Abstract The Town Creek locale in Jackson, Mississippi exposes fossiliferous strata through stream erosion and provides evidence for stratal doming atop an extinct volcano. Charles Lyell (1797–1875) investigated the locale on his second visit to North America (1845–46) and concluded that Town Creek fossils were older than Vicksburg fossils, and that strata dipped westward from Jackson. In the 1850s, Mississippi's state geologist Eugene Hilgard (1833–1916) recognized the first volcanic doming evidence and correctly concluded that a ‘local upheaval’ had elevated the Jackson area. Subsequent research revealed an extinct volcano as Jackson Dome's source, explaining the strata dip and Lyell's observation that Jackson's Eocene fossils were older than Vicksburg fossils, later identified as Oligocene. The Jackson fossiliferous strata, known today as the Moodys Branch Formation, exquisitely preserves fossils that have contributed to numerous scientific investigations. The Town Creek locale was threatened in 2003 when a proposed flood control project would have inundated it. Scientists rallied for the preservation of the geologically and historically important Town Creek, and today it remains as a geoheritage site available to scientists and the public, with a state historical marker noting its geological importance. Long-term preservation of the locale is needed but not guaranteed.

Abstract In Mississippi, USA, exposures of fossiliferous Cretaceous and Paleogene strata contributed to geological investigations for more than 200 years. Since 2012, four Mississippi fossiliferous field sites were regularly integrated within university palaeontology classrooms, with community engaged learning (CEL) introduced in 2018. Through CEL projects, the students assisted local organizations with optimizing and/or protecting local fossiliferous sites. Analysis of student surveys demonstrated that students were overwhelmingly positive toward local field sites and CEL inclusion in the palaeontology courses. Students acknowledged ‘real-world’ interdisciplinary CEL experiences moved them beyond the palaeontology content and made them stakeholders in modern issues. While these four sites contain landscapes that qualify as local geoheritage sites because of their educational and potential geotourism value, only one site, W.M. Browning Cretaceous Fossil Park, is preserved for future generations. The other sites (Blue Springs, Osborn Prairie, Smith County) face challenges in their long-term sustainability.