More Things to do in Jackson MS

Jackson is the capital of Mississippi and is one of 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 captured Jackson and also burned it to the ground. There was a gas boom in the 1920s, and it's nicknamed "The City with Soul."

The Jackson area has a population of 579,332. It was part of the Choctaw nation in the day. Mississippi Choctaw are currently part of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and also live in numerous Native-American towns in the state.

The initial European settler was Louis LeFleur, and Jackson was originally called LeFleur's Bluff. In 1821, a state-commissioned report stated LeFleur's Bluff was a beautiful area and also had a lot of water and also trees and also access to the Natchez Trail. The site then became the seat of state government. It was mapped in 1822 in a grid pattern, and also city blocks include numerous 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 forces in 1863. Given that the city was ruined, few antebellum structures have actually survived. Nonetheless, the Governor's Mansion, the Old Capitol building, and the Jackson City Hall remain.

After the War Between the States, economic recovery was sluggish. Mule-drawn streetcars became electrical in 1899. A brand-new capitol was built in 1903.

Born in Jackson in 1909, author Eudora Welty won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973 for, "The Optimist's Daughter." The Jackson Public Library was named after her, and also her home is a National Historic Landmark. Jackson experienced a growth explosion in the very early 20th century, and a new Union Station was built. The King Edward Hotel opened in 1923 and was a facility for prominent occasions. The 1919 Standard Life Building set the record for the biggest reinforced concrete building at the time.

Natural gas fields were discovered in 1930 causing another boom that reduced the impacts of the Great Depression. This sector tailed off in 1955.

During Mississippi's extended Prohibition, alcohol consumption and betting flourished across the river in Flowood's Gold Coast. Those organizations closed down when Mississippi became ended up being "wet" in 1966. The state allowed riverboat betting in 1990, and also many casinos have actually opened.

Hawkins Field came to be a vital U.S. Army airbase in World War II, housing the Royal Netherlands Military Flying School after Nazi Germany overwhelmed the Netherlands.

Jackson was a crucial center of civil liberties protests in the '60s and also was the terminus of the James Meredith March. Meredith was the very first African American to enroll at the U of Mississippi. The first lung transplant took place at the University of Mississippi Medical Facility in 1963. Malaco Records calls Jackson its home base and is a leader in gospel, blues, and soul. Paul Simon tape-recorded at Malaco in 1973.

Harvey Johnson, Jr. ended up being Jackson's very 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 areas of Madison and Rankin counties. The eastern line is the Pearl River. It's bordered on the north by Ridgeland, on the east by Flowood and Richland, the south by Byram and the west by Clinton. It has an overall landmass of 113.2 square miles and also is drained by the Big Black as well as 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 terminal has non-stop service to 6 cities.