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.
The Mississippi Industrial Heritage Museum, Inc., a non-profit corporation founded in 2002, has tax-exempt status under the Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3). The organization owns the Soule Steam Feed Works site. The first phase of a three-phase museum feasibility study has begun. The following report includes documentation, which will be used in the development of the Soule property into a nationally recognized industrial museum.Mississippi State Historical
Industrial Museum
Mississippi Industrial Heritage Museum, Inc.
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.
Designations
- Soule Steam Feed Works site has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979 due to the historical significance of George W. Soule, inventor.
- The site was designated a Mississippi Landmark in Fall 2003.
- Mississippi Industrial Heritage Museum was designated the Official State Historical Industrial Museum in July 2004 by the Mississippi legislature.
Mississippi Law
The law designating the Mississippi Industrial Heritage Museum, Incorporated, as the official Mississippi state historical industrial museum is found in the Mississippi Code, Title 3, Chapter 3, Section 3-3-49.
TITLE 3. STATE SOVEREIGNTY, JURISDICTION AND HOLIDAYS
CHAPTER 3. STATE BOUNDARIES, HOLIDAYS, AND STATE EMBLEMS
Miss. Code Ann. § 3-3-49 (2013)
§ 3-3-49. State Historical Industrial Museum
The Mississippi Industrial Heritage Museum, Incorporated, is designated as the state historical industrial museum.
HISTORY: SOURCES: Laws, 2004, ch. 451, § 1, eff from and after July 1, 2004.
