Mississippi State Capitol

The "New" Capitol

The Mississippi State Capitol is located in Jackson and has been the home of Mississippi's state legislature since 1903. It is the third capitol building in Jackson.

The building, which is in the Beaux-Arts architectural style, was designed to house all branches of the Mississippi state government, although now the judicial branch is housed in the Gartin Justice Building across High Street.

The walls of the rotunda are Italian white marble with a base of New York jet-black marble. The eight large columns are a type of art marble known as scagliola. The dome interior contains 750 lights which illuminate the blindfolded female figure representing "Blind Justice" and four scenes: two Indians, a Spanish explorer and a Confederate general. Balustrades are cast iron and original to the building.

An 8-foot-tall (2.4 m), 15-foot-wide (4.6 m) eagle soars above the dome, made of solid copper and gilded with gold leaf.

In 1979, it had a complete renovation, which cost $19 million. The renovation attempted to maintain the original design whenever practical. It was completed in 1983.

The Hall of Governors is located on the first floor. Portraits of Mississippi's governors since the creation of the Mississippi Territory in 1798 are on display. The State Library and the Supreme Court chamber, now both committee meeting rooms, are located on the second floor. The Legislature is housed on the third floor, along with the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the House's offices. Public viewing balconies for both chambers are located on the fourth floor.

The Senate Chamber has seats for the 52 Senators. The Chamber is art marble with the base of Belgium black marble. Its columns are Breccia violet with corinthian composite caps. Its dome is stained Bohemian glass with another dome on top for protection. In the center of the dome is a green circle of printing that reads, "The people's government made for the people by the people and answerable to the people." An image of Theresa Whitecloud, a full-blooded Choctaw Indian princess (died 1970), is on six wooden panels. The Chamber desks were replaced in the 1940s.

The House of Representatives Chamber has seats for the 122 Representatives, including the speaker, the chamber's presiding officer. The Chamber dome is the original Bohemian stained glass with another dome on top for protection of the stained glass. Desks are the originals of 1903. The Mississippi Coat of Arms is at the top of each arch. The walls are art marble and their base is Belgian black marble.

One of the 53 replicas of the original Liberty Bell, as well as a statue erected in memory of the ladies, mothers, sisters, wives and daughters of the Confederate soldiers is located on the capitol grounds. Among the trees on the grounds are the state tree, the magnolia tree, along with two Japanese magnolia trees and small patches of miniature Aspen have been seen growing. Also on the grounds is the figurehead from the second USS Mississippi battleship. The ship was sold to the government of Greece during 1914 but the figurehead was presented to Mississippi by the United States Navy in December 1909.

The Capitol appears briefly in the movie The Help.