Mississippi Historical Society
A Mississippi-based historical society that supports research, publication, teaching, and public understanding of the state's history.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
The Mississippi Historical Society (MHS) is a nonprofit historical organization devoted to researching, preserving, publishing, and teaching the history of Mississippi. Although its work is centered on one U.S. state, its role extends across academic history, public education, archival cooperation, local historical activity, and the recognition of historians and educators. The society is best understood not as a commercial consumer brand but as a scholarly and civic institution whose principal outputs are publications, meetings, awards, and educational resources. MHS was established in Jackson on November 9, 1858, by Benjamin L. C. Wailes. Its first incarnation lasted only briefly and was effectively brought to an end by the outbreak of the American Civil War. The organization then remained inactive for approximately three decades. It was reorganized in 1890 at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, but the revived society initially struggled with limited resources and membership. Historian Franklin Lafayette Riley Jr. played a central role in rebuilding the organization from the late 1890s. With advice from Herbert Baxter Adams and support from other educators, Riley promoted membership, created publication incentives, and helped turn the society into a more consequential vehicle for historical scholarship. From 1898, the society issued a substantial series of scholarly publications. The first series ultimately comprised fourteen annual volumes, while a further five-volume series was issued under Dunbar Rowland beginning in 1916. These publications helped document Mississippi's political, social, cultural, and institutional history and established the society as an important outlet for state historical research. MHS also contributed to the development of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History in 1902, creating a long-standing relationship between the voluntary scholarly society and the state's official archives and history agency. The organization experienced another prolonged period of inactivity beginning in 1925. Its relationship with Mississippi historical scholarship nevertheless continued through collaborative publishing, including cooperation associated with The Journal of Mississippi History, which was produced by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History beginning in 1939. MHS was relaunched in 1952 and, after a short period of renewed activity followed by another interruption, achieved its enduring modern revival in 1964. In its contemporary form, MHS publishes or supports several kinds of historical communication. These include the quarterly Journal of Mississippi History, the Mississippi History Newsletter, the online educational publication Mississippi History Now, and the Heritage of Mississippi Series. Mississippi History Now provides accessible essays on subjects in the state's history, while the Heritage series was designed as a fifteen-volume account of Mississippi's heritage organized around significant periods and themes. The society has also collaborated with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, the University of Mississippi, Mississippi State University, the University of Southern Mississippi, and the University Press of Mississippi on major reference and publishing projects. MHS combines scholarship with public-facing recognition and education. It presents awards for notable master's theses and doctoral dissertations on a biennial basis, as well as annual honors for lifetime contribution to Mississippi history, secondary-school teaching, local historical societies, and the promotion or presentation of history. The society's meetings and invited lectures provide a forum for historians working on subjects including the Civil War, Reconstruction, race, education, immigration, and social change. Its activities therefore encompass both traditional academic history and broader public-history participation. The society has no known public listing, ticker, commercial parent, or disclosed corporate owner. Its public identity rests on continuity, scholarly publication, collaboration with Mississippi institutions, and the creation of educational resources about the state. Despite repeated interruptions during its early history, it has remained in continuous operation since its successful modern re-emergence in the 1960s.
History
The Mississippi Historical Society was founded in Jackson on November 9, 1858, by Benjamin L. C. Wailes. The organization was created to encourage the preservation and study of Mississippi's past, but its initial existence was short-lived. The outbreak of the American Civil War brought the first society to an end after roughly two years. A second incarnation began in 1890 at the University of Mississippi in Oxford. For several years it operated with limited resources and a small membership. Historian Franklin Lafayette Riley Jr. became the key figure in its late-nineteenth-century revival. Working with advice from Herbert Baxter Adams and other educators, Riley sought to make membership more attractive and to establish regular publication as a foundation for the society's work. The resulting Proceedings and related publications helped expand participation and gave Mississippi historians a platform for original research. Riley also edited and published historical works that included contributions from Civil War veterans, including Confederate general Stephen D. Lee. Beginning in 1898, MHS issued fourteen annual volumes under the title Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society. A further five-volume series appeared in 1916 under the editorship of Dunbar Rowland. These volumes became important repositories of scholarship concerning Mississippi's political institutions, communities, conflicts, and cultural development. The society also helped establish the Mississippi Department of Archives and History in 1902. The two bodies cooperated closely, although MHS later entered another period of inactivity. The second major hiatus began in 1925. Historical publishing in Mississippi continued during this period, including the development of The Journal of Mississippi History by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History in cooperation with the society. MHS was relaunched in 1952, but its first year of renewed activity was followed by another interruption. Its lasting modern revival is associated with 1964, when the society resumed a more effective program of publication and institutional activity. During the second half of the twentieth century, MHS broadened its collaborative and educational role. In 1973 it joined the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, the University of Mississippi, Mississippi State University, the University of Southern Mississippi, and the University and College Press of Mississippi in producing A History of Mississippi, a two-volume work edited by R. A. McLemore. In 1987 the society sponsored Edward Akin's Mississippi: An Illustrated History. In 1997 it announced the Heritage of Mississippi Series, a projected fifteen-volume set developed with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and the University Press of Mississippi, with funding from the Phil Hardin Foundation. The series was intended to explain Mississippi's heritage through a sequence of periods and themes and had produced eight volumes according to the referenced account. The society's continuing program includes the quarterly Journal of Mississippi History, the Mississippi History Newsletter, and the online publication Mississippi History Now. The latter offers more than 150 essays on Mississippi history in an accessible format. MHS also supports annual meetings, invited lectures, and awards for historical scholarship, teaching, local historical activity, and public promotion of history. Its biennial writing awards recognize notable master's theses and doctoral dissertations. In 2007, Mississippi State University history professor emeritus John F. Marszalek served as president. During the early 2000s, the society recognized historians including Charles C. Bolton and invited Bolton and James W. Loewen to participate in its annual meeting. These activities illustrate the society's interest in contentious and diverse areas of Mississippi history, including school integration, race, the Civil War, Reconstruction, immigration, and the relationship between scholarship and public education. After its repeated nineteenth- and twentieth-century interruptions, MHS has remained continuously active since its successful modern re-establishment.
- 2007
Marszalek serves as president
[1]John F. Marszalek served as president and the society hosted prominent historians at its annual meeting.
- 1997
Heritage of Mississippi Series announced
[1]MHS announced a planned fifteen-volume series on Mississippi's heritage and history.
- 1987
Illustrated state history sponsored
[1]The society sponsored Mississippi: An Illustrated History by Edward Akin.
- 1973
Collaborative comprehensive history published
[1]MHS participated in producing the two-volume A History of Mississippi.
- 1964
Enduring modern revival
[1]The society entered its most successful modern period of renewed activity and publication.
- 1952
Society relaunched
[1]MHS was relaunched after its extended period of inactivity, though activity was initially intermittent.
- 1925
Second prolonged hiatus begins
[1]The society became dormant again after years of publication and cooperation with state historical institutions.
- 1916
Second publication series begins
[1]Dunbar Rowland edited a new five-volume series of Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society.
- 1902
Contribution to creation of state archives agency
[1]MHS contributed to the establishment of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.
- 1898
Major publication series begins
[1]The rejuvenated society began issuing annual volumes of Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society.
Products and positioning
A scholarly and public-history institution that connects academic research, state historical institutions, educators, local societies, and the general public through publications, educational content, events, and awards.
Scholarly journal
Journal of Mississippi History
A quarterly historical journal associated with Mississippi historical scholarship. It provides a formal outlet for research on the state's institutions, communities, conflicts, culture, and changing society, and reflects the society's long-standing role in supporting professional and academic history.
Online educational publication
Mississippi History Now
An online history resource presenting accessible essays on Mississippi subjects. The referenced material describes it as containing more than 150 essays, making it a public-facing complement to the society's more specialized journal and book publishing.
Book series · 1997
Heritage of Mississippi Series
A planned fifteen-volume collection developed with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and the University Press of Mississippi. The series was intended to organize Mississippi's heritage into historically meaningful eras and subjects for educational and general readers; the referenced account states that eight volumes had been produced.
Newsletter
Mississippi History Newsletter
A recurring publication used to communicate society activities, historical information, meetings, awards, and developments within Mississippi's history community.
Awards program
Mississippi Historical Society awards
A set of biennial and annual recognitions covering graduate historical writing, lifetime contribution to Mississippi history, secondary-school teaching, local historical societies, and merit in presenting or promoting history.
Marketing campaigns
- 2007Annual meeting historian program
Mississippi · United States
The society invited Charles C. Bolton and James W. Loewen to speak at its annual meeting, bringing scholarship on school integration, race, education, and Mississippi social history into its public and professional programming.
Outcome. The meeting demonstrated the society's engagement with debated and socially significant topics in Mississippi history.
- 1997Heritage of Mississippi Series
Mississippi · United States
MHS worked with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and the University Press of Mississippi to develop a fifteen-volume history and heritage series, supported by the Phil Hardin Foundation. The project was intended to make Mississippi history available in a structured, educational format.
Outcome. The referenced material reports that eight of the planned fifteen volumes had been produced.
Brand decisions
1997
Launch of the Heritage of Mississippi SeriesProduct launchBackground
MHS sought to provide a broad, organized account of Mississippi's history and culture in connection with the state's bicentennial period.
Action taken
The society announced a fifteen-volume publishing project with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and the University Press of Mississippi, supported by the Phil Hardin Foundation.
Aftermath
The project developed into a multi-volume educational series, with eight volumes reported as completed in the referenced account.
1897
Publication-led membership revivalStrategyBackground
The reorganized society had struggled with low membership and limited resources, reportedly having only nine members during the period before Franklin Lafayette Riley Jr.'s revival efforts.
Action taken
Riley promoted membership and used regular proceedings and historical publications to provide value to dues-paying members and create an institutional basis for continued activity.
Aftermath
The strategy helped produce the fourteen-volume publication series beginning in 1898 and made MHS a more influential scholarly organization.
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