Oktibbeha County Heritage Museum in Starkville, MS

Welcome to the
OKTIBBEHA COUNTY HERITAGE MUSEUM

Bridging the Generations
The Heritage Museum seeks to connect our history and culture to today’s children and adults in an interactive way. The museum plays a vital role in our community by linking our past with the present. There is something of interest for everyone. Children and adults can enjoy a time of discovery, adults can experience nostalgia, and children can learn and play in the Children’s Corner.

Where the Past Comes Alive
Established in 1976 to celebrate our nation’s 200th birthday, the Heritage Museum is housed in a renovated 1874 Mobile & Ohio railroad depot located at the corner of Russell and Fellowship Streets, in the heart of Starkville, Mississippi.

The museum offers a rich view of the history and culture of Starkville and Oktibbeha County through a permanent collection of artifacts that provide a window into our community’s bygone era.

The museum also hosts temporary, rotating exhibits – some of a contemporary nature – and sponsors special programs, events, and projects to keep visitors interested in returning.

We invite you to visit the museum for a closer look and a greater appreciation. Please remember to sign our guest register.

The Heritage Museum website is funded by the Friends of the Museum, which is responsible for the content and photos. Small Pond Graphics designed and maintains the website.

2014

Our Community Series

January 22

10 a.m. – Old Main Program. A program will be presented on Old Main dormitory, which burned January 22, 1959, on the MSU campus. Dr. Charles Lowery, coauthor of Old Main, Images of a Legend, will show a 15-minute video of the dorm’s burning. He will follow the video with a talk on the history and significance of the building, and he will relate some entertaining anecdotes about life in the dorm. Audience participation will be encouraged: questions about Old Main and personal memories from former Old Main residents.

11 a.m. – A donated section of fire escape from Old Main has been installed in the museum’s rain garden by MSU landscape architecture faculty and students. The Old Main fire escape is serving now as “yard art,” and will be showcased following the program.

On Temporary Display: Mississippi Animals.

The Oktibbeha County Heritage Museum is showcasing a temporary exhibit of animals that inhabit our state. These preserved animals are a portion of Bill Poe’s collection, which he displays in his home. This rotating display features about 20 native species, including a black bear, a bobcat, a skunk, snakes, an opossum, a red fox, and a raccoon, to name a few. This exhibit will be of special interest to children (of all ages).

Four County Electric Power Association will celebrate its 75^th anniversary in 2014, most notably at its Annual Meeting in June. The Heritage Museum will join with 4-County in providing an exhibit at the museum featuring “before and after electricity” in the home. The museum is planning to sponsor a program (TBA) on the impact on our community of acquiring electricity.

If you would like to join the Friends of the Museum (FOM), you can obtain a membership envelope at the museum, or you may download a membership form from the FOM page at this website.

Mike Thorne succeeded in having Trip Advisor include the Heritage Museum as a Starkville attraction. People who are affiliated with the museum (volunteers or board members) are not allowed to write reviews of the museum. However, people who have no official connection with the museum are encouraged to write reviews. If you have visited the museum, please consider writing a review and posting it on tripadvisor.com. It is a free way to publicize the Heritage Museum, as many people check reviews on Trip Advisor before visiting attractions.

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