If plans hold, by this time next year, Vicksburg will be planning a grand opening for an interpretive transportation museum aboard the retired MV Mississippi IV.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is spearheading the museum, and your help is needed. The museum is asking people to give presentations about the MV Mississippi IV for interpretive exhibits. “We’re looking for stories and pictures,” a member of the museum design team said.

The Corps has hired the same archaeological research company that is investigating unmarked graves in the Vicksburg National Military Park to find people with firsthand knowledge of daily operations of the boat.

For those who did not work on the boat, the Corps still wants to hear stories of the boat’s move down Washington Street in 2007. The first question some might have is, “How did they drive it up there? said Jason Burns, a maritime archaeologist.

The short answer is: slowly. The long answer is, well, the Corps wants you to tell them all about it.

The Corps operated this MV Mississippi from 1960 until its retirement in 1993. Congress authorized a museum in 1992. Three years later, the City of Vicksburg purchased the vessel for $1. The museum site is west of Washington Street across Levee Street from the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad Depot. A plan to move the Fairground Street Bridge to the site and turn it into a walking bridge also is in the works.

The possibilities for this museum are endless. Because it is funded federally, the likelihood is it will be around for generations. Years from now, when future generations of visitors descend on the museum, they will hear from Vicksburgers of years past, telling the story of the river and the MV Mississippi. It will be a history lesson told by those who were here.

Don’t miss this opportunity to share pictures and stories that will live on through history.