Former first lady of Mississippi Elise Varner Winter, left, reacts to questions from Elbert Hilliard, former director of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, May 20, 2015, in Jackson, Miss. Hillard, who led the department from 1973 to 2004, died Sunday, March 17, 2024, at age 87. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Elbert R. Hilliard, who led the Mississippi Department of Archives and History from 1973 to 2004 and established a grant program to preserve courthouses and other historical buildings, has died. He was 87.
