The National Pearl Button Museum

The National Pearl Button Museum tells the remarkable story of how a small Mississippi River town became the Pearl Button Capital of the world, making, at it’s peak, over 1/3 of the world’s pearl buttons. We tell the story of the entrepreneurs who built the industry. We tell the story of the workers who spent long days, harvesting mussels, processing them, drilling blanks, and working in the factories. And we tell the story of the mussels, these fascinating creatures who “live below the surface,” but play a critical role in the ecology of the river and provide the clean water upon which we depend.