March 17, 2025. Jackson, Mississippi.
We are almost half-way through our bucket list! Hard to believe. This is the first time we have visited two state capitols in one day. We woke up, toured the Montgomery Alabama state capitol and First White House of the Confederacy across the street, went back to our RV Park, hitched up, then headed out for Jackson Mississippi.
We hadn’t planned on seeing Jackson’s state capitol today, but our other plans fell through for the day and we were gifted with some additional time in the afternoon. We pulled our Classy Girl from Montgomery to Jackson and stopped at the capitol on the way to our RV Park where we stayed west of Jackson. Fortunately there was parking big enough; a security guard showed us where we could park so we felt safe leaving our Classy Girl there. She thanked us later, as she always wanted to see a State Capitol up close.
Third time’s a charm! We finally managed to get a tour guide to show us around. The building is quite impressive. According to Wikipedia, “architect Theodore Link used the new technology of electric lighting when designing the Capitol and incorporated 4,750 electric fixtures, which are still being used today.” The guide reminded us that electricity was only starting to enter the picture, so it was an awe-inspiring experience when people arrived and saw all the floors lit up. People came from far away just to see the lights. The architect didn’t know how many lights it would require, so he may have gone a bit overboard. However, the building is designed after the French Beaux-Arts Architecture, which is quite ornate and majestic, reminiscent of an old-style theatre.
This state’s legislature was in session, as we previously experienced in Atlanta. They were a bit more protective of their senators, so we could not take pictures in the House and Senate chambers, but we did get to go inside and look around from the gallery with our tour guide, in addition to hearing some interesting stories along the way. Wish I had a picture, but the architecture is similar to what you see here.
Outside the House of Representatives we stopped to look at some of the former members. One name kept popping up, taking our eyes off all others in the frame: John Grisham.
Yes, that John Grisham. You probably know him as a famous author, but he also served in the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1983-1990. His first novel was published in 1989 (A Time to Kill), which he worked on for four years while still serving the government. As a lawyer and State Representative, he heard stories that had a big influence on his writing.
The tour guide spilled the tea. She remembers when Grisham was talking about his novel to various people in the building, while he was still a state representative. They all laughed at him behind his back, having no idea how famous he would be one day. He failed English in his Community College class, but a law instructor saw the value in his writing and he went on to be a lawyer. Did you know he is one of only three anglophones (English-speakers) to sell 2 million copies of the first printing? No one is laughing now! Let that be a lesson to us all. You simply can’t judge someone’s future. Encourage them. They may be the next best astronaut, author, inventor, or physician who finds the cure for cancer.
And I’ve digressed. I actually took fewer pictures in this Capitol than most. We were a little tired, and we were also not permitted to take pictures where I would normally take them. Here are a few pictures of the inside.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!