Enrollment into the University of Mississippi

By: Paige Briscoe 

James Meredith walking to class accompanied by U.S. marshals on October 1st 1962. The men flanking Meredith are U.S. Marshal James McShane (left) and John Doar of the Justice Department (right)

The Untold Story of Neilson’s on Meredith’s Enrollment

When one thinks of the quaint town of Oxford, Neilson’s department store comes to mind immediately. Neilson’s department store first opened their doors to the public in 1839, located on Oxford’s historic square. To this day, it the oldest department store in the South, and is filled with beautiful commodities from cosmetics and accessories to clothing for men and women of all ages to home décor. The store has such a rich history, and has been a popular Oxford spot to shop since the early 20th century. And in the fall of 1962, the store found itself more profitable than normal with a historical event that changed Oxford and the University forever. The “Battle of Oxford,” otherwise known as the riot of 1962, was the biggest historical event for Ole Miss and the town of Oxford. Segregationists were protesting the enrollment of James Meredith, the University’s first black student. While Oxford was not custom to this kind of publicity and commotion, this was a great advantage for the department store’s sales exploding during the days during and surrounding the riot.

         The famous integration of Ole Miss and the lingering acts behind it will be embedded into Oxford’s history forever. In the fall of 1962, James Meredith, a young African American man, ventured to enroll at the then all-white University of Mississippi. With the talk of a black student enrolling into the University, flocks of people and reporters from all across the country came to Oxford to see what was going to happen. “All traffic had been cleared from the street, and most people present were either reporters or law enforce officers” [1] .

 Then, on the evening on September 30th, 1962, hell broke loose on the Ole Miss campus. Horrific riots broke out, lead by students, KKK members, Oxford residents, and other travelers. It ended with two people dead, hundreds injured, and many arrests. Not long after that, President Kennedy’s administration called 31,000 National Guardsmen and other federal forces into Oxford to take control of the riots and help protect Meredith. With so many visitors coming to the small town during and following the riot, it was weirdly a very promising day for sales on the Square. People fled to Neilson’s department store the next morning, according to the ledgers from the J.E. Neilson’s archive. At that time, Neilson’s was selling groceries, clothing, hardware, medicine, and much more. The current owner of Neilson’s, Will Lewis Jr. donated the collection of handwritten accounting ledgers, daybooks and correspondence from the store to the University of Mississippi’s J.D. Williams Library. These special books are kept in the library’s Department of Archives and Special Collections.

         According to Ledger #44, many people bought envelopes from Neilson’s over the two days in 1962.[2] This could have been due in part to people sending letters to friends and family explaining the horrific events of the riot, or the news about Meredith’s integration and their feelings on this historic moment. People’s emotions and feelings were spit about Meredith’s enrollment in Ole Miss. Neilson’s being the biggest department store located in the South the stores sales skyrocketed on October 1st 1962. Prime location on the Square people found this the easiest place to shop during the hectic hours after the news broke out. The University and Oxford is extremely lucky to have been given these valuable records from Neilson’s department store that are full of rich history and artifacts. These books are filled with interesting documents and records, including items from the powerful events that took place 57 years ago in the town of Oxford, Mississippi.

Ledger 44, September 30,1962 from Neilson’s Collection, Department of Archives and Special Collections, The University of Mississippi Libraries.

Ledger 44, October 1, 1962 – October 3, 1962 from Neilson’s Collection, Department of Archives and Special Collections, The University of Mississippi Libraries.

[1]  Eagles, Charles W. The Price of Defiance: James Meredith and the Integration of Ole Miss. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2009

[2] Ledger #44. Day Book Ledger. 1956-1965 (Oversized) September 30th 1962 and October 1st 1962.