Jackson is a city in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Butts County,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, United States. The population was 5,045 in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, up from 3,934 at the 2000 census. In 2020, its population was 5,557. The community was named after governor James Jackson.

History

Founded in 1826, Jackson began as a plot purchased for the purpose of starting the town. The plot was divided into squares and each square into lots. The first buyer of a lot in the new town was John D. Swift of

Newton County, Georgia Newton County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 112,483. The county seat is Covington. Newton County is included in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell MSA ...

. During the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, much of Jackson was razed by the army of General

William T. Sherman William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...

during his March to the Sea. After the war, Jackson, like much of the South, struggled economically for decades. Jackson remained little more than a small village until the arrival of the railroads in the latter half of the 19th century. On May 5, 1882, the first train arrived in Jackson, heralding a new era in the transportation of people and goods. During the 20th century, Jackson grew and industrial

textile mills Textile manufacturing or textile engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful good ...

became the largest employer of local citizens. The arrival of Interstate 75 just a few miles to the southwest of the city gave citizens quick access to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

and Macon. The numerous schools throughout the county consolidated into one central school system located in Jackson, and the schools desegregated in 1968. In the 1970s, Jackson slowly became a

bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

. City taxes were also abolished in the 1970s.

Geography

Jackson is located in the center of Butts County at . It is southeast of downtown

. The

center of population In Demography, demographics, the center of population (or population center) of a region is a geographical point that describes a centerpoint of the region's population. There are several ways of defining such a "center point", leading to dif ...

of Georgia is located northeast of Jackson near the Butts County/Newton County line. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.50%, is water.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 5,557 people, 1,799 households, and 1,141 families residing in the city.

Government

Jackson is governed by an elected city council of five members, each representing a district of the city. The council is presided over by the mayor, who is elected at-large. All officials serve four year terms. The current mayor of Jackson is Carlos Duffey, who was elected in 2022.

Media

Jackson is the home of WJGA-FM 92.1. Jackson is a frequent backdrop for a number of television shows. Beginning in 2016, Jackson appeared in ''

Stranger Things ''Stranger Things'' is an American television series created by the Duffer brothers, Duffer Brothers for Netflix. Produced by Monkey Massacre Productions and 21 Laps Entertainment, the Stranger Things season 1, first season was released on N ...

'', representing the show's setting in the fictional town of Hawkins,

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

in the early 1980s. Exterior filming locations included the downtown (with some buildings freshly painted for filming), a furniture store (standing in for a cinema exterior), and the Butts County Probate court. The popularity of the show has attracted many fans to the town. Other shows which have been filmed in the area include

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

's '' The Originals''.

State prison

The

Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison Opened in 1969, Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison (GDCP) is a Georgia Department of Corrections prison for men in unincorporated Butts County, Georgia, near Jackson. The prison holds the state execution chamber. The execution equip ...

of the Georgia Department of Corrections is a maximum security prison in unincorporated Butts County about southwest of Jackson. It is home to Georgia's

death row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting executio ...

and execution facility. The prison is also home to maximum security general population (non-death row).

Education

The Butts County School District, grades pre-school to twelve, consists of three elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. The district has 184 full-time teachers and over 3,370 students.School Stats
Retrieved June 1, 2010. *Hampton L. Daughtry Elementary School *Jackson Elementary School *Stark Elementary School *Henderson Middle School * Jackson High School

Notable people

* Neiron Ball, former NFL outside linebacker for the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

* Mac Collins, former U.S. Congressman * Burt Jones, 13th lieutenant governor of Georgia * Douglass Watson, actor, best known for his portrayal of Mac Cory on the

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

'' Another World''

References

External links

City of Jackson official website
{{authority control Cities in Georgia (U.S. state) Cities in Butts County, Georgia County seats in Georgia (U.S. state) Populated places established in 1826 1826 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)