Between 1925 and 1948, exempting a brief hiatus during World War II, groups of Mississippians traveled hundreds of thousands of miles across North and South America in the world’s longest Pullman train. Under the leadership of Dennis Murphree, General Chairman and former Governor of Mississippi, the Know Mississippi Better Train aimed to promote Mississippi’s economic enterprises, natural resources, and state hospitality to a wider audience. The train cars featured traveling exhibits with agricultural goods, motion pictures of the state’s modern amenities and tourist destinations, and commercial products to attract potential investors.

Highlights of this case include a photograph of actress Maureen O’Hara, posing with delegates from the train, including Dennis Murphree; a piece of sheet music, composed by R. R. Coats, dedicated to the train and its General Chairman; and the travel diary of Constance Harris, a young girl from Holly Springs who joined her family on the train’s 1930 good will tour.

A single ticket for the 1937 tour was $190, approximately $4,275 in today’s currency. Representatives were usually prominent entrepreneurs, politicians, or civic leaders and their families; for example, Ransom Aldrich, a passenger on the 1927 train whose button is on display, was the president of the Mississippi Farm Bureau and a director of the National Cotton Council. Luxury train travel was only available to a privileged few. The reality that Black Mississippians were not permitted on the train, except as porters, provides a clear picture of stratified society under Jim Crow segregation.

Featured in this display:

Sheet music. "Mississippi That Grand Old State on Mine"

Pamphlet. Tentative itinerary of 1937 Know Mississippi Better train with "Facts about the Know Mississippi Better train"

Buttons, personnel booklet, breakfast ticket, meal tickets, photos from the Know Mississippi Better train, (1927, 1929, 1930)

Photographs, including one of Maureen O'Hara (second from left) with Dennis Murphree, Governor of Mississippi

Text from the travel diary of Constance Harris of Holly Springs, Mississippi.

Photo of Constance Harris and her family on the train in 1928, and a page from her travel journal in 1930