Mississippi Antiquities Law & Mississippi Landmark Designation (MS)

Tracked preemption from the Mississippi overlay bundle.

Overview

Effective
1970-04-23
Sunset
Authority
state
Scope
state:MS

Trigger predicate

When this evaluates true for a parcel, the law's preempted fields take precedence over base zoning.

OR
  • parcel.is_designated_mississippi_landmark == True
  • parcel.in_state_historic_district == True
  • parcel.on_national_register == True

Preempted fields

2 fields on the base district schema are rewritten when the trigger fires.

FieldOpValueNote
review_typerequiremdah_permit_for_landmark_alteration§39-7-11: permit from Mississippi Department of Archives & History (MDAH) Board of Trustees required before any landmark may be taken, altered, damaged, destroyed, salvaged, or excavated
land_development.alteration_of_designated_landmarkwaiveLocal zoning approval does not substitute for MDAH §39-7 permit on designated landmark properties

Citation

Authority source
Miss. Code Ann. §§39-7-1 through 39-7-41 (Mississippi Antiquities Law); §39-7-11 (landmark permits); §39-7-21 (designation procedure)
§ §§39-7-1 et seq.; §39-7-11
https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-39/chapter-7/

Research notes

MDAH-designated Mississippi Landmarks include all state-owned historic property, plus privately-owned property by owner consent (~1,400+ designations as of 2025). Distinct from local historic-district designations under §17-1 zoning. Notable local historic districts include the Vicksburg National Military Park environs (Vicksburg), University-Oxford Historic District (Oxford), Tupelo's downtown/Elvis-birthplace district, the Natchez National Historical Park environs, the Biloxi Vieux Marche, and Pass Christian's Scenic Drive. Federal conflict check: §106 NHPA review (54 USC §306108) parallel for federally-nexused projects.