OCEAN SPRINGS — The Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Arts Center is expanding its history museum after a recent donation of Native American artifacts, adding exhibit space as the center works toward reopening the museum in 2027 for its 100th anniversary. 

The project includes an 8-foot display case for Native American artifacts, updates to existing cabinets, and an expansion of the museum through the second-floor hallway and into three additional rooms, according to the cultural center. 

Center officials said the expanded exhibit will cover life in Ocean Springs from before 1699 through the mid-1900s and include more than $80,000 worth of artifacts. 

Among the additions are Native American artifacts dating mainly from the 14th through the 17th centuries, along with a group of artifacts from European settlers in the area where Fort Maurepas was located. 

Many of the artifacts were first loaned about 10 years ago by archaeologist Dale Greenwell, who worked on coastal sites where the items were found. He has since donated additional artifacts and made the earlier loaned collection a permanent gift to the Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Arts Center Museum of History. 

“The Native Americans were a highly intelligent group of people who knew how to live with the land, to use its resources and care for it,” said curator Pat Pinson. “We better understand ourselves and our own past by honoring those who preceded us.”