Mississippi is a state in the southern United States. It borders Tennessee, Alabama, and Louisiana, and is directly across the Mississippi River from Arkansas. Mississippi is the 32nd largest state in the United States, with 48,430 square miles. It is the 32nd most densely populated state and the 31st most populated state, with approximately 2,984,926 residents. Prior to European settlement, the area was inhabited by Native American tribes such as the Biloxi, Yazoo, and Natchez. The first French colonists settled in Fort Maurepas (or Old Biloxi). Following the French and Indian Wars, Britain took over the region in 1763, eventually handing it over to the United States after the Revolutionary War. Mississippi became the 20th state of the United States when it joined the Union in 1817.
Interesting facts about Mississippi:
Mississippi is thought to be named after an Indian word that means “Father of Waters,” “Great River,” or “gathering of Waters.”
Jackson, Mississippi’s capital and largest city, is also its largest city.
Mississippians are people who live in Mississippi.
Mississippi is known as the Magnolia State.
Mississippi’s state motto is ‘Virtute et arms,’ which translates as ‘By valor and arms.’
The state song of Mississippi is ‘Go Mis-sis-sip-pi.’
The Magnolia Flag was chosen as Mississippi’s first flag in 1861. The official state flag, which still exists today, was adopted in 1894.
Mississippi’s state bird is the mockingbird, and the wood duck is the state game bird.
The white-tailed deer is the state mammal, and the bottle-nosed dolphin is the state water mammal.
Mississippi has a southern Gulf of Mexico coastline.
Mississippi’s state fish is the largemouth bass, and the state insect is the honeybee.
Mississippi’s state flower is the magnolia bloom, and the state tree is also a magnolia.
Mississippi’s major rivers include the Yazoo, Pearl, Big Black, and Mississippi rivers.
Grenada Lake, Sardis Lake, Arkabutla Lake, and Ross Barnett Reservoir are among Mississippi’s major lakes.
Cotton, rice, corn, and soybeans are among the crops grown in Mississippi.
Mississippi’s major industries include fishing, transportation equipment, electronic equipment, oil, and textiles.
Mississippi is the world’s leading producer of pond-raised catfish. Mississippi has 100,000 of the 140,000 national acres of catfish ponds.
Mississippi has 82 counties and 24 state parks.
The University of Mississippi Medical Center performed the world’s first human lung transplant.
Elvis Presley was born in 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi.
Liberty, Mississippi was the first town in the United States to erect a Confederate monument.
The Norris Bookbinding Company in Greenwood is the largest plant in the United States for Bible binding.
Cotton Row, the second largest cotton exchange in the United States, is located in Greenwood.
Greenwood, Mississippi is known as the world’s cotton capital.
Belzoni, Mississippi is known as the world’s catfish capital.
Greenville, Mississippi is known as the world’s towboat capital.
Vardaman, Mississippi is known as the world’s sweet potato capital.
Root beer was invented by Edward Adolf Barq, Sr. In 1898, he invented the popular beverage in Biloxi, Mississippi.
