Old Depot Museum

The depot that anchored Vicksburg to the national rail network in 1907 now holds a miniature war. Inside the old Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad station, a detailed diorama maps every trench line and battery position from the Siege of Vicksburg—the July 1863 surrender to Ulysses S. Grant that, along with Gettysburg, marked the turning point of the Civil War. The city's location on a high bluff above the Mississippi made it a key Confederate river-port. Model railroad layouts re-create wartime Vicksburg streetscapes, and the collections include model ships, riverboats, and railroad artifacts that trace the networks—rail and river—that made this bend in the river matter. Vicksburg was built by French colonists in 1719 and incorporated in 1825 after Methodist missionary Newitt Vick. The museum stands at 1010 Levee Street near the Yazoo Canal. Open Monday through Saturday; check visitvicksburg.com for hours. Admission charged.