The county has kept a steady pace of growth in modern times and is described as the "most industrialized county in the state. The citizens of Jackson County are making the future happen every day. Skip to Main Content. Loading Close. Do Not Show Again Close. Sign In. History Jackson County was founded in Port of Pascagoula Jackson County's destiny was to prosper.
Port Authority When the Jackson County Port Authority was organized in , it was structured around a bootstrap concept aimed at attracting industry to the county. Progression into the Future The county has kept a steady pace of growth in modern times and is described as the "most industrialized county in the state. Illustrated Timeline History of County Government. It is just miles wide, but stretches miles from the Appalachian Mountains boundary with North Carolina in the east to the Mississippi River borders with Missouri and Arkansas in the west.
Founded by the French, ruled for 40 years by the Spanish and bought by the United States Louisiana sits above the Gulf of Mexico at the mouth of the Mississippi River, bordered by Arkansas to the north, Mississippi to the east and Texas to the west. Originally colonized by the French during the 18th century, it became U. Except for Hawaii, Indiana The largest of the U.
By the midth One of the original 13 colonies and one of the six New England states, Connecticut is located in the northeastern corner of the country. Initially an agricultural community, by the midth century textile and machine manufacturing had become the dominant industries. The home of Part of the land acquired in the Louisiana Purchase, Arkansas became a separate territory in and achieved statehood in A slave state, Arkansas became the ninth state to secede from the union and join the Confederate States of America.
Today Arkansas ranks 27th among Before the damage and losses due to Hurricane Katrina in , the state ranked second nationally in gambling revenues. From May until the end of the war, all Dutch military aircrews trained at the base and went on to serve in either the British or Australian Air Forces.
In , the poet Margaret Walker began teaching at Jackson State University , a historically black college. She taught there until , and founded the university's Center for African-American Studies. Her poetry collection won a Yale Younger Poets Prize. Her second novel, Jubilee , is considered a major work of African-American literature.
She has influenced many younger writers. The civil rights movement had been active for decades, particularly mounting legal challenges to Mississippi's constitution and laws that disfranchised black people.
Beginning in , Jackson as the state capital became the site for dramatic non-violent protests in a new phase of activism that brought in a wide variety of participants in the performance of mass demonstrations. In , the Census Bureau reported Jackson's population as Efforts to desegregate Jackson facilities began when nine Tougaloo College students tried to read books in the "white only" public library and were arrested.
Founded as a historically black college HBCU by the American Missionary Association after the Civil War, Tougaloo College helped organize both black and white students of the region to work together for civil rights. It created partnerships with the neighboring mostly white Millsaps College to work with student activists. The mass demonstrations of the s were initiated with the arrival of more than Freedom Riders on May 24, They were arrested in Jackson for disturbing the peace after they disembarked from their interstate buses.
The interracial teams rode the buses from Washington, D. New participants kept joining the movement, as they intended to fill the jails in Jackson with their protest. The riders had encountered extreme violence along the way, including a bus burning and physical assaults.
They attracted national media attention to the struggle for constitutional rights. After the Freedom Rides, students and activists of the Freedom Movement launched a series of merchant boycotts , [40] sit-ins and protest marches, [41] from to Businesses discriminated against black customers. For instance, at the time, department stores did not hire black salesclerks or allow black customers to use their fitting rooms to try on clothes, or lunch counters for meals while in the store, but they wanted them to shop in their stores.
Thousands marched in Evers' funeral procession to protest the killing. A portion of U. Highway 49 , all of Delta Drive, a library, the central post office for the city, and Jackson—Evers International Airport were named in honor of Medgar Evers.
During and , civil rights organizers gathered local residents for voter education and voter registration. Black people had been essentially disfranchised since In a pilot project in , activists rapidly registered 80, voters across the state, demonstrating the desire of African Americans to vote.
In they created the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party as an alternative to the all-white state Democratic Party, and sent an alternate slate of candidates to the national Democratic Party convention in Atlantic City , New Jersey, that year. The march, which began in Memphis , Tennessee, was an attempt to garner support for full implementation of civil rights in practice, following the legislation.
It was accompanied by a new drive to register African Americans to vote in Mississippi. In this latter goal, it succeeded in registering between 2, and 3, black Mississippians to vote.
The march ended on June 26 after Meredith, who had been wounded by a sniper's bullet earlier on the march, addressed a large rally of some 15, people in Jackson. Perry Nussbaum. Gradually the old barriers came down. Since that period, both whites and African Americans in the state have had a consistently high rate of voter registration and turnout. Following the decades of the Great Migration , when more than one million black people left the rural South, since the s the state has been majority white in total population.
African Americans are a majority in the city of Jackson, although the metropolitan area is majority white. African Americans are also a majority in several cities and counties of the Mississippi Delta , which are included in the 2nd congressional district. The first successful cadaveric lung transplant was performed at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson in June by Dr. James Hardy. Hardy transplanted the cadaveric lung into a patient suffering from lung cancer.
The patient survived for eighteen days before dying of kidney failure. In it was estimated that recurring flood damage at Jackson from the Pearl River averaged nearly a million dollars per year.
The U. Since , Jackson has been the home of Malaco Records , one of the leading record companies for gospel , blues , and soul music in the United States. On May 15, , Jackson police killed two students and wounded twelve at Jackson State College after a protest of the Vietnam War included students' overturning and burning some cars. These killings occurred eleven days after the National Guard killed four students in an anti-war protest at Kent State University in Ohio , and were part of national social unrest.
President Richard Nixon faced a new home front. The influx of illegal drugs occurred nationally as smugglers used the highways, seaports, and airports of the Gulf region. Kane Ditto , who criticized the deficit funding and the politicized police department of the city. Senate investigation of public corruption and foreign relations. As Jackson has become the medical and legal center of the state, it has attracted Jewish professionals in both fields.
Since the late 20th century, it has developed the largest Jewish community in the state. In , Harvey Johnson, Jr. During his term, he proposed the development of a convention center to attract more business to the city. In , during his second term, 66 percent of the voters passed a referendum for a tax to build the Convention Center.
Mayor Johnson was replaced by Frank Melton on July 4, Melton generated controversy through his unconventional behavior, which included acting as a law enforcement officer. A dramatic spike in crime ensued during his term, despite Melton's efforts to reduce crime. The lack of jobs contributed to crime. In Hinds County sheriff Malcolm McMillin was appointed as the new police chief in Jackson, setting a historic precedent.
McMillin was both the county sheriff and city police chief until , when he stepped down due to the disagreements with the mayor. On June 26, , year-old James Craig Anderson was killed in Jackson after being beaten, robbed, and run over by a group of white teenagers. The district attorney described it as a " hate crime ", and the FBI investigated it as a civil rights violation.
On March 18, , a severe hailstorm hit the Jackson metro area. The hail caused major damage to roofs, vehicles, and building siding. Hail ranged in size from golfball to softball. There were more than 40, hailstorm claims of homeowner and automobile damage. The capital city was tied with Natchez as Number 7. The city was noticed for friendly people, great food, and green and pretty public places.
On July 1, , Chokwe Lumumba was sworn into office as mayor of the city. After eight months in office, Lumumba died on February 25, Lumumba was a popular yet controversial figure due to his prior membership in the Republic of New Afrika , as well as being a co-founder of the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America.
Lumumba's son, Chokwe Antar Lumumba, ran for the mayoral seat following his father's death, but lost to Councillor Tony Yarber on April 22, Jackson is located primarily in northeastern Hinds County, with small portions in Madison and Rankin counties.
The Pearl River forms most of the eastern border of the city. A small portion of the city containing Tougaloo College lies in Madison County, bounded on the west by Interstate and on the east by U. Route 51 and Interstate In the census, only of the city's residents lived in Madison County, [66] and only 1 lived within the city limits in Rankin County.
According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of Jackson sits atop the extinct Jackson Volcano , located 2, feet m underground. It is the only capital city in the United States to have this feature. The buried peak of the volcano is located directly below the Mississippi Coliseum. The artesian ground water flow is not as extensive in Jackson for this reason.
The first large-scale well was drilled in the city in , and the city water supply has relied on surface water resources. Rain occurs throughout the year, though the winter and spring are the wettest seasons, while September and October are usually the driest months. Snow is rare, and accumulation very seldom lasts more than a day. Thunder is heard on roughly 70 days each year. Jackson lies in a region prone to severe thunderstorms which can produce large hail , damaging winds, and tornadoes.
Among the most notable tornado events was the F5 Candlestick Park tornado on March 3, , which destroyed the shopping center of the same name and surrounding businesses and residential areas, killing 19 in South Jackson. Jackson remained a small town for much of the 19th century. Before the Civil War, Jackson's population remained small, particularly in contrast to the river towns along the commerce-laden Mississippi River.
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