Visiting Vicksburg, United States: Top Sights on Foot

Vicksburg is a historic Mississippi city shaped by the river, Civil War history, and a distinctive hilltop setting. The city’s museums, churches, historic homes, and neighborhoods make it worth exploring on foot, while the Mississippi River adds an important sense of place. Neywo offers a free audio guide for Vicksburg with 12 narrated places.

What to See in Vicksburg

The best things to do in Vicksburg include exploring its historic center, learning about the Siege of Vicksburg, and discovering how the Mississippi River influenced the city’s development.

Lower Mississippi River Museum

The Lower Mississippi River Museum stands on Vicksburg’s riverfront and focuses entirely on the river beside it. Its most unusual feature is a fully restored, dry-docked riverboat—the first and only museum in the United States to maintain and house one. The museum was created through the Water Resources Development Act of 1992 and opened in 2012 alongside the Riverfront Interpretive Site.

Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church

Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church is a historic A.M.E. church at 805 Monroe Street. It has been an important landmark in the Vicksburg community for generations. The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992 and designated a Mississippi Landmark later that year.

The Old Courthouse Museum

One of Vicksburg’s most recognizable landmarks, The Old Courthouse Museum occupies a prominent hilltop position overlooking the city. During the Civil War, the courthouse became a symbol of Confederate resistance during the Siege of Vicksburg.

The landmarked site includes the courthouse and four attached buildings. Those structures originally served as cistern houses, collecting rainwater for firefighting, before being converted into offices. Since 1948, the courthouse has housed a museum with exhibits on local history and the Confederacy. The building became a National Historic Landmark in 1968 and a Mississippi Landmark in 1986.

Adolph Rose Building

The Adolph Rose Building is a historic commercial structure in Uptown Vicksburg. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992, it also recalls the city’s entertainment history: the building once operated as a movie theater and served as a gathering place for local residents.

Uptown Vicksburg Historic District

The Uptown Vicksburg Historic District preserves an area of historic architecture and streetscapes. The district is bounded by Locust Street, South Street, Washington Street, and Clay Street, with additional sections along Washington Street between Grove and Veto Street. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993, with boundary expansions in 2004 and 2020.

Walking through Uptown is one of the most rewarding things to do in Vicksburg because several of the city’s notable buildings are found within this historic setting.

Church of the Holy Trinity

At the corner of South and Monroe Streets, the Church of the Holy Trinity dates to around 1870. Architect Edward Culliatt Jones designed it in the Romanesque style, recognizable in its solid forms and rounded architectural details.

The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 as part of the Uptown Vicksburg Historic District.

Balfour House

Balfour House is an antebellum mansion at the corner of Crawford Street and Cherry Street. Built in 1835, the red-brick, two-story residence combines Greek Revival and Federalist architectural styles. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and adds a residential perspective to Vicksburg’s Civil War-era history.

Pemberton’s Headquarters

Pemberton’s Headquarters, also known as the Willis-Cowan House, is one of the most important historic sites connected with the Siege of Vicksburg. Built in 1836, the house served as the headquarters of Confederate General John C. Pemberton during most of the 47-day siege.

On July 4, 1863, Pemberton surrendered the city to U.S. Major General Ulysses S. Grant at this location. The house is now owned by the National Park Service and is open to the public as part of Vicksburg National Military Park. It became a National Historic Landmark in 1976.

Waterways Experiment Station

The Waterways Experiment Station is a research campus operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It serves as the headquarters of the Engineer Research and Development Center and includes four of its seven laboratories.

Congress authorized the complex in 1929 to develop improved flood-control methods for the Mississippi River as part of the Mississippi River and Tributaries Project. The site was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2000. Its 16-acre historic district includes five contributing buildings and three contributing structures.

Old Vicksburg Bridge

The Old Vicksburg Bridge is a cantilever bridge across the Mississippi River. It carries a single rail line and connects Delta, Louisiana, with Vicksburg, Mississippi. Also known as the Mississippi River Bridge, it is a notable example of the engineering that has supported movement across the river.

Brown Lake

Brown Lake is a small lake in Warren County, in the southeastern part of the United States. It sits about 37 meters above sea level and covers roughly 0.10 square kilometers. Its modest scale offers a quieter contrast to Vicksburg’s major historic landmarks.

Warren County

Vicksburg is the county seat and best-known city of Warren County, a region in western Mississippi along the border with Louisiana. The county is characterized by rivers and bayous and covers about 1,600 square kilometers. Its history and identity are closely associated with Vicksburg.

Explore Vicksburg with a Free Audio Guide

For a Vicksburg self-guided walking tour, download Neywo and explore at your own pace. The app offers one walking tour in the city: “Vicksburg Under Siege: From the Riverfront to Pemberton’s Headquarters.” The walk covers 1.89 km, takes 79 minutes, and includes 8 narrated stops: the Lower Mississippi River Museum, Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, The Old Courthouse Museum, Adolph Rose Building, Uptown Vicksburg Historic District, Church of the Holy Trinity, Balfour House, and Pemberton’s Headquarters.

Neywo’s stories play as you reach each place, so you can follow the route without a group or schedule. The narration is available in 11 languages, making it a practical Vicksburg audio guide for exploring the city independently.