Creator: Emergency Management Agency (RG 35).

Collection Summary: Incoming and outgoing correspondence and memoranda of the director of the Civil Defense Council, pertaining mainly to emergency operations planning. Correspondents include U.S. Department of Defense, Office of Civil Defense (Region 3) staff members, local civil defense directors and workers, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Also included are copies of state executive orders pertaining to civil defense, Civil Defense Council advisory bulletins, and drafts of emergency operations plans. In 1980, the “Civil Defense Council” was redesignated as the “Emergency Management Agency”. As a result, the folders containing files from 1980 and onwards are labeled as such even though some documents still refer to the organization by its original name. Arrangement of the collection is chronological.

Access Restrictions: None.

Date(s): 1954-2008.

Volume: 3.00 Cubic Feet.

Finding Aid Created By: Colby Cox in August 2025.

Related Materials: TBD.

Record Group History: The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency has its origins in the Mississippi Civil Defense Council which was created in 1942 in order to assist in the coordination of state and national defense. The council was focused primarily on preparing for enemy attacks, but it also prepared for and coordinated responses to natural disasters. On May 9, 1980, the organization was redesignated as the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and the organization’s focus shifted away from preparing for enemy attacks to instead focus on preparing for and responding to natural and manmade disasters. 

Collection Inventory
Box Content Box Number
Civil Defense Council Files and Correspondence: 1954 – 1979. 36305
Civil Defense Council Files and Correspondence: 1961 – 1963.6125
Civil Defense Council Files and Correspondence: 1964 – 1970.6130
Civil Defense Council Files and Correspondence: Undated.36306
Emergency Management Agency Files and Correspondence: 1980 – 2008.36306