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Jackson is the capital of Mississippi and is among two county seats of Hinds County. Named after General Andrew Jackson, it was developed in 1821 to be the state capital. After the Battle of Vicksburg in 1863, General William Tecumseh Sherman's Union forces over-ran Jackson and also burned it to the ground. There was a natural gas boom in the 1920s, and it's nicknamed "The City with Soul."
The Jackson market has a population of 579,332. It was part of the Choctaw Indians at one time. Mississippi Choctaw are now part of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and also reside in a number of Native-American communities in the state.
The first European settler was Louis LeFleur, and Jackson was initially referred to as LeFleur's Bluff. In 1821, a state-commissioned summary claimed LeFleur's Bluff was an attractive area and had plenty of water and timber and access to the Natchez Trail. The area after that came to be the seat of state government. It was plated in 1822 in a grid pattern, and also city blocks contain many parks. The railroad went through Jackson in 1840, which stimulated growth after the War Between the States.
Jackson was a manufacturing center for the Confederacy throughout the War Between the States, making it a target of Union troops in 1863. Given that the city was destroyed, few antebellum structures have actually made it through. Nonetheless, the Governor's Mansion, the Old Capitol building, and the Jackson City Hall continue to be.
After the Civil War, economic recuperation was slow. Mule-drawn streetcars ended up being electrical in 1899. A brand-new capitol was constructed in 1903.
Born in Jackson in 1909, author Eudora Welty won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973 for, "The Optimist's Daughter." The Jackson Town library was named after her, and her residence is a National Historic Landmark. Jackson experienced a boom in the very early 20th century, and a new Union Terminal was constructed. The King Edward Hotel opened up in 1923 and was a facility for prestigious occasions. The 1919 Standard Life Building set the record for the largest reinforced concrete structure at the time.
Natural gas fields were found in 1930 leading to an additional boom that minimized the impacts of the Great Depression. This industry tailed off in 1955.
During Mississippi's extensive Prohibition, drinking and gaming flourished across the river in Flowood's Gold Coast. Those organizations closed down when Mississippi legalized alcohol in 1966. The state permitted riverboat gaming in 1990, and numerous gambling enterprises have opened.
Hawkins Field ended up being an important United States Military airbase in World War II, containing the Royal Netherlands Military Flying School after Nazi Germany overwhelmed the Netherlands.
Jackson was a vital center of civil liberties protests in the '60s and was the terminus of the James Meredith March. Meredith was the first African American to enroll at the University of Mississippi. The first lung transplant occurred at the University of Mississippi Medical Facility in 1963. Malaco Records calls Jackson home and also is a leader in gospel, blues, and soul. Paul Simon recorded at Malaco in 1973.
Harvey Johnson, Jr. became Jackson's first African-American mayor in 1997, and also he was a champ for the Convention Center. Jackson was denoted as one of the 10 friendliest cities in the United States in 2013.
Jackson is in Hinds County and some parts of Madison as well as Rankin counties. The eastern boundary is the Pearl River. It's bordered on the north by Ridgeland, on the east by Flowood as well as Richland, the south by Byram and the west by Clinton. It has an overall landmass of 113.2 square miles and is drained by the Big Black and also Pearl Rivers.
Jackson sits on top of an extinct volcano that's 2,900 feet below the earth. The buried peak is under the Mississippi Coliseum. Jackson-Evers International Airport has non-stop service to six cities.