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DEPARTMENT OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY
P. O. BOX 571 JACKSON. MISSISSIPPI 39205-0571
STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
BOARD OF THUSTfchS
WILLIAM F WINTER. PRESIDENT JOHN K BETTERSWORTH ARCH DALRYMPLE III HERMAN B DECELL FRANK E EVERETT JR MRS MITCHELL ROBINSON ESTUS SMITH EVERETTE TRULY SHERWOOD W WISE
ELBERT R HILLIARO DIRECTOR
Dear Members of the Hancock County Historical Society,
I	have been asked to provide you with information regarding the state historical marker program.
In Mississippi there are approximately six hundred state historical markers throughout the eighty-two counties. The program to mark historic sites in this distinctive way was begun in 1948 with the creation of a State Historical Commission which worked in close association with the Department of Archives and History. In later years the Commission was abolished and the responsibility for the marker program was added to the functions of the state Archives. Recently, this situation has again been changed to shift the financial responsibility for the markers to the Department of Economic Development's Division of Tourism. Still, as in the past, all markers must be approved by the Archives' Board of Trustees; the Archives staff receives the marker requests, verifies the history of the site proposed for marking, and approves the final test.
The Board of Trustees of the Department of Archives and History permits markers to be funded in two ways:	the	Board may designate a marker it
has approved to be funded by the State of Mississippi, or it may permit the party requesting the marker to privately underwrite the cost. In making its decision with regard to funding, the Board considers the significance of a site to the history of the state. Sites having broad significance will usually be funded by the state. Sites having significance on a local level are often approved for private funding, thus leaving the decision whether to erect the marker to the requesting party. Occasionally, the Board will deny permission for private funding. In this case, it is unlawful for a site to be marked with the state's official foremat.
Mississippi's state historical markers are manufactured by Sewah Studios in Marietta, Ohio. Their current cost is $800.00, plus freight to Mississippi. Purchasers of privately-funded markers are billed directly by the manufacturer.