A trip around the Magnolia State via United States Postage Stamps
The first U.S. postage stamp celebrating Mississippi was issued on April 7, 1948 in Natchez, MS. It celebrated the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the Mississippi Territory. Centered on the stamp is the state seal. In the upper right corner is the portrait of Winthrop Sargent, the first governor of Mississippi. On the left is the outline of the state divided into three sections dating each expansion of the territory.
M-I-crooked letter-crooked letter-I-crooked letter-croo …wait, what?
Until 1817, the Mississippi seal had only one “s” in the second place instead of the double “ss” that we use today! The name of the state came from the word misi-sipi, which in Ojibwe means “big river.”
Magnolia State
The beautiful Mississippi Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) features on this issue from December 11, 1967. As with the previous stamp, its first day cover ceremony took place in Natchez, MS.
Named after a French botanist Pierre Magnol, the magnolia was designated as the state flower of Mississippi on February 26, 1952. Interestingly, it was school children who voted for the magnolia to be the state flower, picking it over two varieties of jasmine.
Mississippi Coast
The Biloxi Lighthouse is shown on this modern stamp issued on July 23, 2009 as part of the Gulf Coast Lighthouses series. This 65-feet tall lighthouse was built in 1848. During Hurricane Katrina the storm surge covered a third of the height of the structure. The lighthouse stands today as a symbol of resilience of the residents in the area.
Women making history
The Biloxi Lighthouse has been maintained by women more than any other lighthouse in the United States. Mary Reynolds, Maria Younghans, and Miranda Younghans served as its keepers for over 70 years.
Flora & Fauna
The magnolia, and the mockingbird, represent Mississippi on this 1982 stamp. The mockingbird has been the state bird of Mississippi since 1944. Mockingbird imitates the songs of other birds and sounds of other animals so it is perhaps unsurprising that 4 other states have adopted it as their symbol.
Music
Born in Tupelo, MS, Elvis Presley is likely the most well know Mississippian around the world. This 1993 issue was the first Elvis stamp issued in the United States. The public voted on the preferred design. Over a million votes were cast!
The first day of issue ceremony took place in Graceland on Elvis Presley’s birthday, January 8, 1993.
Literature
William Faulkner, born in New Albany, MS, was featured on the 1987 stamp as part of the Literary Arts series. The first day issue ceremony for this stamp took place in Oxford, MS on August 3, 1987.
Faulkner received the Nobel Prize in 1949. The Nobel Committee for Literature awarded him the prize for “his powerful and artistically unique contribution to the modern American novel.”
I hope you enjoyed this journey through Mississippi! Postage stamps offer a unique view of our state and its history. Next time you receive a letter in the mail with a stamp on it, take a moment to appreciate the work and effort that went into creating it, and the story that inspired it!
Every stamp tells a story.
-Seagull’s granndaughter
Which one is yours?