Origin of state's name: Possible based on Chippewa Indian words "mici zibi,"
loosely meaning great river
The Mississippi flag is made of three fields blue, red and white
representing the United States. In the upper left corner is the
Battle Flag of the Confederacy. The thirteen stars represent the
original thirteen states.
Entered Union: December 10, 1817; 20th State
Capital: Jackson
Motto: Virtute et Armis (By valor and arms)
Flower: Magnolia
Bird: Mockingbird
Tree: Magnolia
Song: Go, Mississippi
A LITTLE HISTORY
Hernando De Soto explored the area in 1540 and sighted the Mississippi River in 1541. Robert La Salle traced the river from Illinois to its mouth and claimed the entire valley for France in 1682. The first settlement was the French Ft. Maurepas, near Ocean Springs in 1699. The area was ceded to Britain in 1763; American settlers followed. During the American Revolution, Spain seized part of the area and refused to leave even after the U.S acquired title at the end of the conflict, finally moving out in 1798. Mississippi seceded in 1861. Union forces captured Corinth and Vicksburg and destroyed Jackson and much of Meridian.
FACTS AND TRIVIA ABOUT MISSISSIPPI
The Mississippi state tree is the Magnolia, state bird is the Mockingbird, state
stone is Petrified wood, state fish is the Largemouth o r black bass, state insect is
the Honeybee, state shell is the Oyster shell, state water mammal is the
Bottlenosed dolphin or porpoise, state fossil is the Prehistoric whale, state land
mammal is the White-tailed deer, state waterfowl is the Wood duck, and the state beverage is
Milk.
Hernando de Soto, a Spanish explorer, discovered the Mississippi River in1540. Spain did not
relinquish its claims on the Mississippi region until 1798.
Although cotton is the most important crop in Mississippi, corn, peanuts, pecans, rice, sugar cane,
sweet potatoes, soybeans, food grains, poultry, eggs, meat animals, dairy products, feed crops and
horticultural crops are all important to the state's economy.
Nearly 60% of Mississippi is covered by forests, and more than 100 species of trees are found in
the state.
Mississippi is the only state that has a city named Biloxi.
