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State Symbols

The official state symbols represent the cultural heritage and natural treasures of each state or the entire United States

Mississippi Symbols

Mississippi State Historical Industrial Museum

Mississippi Industrial Heritage Museum, Inc

Adopted on July 1, 2004.

Mississippi Industrial Heritage Museum, Incorporated was adopted on July 1, 2004 as Mississippi's State Historical Industrial Museum.

MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972
As Amended
SEC. 3-3-49. State Historical Industrial Museum.
The Mississippi Industrial Heritage Museum, Incorporated, is designated as the state historical industrial museum.
SOURCES: Laws, 2004, ch. 451, § 1, HB 1442, eff from and after July 1, 2004.

The mission of the Mississippi Industrial Heritage Museum is to recognize the achievements and preserve the cultural heritage of the industrial age in Mississippi and to provide a sense of awareness and pride in that heritage through programs of active public involvement. Specifically, the Mississippi Industrial Heritage Museum will collect, preserve, and display the artifacts, history, and folklore of the Soule' Steam Feed Works and illustrate its fundamental link to the lumber industry. By providing entertaining and educational information for the public, the museum will positively promote enthusiasm for history, engineering, science, and the industrial arts.

A new museum is being developed that will focus on the preservation and interpretation of Mississippi's industrial history. In 2001, the Soule' Steam Feed Works closed its doors after nearly 110 years in business. In July 2002, the modern equipment was sold at auction by the owner, Robert Soule'. He sold the property to Jim McRae along with all the old belt-driven equipment. McRae dreamed of restoring the old factory buildings and turning the facility into a museum that could house his steam engine collection and preserve the Soule' heritage and Mississippi's industrial heritage, especially the lumber industry's contribution. In October 2002, a non-profit corporation called the Mississippi Industrial Heritage Museum, Inc. was formed, and in March the corporation received 501(c)3 status from the IRS.

Since that time the museum has received pledges and support from more than 100 individuals interested in the preservation of Soule' Steam Feed Works and the promotion of Mississippi's heritage. Many historic items have been donated including a large lumber-mill's steam engine and a mattress factory's remaining antique belt-driven stitcher.

The site was designated a Mississippi Historic Landmark in Fall 2003.

State Symbols

State symbols represent things that are special to a particular state.

symbol \ˈsim-bəl\
noun

Etymology:
in sense 1, from Late Latin symbolum, from Late Greek symbolon, from Greek, token, sign; in other senses from Latin symbolum token, sign, symbol, from Greek symbolon, literally, token of identity verified by comparing its other half, from symballein to throw together, compare, from syn- + ballein to throw — more at devil
Date: 15th century

1: Something that represents something else by association, resemblance, or convention, especially a material object used to represent something invisible.