This marker is in front of the Mississippi State Historical Museum, commonly referred to as the "Old Capitol" museum.
Originally called the State House, the Old Capitol has served three functions in its long history — state capitol from 1839 to 1903, state office building from 1917 to 1959, and state historical museum from 1961 to the present. Construction was authorized by the 1833 Mississippi legislature shortly after the Constitution of 1832 ensured that Jackson would be the capital until at least 1850.
The Mississippi State House was first used in January 1839 for a special session of the legislature, although the interior of the building was not completed until the fall of 1840.
After sixty-four years as the seat of state government, the building was abandoned in 1903 when the New Capitol was built to provide more space for an expanding government. As the Old Capitol deteriorated from neglect, attempts were made to demolish it. Through the efforts of women's preservation groups, the building was saved from destruction and was turned into a state office building in 1917. Several state agencies including the Board of Health, the Department of Education, and the Department of Agriculture once called the Old Capitol Office Building home.
In 1959 the Board of Health moved to a new building and Governor James Plemon Coleman initiated the complete restoration of the Old Capitol to house the State Historical Museum, which opened in 1961.
The museum, administered by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, was one of the first in the nation accredited by the American Association of Museums, in 1972. In 1991, the Old Capitol was designated a National Historic Landmark.
The inscription reads:
Mississippi's Old Capitol
As the state capitol (1839 - 1903), this building was the site of the 1861 Secession Convention and 1868 and 1890 Constitutional Conventions. Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, and Jefferson Davis spoke here. After housing state offices 1917-1959, the Old Capitol was restored and opened in 1961 as the state historical museum. Damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, it was restored again and reopened in 2009.
Mississippi Department of Archives and History, 2009