JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – The Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum (Ag Museum) may look like a country town or even a farm.
The museum is located on Lakeland Drive in Jackson, and it’s easy to get to. You may pass by it all the time if you travel on Lakeland Drive a lot. If you’re looking for a getaway from the everyday, then this is it.
“We’re on 40 acres. You get to experience not something in a 30,000-square-foot air-conditioned building, but you get to walk through the heat of the summer in small town Mississippi that makes us the center portion of our property. Go out to the barn and see animals; horses, pigs, goats, sheep. Then you can go to the general store to get a Coke, some peanuts and some chips,” said Hayes Patrick, the museum’s executive director.
Small Town Mississippi is an interesting place. I’ve used it as the backdrop of a bunch of stories over the years.
“It’s a replica of a 1920s crossroads town in Mississippi. We have a blacksmith’s shop, a print shop, a doctor’s office, the general store,” said Patrick.
Patrick hopes museum guests leave with something after their visit.
“An appreciation of agriculture in the state of Mississippi, where we’ve come from, how far we’ve come. We especially cater to our kids to not just show what used to happen, but what our industry offers them as far as what they can do when they grow up,” he explained.
More than 120,000 people tour the museum each year. Keep a watch for special events like the Pumpkin Adventure every fall or the Blacksmiths on the third Saturday of every month.
There’s an admission charge to get in.