy. I had to wonder how that makes black Mississippians feel?

The inside of the building is gorgeous...mostly marble and lots of stained glass. When you walk in you are in an open circular area that reaches all the way to the ceiling. Directly across from the entrance is this stairway leading up to the Senate and House Chambers, Governor's offices and Supreme Court.

This was the ceiling above the staircase.

And this is the shortest door to a ladies room we have seen. They must have been really small back in 1903!