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Explore Our Heritage
Did you know? While DeSoto County, Mississippi, was formally established on February 9, 1836, Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto first explored the area in 1541.
Nestled in the heart of this vibrant county, the DeSoto County Museum offers a look back at the rich history of DeSoto County, Mississippi. Whether visiting for the first or the hundredth time, connect with the unique pulse of our grand county's history.
What We Offer
The DeSoto County Museum is open to the public for daily tours free of charge.
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Closed Sunday & Monday
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Open Tuesday - Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas
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Tours are mostly self-guided, but our staff can assist and answer questions.
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Gift Shop is available
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We are constantly adding new and exciting artifacts and exhibits to our museum. If you would like a private tour, please contact us or come by to schedule a time.
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Crumpler-Ferguson Log Cabin
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The Unknown Child Exhibit
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History of Local Music
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Native American Displays and Artifacts
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Civil War Displays
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Gift Shop Open on Request
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School trips offer a supplement to class study for students of all ages. We offer guest speakers and fun activities to bring history to life. We also offer at-school programs that can be scheduled for your students.
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Native Wildlife Education
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American History Education
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Mississippi History Education
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Gift Shop Open on Request
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Discover. Explore. Learn.
The Unknown Child
Honoring the Memory of 1.5 Million Children who Perished in the Holocaust.
The display includes stunning black-and-white photographs and interactive images of the faces of the lost children. An accompanying exhibit on the cultural impact of DeSoto County's early Jewish settlers, the Goodman family, is also on display.
Treasures such as a 2,000-year-old oil lamp discovered in the Dead Sea Caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found on display and a vintage 1880s solid bronze Menorah or Hanukkah, which belonged to rural Mississippi Jewish settlers, are also on display.
The heroic efforts of Col. William W. Goodman, who rescued 1,200 Jewish families, were chronicled along with a letter from famed Nobel Prize-winning scientist Albert Einstein, a relative of the Goodman family, whose assistance was sought to free mutual family members from the Holocaust.
Featured Exhibits
The Crumpler-Ferguson Log Cabin
Walk Through Time
The Crumpler-Ferguson Log Cabin has
served, alternately, as a field hospital during the American Civil War, a way station for weary travelers along the Historic Hernando Plank Road to Memphis, a restaurant, and a family home.
The past 150 years have not been kind to the cabin. Major renovation, including mud-chinking by specialists in that field, new vintage glass window panes, removal of rotting boards, and installation of air conditioning in one room, is planned so that classroom space can be provided for future generations who will come to the cabin to learn such vanishing crafts as butter churning and cheese making, lye soap making, quilting, chair caning, and weaving.
“OUTSTANDING repository of rare and priceless artifacts.”
– Cheryl Adam
“Loved it, the curator is very knowledgable with local history and displays.”
– Tim Cooper
“Highly recommend!”
– Susan Farley
