Monuments & Memorials Tour

Jackson, Mississippi is proud of her history and of those who have made sacrifices to bring our city – and our state – forward. To truly get a feel of our city’s pride, take some time to tour the monuments and memorials that pay tribute to those who’ve gone before.

Soldiers of all wars are honored at the War Memorial Building, where the faces of the soldiers carved into the building are all the same – representing the kinship of all Mississippians who gave their life in defense of their country. The building’s unique cast aluminum doors and panels depict scenes from the Battle of Ackia in 1736 through the Vietnam War. Just two buildings down is the Confederate Memorial.

A few blocks to the northwest on Mississippi Street is the Wives’ & Daughters’ Monument at the State Capitol, dedicated to the women who kept the home fires burning during the Civil War. Continue on over to West Street where the Woolfolk State Building Flag Wall is the newest memorial dedicated to Mississippi veterans of all wars. Each branch of the U.S. military has a star and all Mississippi Congressional Medal of Honor recipients are listed.

A turn to the south takes you down to Pascagoula Street where the city’s fallen police officers are honored at the Police Memorial in front of department headquarters. Just a few buildings down, the Hinds County Courthouse is watched over by the two statues on top of the building. One is Moses, the giver of the law, and the other is Socrates, the interpreter of the law.

A turn back to the north takes you up President Street to the original Jackson Firehouse, currently the MetroJackson Chamber of Commerce. In front of this historic building with its original “barn doors” is the Jackson Fallen Fire Fighter’s Memorial, an emotionally endearing statue of a firefighter holding a small boy in his arms.

Just north of downtown are other monuments and memorials including Greenwood Cemetery, one of the oldest cemeteries in the city that dates back to the mid-1800s and is the resting place of former mayors, senators, governors, Confederate soldiers, and Jackson’s beloved Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Eudora Welty. Further north is Freedom Corner, the site of numerous rallies and gatherings during the Civil Rights Movement.