(Aerial View of the Mississippi State Fairgrounds today in Jackson. Old Fairgrounds Field would have been located just to the right of where the Mississippi Coliseum is now.)
Before Trustmark Park’s gleaming lights and packed crowd, before the ‘Slimy 9’ of the Mississippi Mud Monsters took the field. Long before the Mississippi Braves carved their name into the Double-A history books, and even before Smith-Wills Stadium echoed with the sounds of the Jackson Mets. There was Fairgrounds Field, a small stadium set on the grounds of the Mississippi State Fairgrounds in Jackson.
This humble ballpark was once the center of baseball in central Mississippi. With wooden bleachers, chalky baselines, and an outfield wall with local sponsors, Fairgrounds Field captured the spirit of early 20th-century southern baseball — a time when teams rode trains, players chased dreams for little pay, and the game was still pure.
The Cotton States League, which first emerged in 1902, was the proving ground for many small southern towns looking to embrace professional baseball. It was a Class D league (equivalent to Low A ball today) — gritty, local, and scrappy — but the fans treated it like the big leagues.
Jackson joined the fray with several teams over the decades, with the earliest team playing in Jackson in 1905. The Jackson Senators, Jackson Lawmakers, Jackson Tigers, Jackson Drummers, and briefly, the Jackson Mississippians. Each team carried with it a piece of the city’s evolving identity, and all of them called Fairgrounds Field home.
The Jackson Senators were arguably the crown jewel of this era, capturing a Cotton States League title in 1908 and becoming one of the league’s most stable franchises during its early years. Local sportswriters and fans often gathered at nearby diners or on the fairground steps to discuss the Senators’ chances that summer or swap stories about the league’s colorful characters.
While major league stars were rarely seen in Class D ballparks, Fairgrounds Field still showcased its share of standout players — some of whom went on to greater heights.
- Charles Bates, who played in the 1910 season, led the Cotton States League with a .340 batting average. Though he never made the majors, his disciplined swing and steady glove made him a fan favorite.
- Bert Graham, a fiery shortstop that same season, tallied 122 hits and 91 runs scored, bringing a spark to the Senators’ offense and often drawing raucous applause from the grandstand with his hustle plays.
(1925 Jackson Senators team)
Fairgrounds Field was far from modern. It was built primarily with wood and had no outfield fences in its early years. Bleachers extended along the first and third baselines, and the grandstand behind home plate was often packed with families, businessmen in their Sunday best, and kids sneaking in through the outfield gaps.
The ballpark didn’t have lights in its early days, so all games were played in the afternoon — often in sweltering Mississippi heat. That didn’t stop fans from showing up, especially during the State Fair, when games would coincide with carnival rides, rodeos, and the smell of smoked sausage lingering in the summer air.
By the 1950s, professional baseball’s landscape was changing. Air travel, better infrastructure, and major league farm systems meant towns like Jackson needed more modern ballparks to stay relevant. Fairgrounds Field began to fall into disrepair. The wooden stands creaked a little louder, paint chipped, and attendance dwindled as radio broadcasts and television began changing how fans consumed baseball.
In 1953, the Jackson Senators played their final season in the Cotton States League. The league itself folded not long after. By then, the writing was on the wall: Jackson would need a new ballpark for baseball to survive. The ballpark would fade away around this time as the Fairgrounds began to evolve into what it looks like today. The Mississippi Coliseum, home of the Dixie National Rodeo opened in 1962 and sits just west of where the old Fairgrounds Field was once located
That new chapter came in the 1975 with the opening of Smith-Wills Stadium, a brick-and-concrete upgrade that soon attracted the Jackson Mets, the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They brought with them a new level of professionalism, and Jackson fans once again had a team to rally behind.
(Smith-Wills Stadium took over the Jackson baseball scene with its opening in 1975)
Names like Darryl Strawberry, Lenny Dykstra, and Kevin Mitchell passed through Smith-Wills on their way to stardom. But many longtime fans never forgot the charm of Fairgrounds Field — the dustier, simpler time when baseball was played on sunbaked afternoons and “home run” meant chasing the ball past the livestock barns.
In 2005, the Mississippi Braves arrived in nearby Pearl, opening Trustmark Park — a modern jewel nestled next to Bass Pro Shops and the Outlets of Mississippi. For nearly two decades, they carried the torch, drawing fans from Jackson and beyond. Dozens of future Atlanta Braves passed through Pearl on their way to the big leagues.
(Trustmark Park during the final season of the Mississippi Braves in 2024.)
Then, in 2024, the Braves departed.
But the heartbeat of Mississippi baseball didn’t stop.
In 2025, the Mississippi Mud Monsters — a Frontier League team — stepped in to fill the void. With their electric branding, community-first mentality, and fresh roster of independent league talent, the Mud Monsters opened their inaugural season with an 11-run statement win at Trustmark Park.
(The Mississippi Mud Monsters of the independent Frontier League keep Jackson’s baseball legacy alive)
The names may be new, but the love of the game remains the same.
Fairgrounds Field may no longer stand, and no historical markers currently commemorate it — but it lives on in dusty box scores, faded photographs, and the memories of those who sat in its wooden bleachers. It was where baseball began in Jackson — long before the lights, the giveaways, and the scoreboard replays.
From the Jackson Senators at Fairgrounds Field, to the Mets at Smith-Wills, to the M-Braves in Pearl, and now the Mud Monsters carving out a new identity, baseball in the Jackson area continues to evolve — yet always returns to its roots: a bat, a ball, and a crowd gathered for the love of the game.
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