Mississippi’s Final Stands Interpretive Center
Mississippi’s Final Stands Interpretive Center
607 Grisham Street
Baldwyn, MS 38824
Open Mondays through Saturdays from 9 AM to 5 PM.
Though not a National Park Service property, if you want information on the Battle of Brices Cross Roads, you will have to visit Mississippi’s Final Stands Interpretive Center. Even the National Park Service recommends this place, and while I don’t normally review non-National Park sites, I make an exception here because it is the closest thing to a real visitor center for Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site that you will find. It even has information on the Battle of Tupelo. There is a small fee to tour the Interpretive Center, but this is the place you need to visit before heading out to the battlefield or to the National Park’s one-acre memorial.
Mississippi’s Final Stands Interpretive Center has a museum with information on both the battles at Brices Cross Roads and Tupelo, though the main emphasis is on the Brices Cross Roads battle. A 25-minute film about the battle is shown on demand. You can also get a Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site brochure.
I advise going through the museum before watching the film, and give the information panels about the battle a thorough reading, which takes about 30 minutes. I recommend the museum first because the film is very confusing to anyone not well-versed on the battle’s history. The film bombards you with too much information, too quickly. Names come at you like mini balls. It appears to have been made with Civil War buffs in mind, while I, on the other hand, didn’t know the first thing about the battle until I came to visit. If you read the museum materials first, the film will make much more sense. Unfortunately, I watched the film first and didn’t get much out of it. There is nothing objectionable about the film as far as having your kids watch it, but I don’t see youngsters having much interest in it, particularly seeing that it is hard to follow.
The museum, on the other hand, gives a much better overview of the battle. Exhibits are laid out in chronological order and run clockwise from the entrance. Most of the exhibits are information panels, but there are some Civil War artifacts on display as well, even some that were found on the actual battlefield.
The Brices Cross Roads museum at Mississippi’s Final Stands Interpretive Center covers the battle from start to finish
Information exhibits on the Battle of Brices Cross Roads at Mississippi’s Final Stands Interpretive Center
Artifacts found on the Brices Cross Roads Battlefield on display at Mississippi’s Final Stands Interpretive Center
As mentioned, the main emphasis is on the fighting at Brices Cross Roads, but the Battle of Tupelo is discussed as well. If you also plan to visit the Tupelo National Battlefield, which is only a half hour drive away, start at Brices Cross Roads, for not only did this battle come first in the hunt for Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forest, but this is also the only place where you can get actual battle information. You won’t get much information on the actual battlefields.
Informational exhibit on the Battle of Tupelo at Mississippi’s Final Stands Interpretive Center
Plan to spend about an hour at Mississippi’s Final Stands Interpretive Center. This will give you time to go through the information in the museum as well as watch the film on the battle. This would not include a thorough visit to the temporary museum exhibits that rotate on a regular basis.
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Last updated on February 4, 2024
