The reality of a Mississippi Native American Museum in Kosciusko came a step closer last week with a meeting of architects, engineers, and both city and county representatives who gathered at the proposed site - the former Leonard’s Department Store on the south side of the courthouse square.
Pictured are Mayor Jimmy Cockroft, Alderman Jeffery Woods, Steve Davis of Canizaro-Cawthon-Davis of Jackson, City Clerk Hart Pettit, Todd Sanders of the department of Archives and History, Cissy Ankloam of Design Concepts of Clinton, Kosciusko-Attala Partnership CEO Kel McDowell, Hollis Cheek of the Kosciusko-Attala Community Foundation, Kosciusko architect Art Cook, Alderman Taylor Casey, Jason McQueen of McQueen Structural Engineering in Canton.
“This is the first step on what will be a journey to bring tourism to our community as economic development.” Cheek said.
“We owe a special gratitude to Representative Jason White for seeking the initial funding from the legislature,” he added.
The building was donated to the city in 2015 for a proposed museum. Funds were approved by the legislature in 2016 and a total of $1,000,000 was set aside for the project, half from the Department of Archives and History and half from bonds approved by the state.
