Location: Vicksburg
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10 Museums in Vicksburg That You Shouldn't Miss
Sitting high atop a bluff overlooking the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers, the city of Vicksburg was the setting of a bloody 47 day siege during the Civil War. The site of this epic battle is now Vicksburg National Military Park, preserving original fortifications and the U.S.S. Cairo, an ironclad gunboat that once prowled the waters of the Mississippi River. Vicksburg is also the place where Coca-Cola was first bottled, a fact that is happily immortalized at the Biedenharn Coca-Cola Museum.
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1. U.S.S. Cairo Museum
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 1,481 reviews
Tour the first boat to be sunk by a torpedo.
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
My wife and I have visited Vicksburg National Military Park on other occasions so we weren't terribly disappointed when we realized on our most recent trip that the USS Cairo Museum was closed because of the COVID pandemic. Of course, visitors can park in the parking lot and stroll around one of the first American ironclad warships built at the beginning of the Civil War. Inside or outside, the Cairo is an impressive site. After participating in the capture of Fort Pillow on the Mississippi River in June 1862, it was sunk in December 1862 while clearing mines for the attack on Haines Bluff on the Yazoo River. It was the first ship ever to be sunk by a mine remotely detonated by hand. Over the years, the ship was forgotten and slowed covered by silt and sand. It was found in 1956 and salvaged from the bottom of the river in 1965. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, the Cairo was opened as a museum in a shelter on the tour road near the Vicksburg National Cemetery in the Vicksburg National Military Park in November 1980. The recovery of artifacts from the ship revealed a treasure trove of weapons, ammunition, naval stores and personal gear of the sailors who served on board. Externally, visitors can see one of the cannons on the side of the Cairo and the framework for the paddlewheels.
2. Attic Gallery
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 56 reviews
Reviewed By S6074XOannal
What a super fun place full of super fun art. I stumbled across this place in the evening when they were having and exhibit upstairs and I just marvelled at the beauty of it all. The people were all so friendly and welcoming and the art was wonderful too. There is something for everyone in there.
3. H.C. Porter Gallery
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 12 reviews
H.C. Porter Gallery is the signature gallery of Mississippi visual artist H.C. Porter. The gallery features photographs, limited edition prints and original paintings by the award-winning artist, who has been using her unique process to depict everyday life in Mississippi for the past two and a half decades.The fine art gallery, which also features contemporary work by visiting national artists, is in the heart of historic downtown Vicksburg. The artist lives and works above her gallery in her loft apartment and studio space.
4. Yesterday's Children
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 9 reviews
5. Jesse Brent Lower Mississippi River Museum and Interpretive Center
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 263 reviews
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
The Jesse Brent Lower Mississippi River Museum and Interpretive Center in Vicksburg, Mississippi, provides visitors with a fascinating view of life surrounding the Mississippi River through multiple interactive displays that cover topics about the river's history, science behind water movement, the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, fish found in the river and how life has changed on the Mississippi River over the years. Visitors also can walk through an outdoor flood model, view a 1,515-gallon, multi-side aquarium that is home to catfish and other fish native to the Mississippi River and tour the Mississippi River Commission's towboat, the motor vessel Mississippi IV, the only fully restored, dry docked riverboat. The museum, which offers free admission, is the first of its kind in the United States. And the Mississippi IV, which was decommissioned in 1993, is the major attraction, a diesel-powered vessel with an all-steel, four-level superstructure that is powered by two eight-cylinder engines with 1,860 horsepower each. After learning about how the 1927 flood was the most destructive in the history of the United States, it was fascinating to learn how the Corps of Engineers has tamed the Mississippi River.
6. The Tomato Place
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 73 reviews
Reviewed By 347jeng - Aubrey, United States
I have 3 picky kids and have been in the car most of the day! Absolutely the best BLT, fried green tomatoe sandwich and for the little ones an amazing grilled cheese. You have to get a smoothie for dessert!
7. Old Court House Museum - Eva W. Davis Memorial
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 118 reviews
Reviewed By 568kristineb - Orlando, United States
I only had about 30 minutes to kill while on a road trip and decided to stop at the Old Courthouse Museum. For $6 you get to see several rooms worth of artifacts from the Civil War and other times related to Vicksburg. My favorite part was the actual courtroom on the second floor. I wish I’d had longer to spend in the museum, because I could’ve easily spent a couple hours there. I highly recommend if you want to see some interesting historical artifacts. A big bonus if you’re on a road trip are the restrooms located in outhouses on the exterior of the building.
8. The Old Depot Museum
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 224 reviews
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
The motto of the Old Depot Museum in Vicksburg, Mississippi, is "Where all modes of transportation meet" and if you love model trains, this is your Valhalla. Located at 1010 Levee Street, the Old Depot Museum offers a plethora of historical exhibits designed to educate and entertain, from the immersive diorama of the Siege of Vicksburg to original oil paintings depicting the trials of the war. Don't be misled by the excessive model train layouts. All of the great exhibits from the former Vicksburg Battlefield Museum have been added to this collection. There is railroad memorabilia, a collection of model Civil War gunboats, 40 original war-themed paintings by Herb Mott, video footage of trails used by soldiers and citizens during the Siege of Vicksburg and models of architecture styles employed throughout the city's past. While you browse through the building, you are constantly aware of the model railroad trains that move throughout. All of this and more is on display in a magnificent setting, a fully restored facility that was the result of a $2.4 million project undertaken by the City of Vicksburg and the Mississippi Department of Transportation.
9. Biedenharn Coca-Cola Museum
Overall Ratings
3.5 based on 420 reviews
The site where the first Coke was bottled in 1891.
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
The Biedenharn Coca-Cola Museum in Vicksburg, Mississippi, explains the history of one of the nation's most beloved beverages, along with equipment of the type that Joseph Biedenharn used to bottle Coca-Cola for the first time anywhere in the world in 1894. But, no, the museum doesn't reveal the contents of the secret Coca-Cola formula. Instead, visitors to the museum, located at 1107 Washington Street, are treated to a wide variety of original Coca-Cola advertising and memorabilia is on display to allow one and all to follow the evolution of "The Pause That Refreshes." The restored candy store and office area will take visitors back to a simpler, sweeter time with furnishings and displays from the 1890s. Adults and children will be treated to ice cream, fountain Cokes, Coca-Cola floats and a wide selection of Coca-Cola souvenirs. Biedenhorn, who was born in Vicksburg in 1866, the eldest of eight sons and four daughters, founded a retail confectionary business, built a two-story building at 1107 Washington Street in 1890 and began to sell candy and bottle Coca-Cola until 1938 when the new Coca-Cola plant was constructed at 2133 Washington Street. The museum houses a wide variety of exhibits interpreting the beginnings of Coca-Cola, the history of the Biedenharn family, the process used to first bottle Coca-Cola, a reproduction of the equipment first used to bottle Coca-Cola, the history of Coca-Cola advertising and Coca-Cola memorabilia from past to present. If you are a Coke collector, or even if you aren't, you can't pass up the original Coke bottles.
10. Pigs-In-Flight Children's Museum
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 2 reviews
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