Dear Friend,
I hope this letter finds you well. As the director of the Two Mississippi Museums, I’m excited to share with you a transformative project that will enrich our community—Margaret Ann Crigler Park, a new green space where we can gather, celebrate, and rejuvenate. I’m writing to personally invite you to support this meaningful effort.
This park will replace the old public library building across North Street from the museums. While the building played an important role for years, it is now dilapidated and empty. Thanks to a generous donation from Noble T. Crigler in honor of his late wife, Margaret Ann, we’re able to begin this exciting transformation.
Margaret Ann Crigler Park will be more than just a park. It will feature an event stage for free concerts, performances, and community programs. Children will have dedicated play areas for fun and adventure, while native trees and plants will showcase our region’s natural beauty. The park’s location will make it a gateway for residents and visitors alike, connecting to the museum-to-market trail and opening a vista to the museums from State Street.
This park is a natural extension of the museum’s work—preserving history, fostering connections, and creating spaces for reflection. Inside our museums, we often explore complex, heavy stories. Margaret Ann Crigler Park will offer a space to recalibrate, providing opportunities for physical exercise, free family entertainment, and quiet contemplation.
With the park, we can also expand our signature public programs, including the Mississippi Makers Fest, which drew 5,000 attendees this year, our Martin Luther King Jr. Day event, the Juneteenth Jubilee, and the Christmas by Candlelight Tour. More than 2,200 attended our Juneteenth Jubilee this year, and we expect these numbers to grow with this new space.
Personally, this project holds special significance for me. As a child, I spent many afternoons walking through a park with my mother. Those walks were not only a chance to stretch our legs but also to connect, share stories, and appreciate the world around us. They were times of simple joy but also deep connection. I want this park to offer similar opportunities for families across our city—a space for parents, children, and friends to come together and build lasting memories.
The park will also serve as an outdoor classroom for schoolchildren, where students can enjoy lunch, engage in hands-on learning, and connect with nature. The benefits of outdoor learning are profound, and this space will enhance the lives of our youngest residents.
Margaret Ann Crigler Park will also be a gathering spot for future downtown civil rights tours, starting with the Jackson Municipal Library across the street, the site of the 1961 Tougaloo Nine read-in. We plan to host public lectures and noontime concerts, and the possibilities for community events are endless.
To bring this vision to life, we need your support. We are asking for donations to help make Margaret Ann Crigler Park a reality. Your contribution—whether large or small—will help demolish the old building, prepare the land, and bring our vision to fruition. Funds will go toward landscaping, building the event stage, installing playground equipment, and creating a welcoming space for all residents.
We’ve seen before the combined power of community and legislative support, when we built the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. Margaret Ann Crigler Park will be no different. It will belong to all of us, reflecting the strength and creativity of our community.
Please consider making a donation to this important project. If you’d like more information or have any questions, feel free to contact me or my team at the museum. We’d love to discuss how your support can help bring this park to life.
I look forward to walking through Margaret Ann Crigler Park together, enjoying the space we’ve created and reflecting on the stories that unite us all. Thank you for all you do to help us.
Sincerely,
Michael Morris,
Director, Two Mississippi Museums