Jackson County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

with a population of 52,974 at the 2020 census, the county is located 98 miles southeast of

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

. Its

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 ...

is Murphysboro, and its most populous city is Carbondale, home to the main campus of

Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois. Board of trustees The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of T ...

. The county was incorporated on January 10, 1816, and named for

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

. The community of Brownsville served as the fledgling county's first seat. Jackson County is included in the Carbondale- Marion, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is located in the southern portion of Illinois known locally as " Little Egypt".

History

Human occupation of Jackson County began about 11,500 years ago. Extensive documentation of the area's

indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

is ongoing. Exploration from the European explorers began with the Joliet- Marquette exploration along the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. It was not until the 18th and 19th century when pioneer farmers began to settle in the area's inexpensive land along the Mississippi River and in the forested Shawnee hills with its one-hundred-foot trees. As early as 1810 William Boone and his indentured servant Peter mined coal from the banks along Big Muddy River. This was Illinois' first coal mine. By 1813, Conrad Will, namesake of Will County, conducted a large salt extraction operation using

slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

labor on the banks of the Big Muddy River, south of today's Murphysboro. As this was in the "free"

Northwest Territory The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from part of the unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolution. Established ...

, Will had to have a legal exemption to own slaves. Jackson County, Illinois' ninth county to be organized, was organized in 1816, having been carved out of Randolph County, Illinois on the north and Johnson County, Illinois on the South. It was named for

, who had just defeated the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Army at the

Battle of New Orleans The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815, between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the Frenc ...

. Brownsville, located near Will's salt works, was established as the county seat. When the courthouse burned in 1843, the county voted to move the county seat to a more central location. Murphysboro, located on land owned by Dr. John and Elizabeth (Jenkins) Logan, became the second county seat in September 1843. It was named after William C. Murphy, one of the three Commissioners appointed to select the site. Civil War Major General John A. Logan, Dr. John and Elizabeth Logan's son, was born in what is now Murphysboro on February 9, 1826. During the Civil War he moved to Carbondale, about east of his birthplace. He moved to Chicago in 1871. During his residence in Carbondale, he took part in a Memorial Day observation at that city's Woodlawn Cemetery. In 1868, Logan, as Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, issued General Order No. 11 which established

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May. It i ...

as a national holiday. On March 18, 1925, the great

Tri-State Tornado In the midday and afternoon hours of Wednesday, March 18, 1925, the deadliest tornado in United States history and second-deadliest worldwide moved through Eastern Missouri, Southern Illinois and Southern Indiana, killing 695 people and inj ...

ripped through Jackson County, leaving devastation in its path. The villages of Gorham and De Soto and the city of Murphysboro were hit especially hard. The county courthouse is in downtown Murphysboro. The current reinforced concrete courthouse, completed in 1928, replaced earlier brick structures. File:Jackson County Illinois 1816.png, Jackson County (1816–1818), including unorganized territory (formerly part of Johnson County) temporarily attached to it File:Jackson County Illinois 1818.png, Jackson County (1818–1827) File:Jackson County Illinois 1827.png, Jackson County (1827–present)

Geography

According to the

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

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (3.0%) is water. The average elevation is around , except near the Mississippi River. The first coal mine in Illinois was opened on the south bank of the Big Muddy River near the present-day Route 127 Bridge.

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Murphysboro have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1977 and a record high of was recorded in August 1930. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in May.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 51 *

Illinois Route 3 Illinois Route 3 (IL 3) is a major north–south arterial state highway in southwestern Illinois. It has its southern terminus at Cairo Junction (about north of Cairo, Illinois, Cairo) at the intersection of U.S. Route 51 in Illinois, U.S ...

Illinois Route 4 Illinois Route 4 is a major north–south highway that runs south from the Interstate 55 business loop around the state capital of Springfield, south to Illinois Route 13 just north of Murphysboro. This is a distance of . Route description I ...

* Illinois Route 13 * Illinois Route 127 * Illinois Route 149 * Illinois Route 151

Transit

Local

* Jackson County Mass Transit District * Saluki Express *

South Central Transit South Central Illinois Mass Transit District is a provider of mass transportation in Clinton, Franklin, Jefferson, Marion, Perry and Washington counties in Illinois, with deviated fixed-routes serving numerous cities, as well as demand-re ...

Intercity

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

at Carbondale station *

Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. is an American operator of Intercity bus service, intercity bus services. Greyhound operates the largest intercity bus network in the United States, and also operates charter and Amtrak Thruway services, as well as interci ...

* List of intercity bus stops in Illinois

Adjacent counties

* Perry County (north) * Franklin County (northeast) * Williamson County (east) * Union County (south) *

Cape Girardeau County, Missouri Cape Girardeau County (commonly called Cape County) is located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Missouri; its eastern border is formed by the Mississippi River. At the 2020 census, the population was 81,710. The county seat is J ...

(southwest) * Perry County, Missouri (west) * Randolph County (northwest)

Protected areas

* Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge (part) * Shawnee National Forest (part) * Giant City State Park

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 60,218 people, 25,538 households, and 12,621 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 28,578 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 77.8% white, 14.3% black or African American, 3.2% Asian, 0.4% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 1.6% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 4.0% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 26.0% were

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 14.5% were Irish, 10.6% were English, and 5.7% were American. Of the 25,538 households, 23.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.5% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 50.6% were non-families, and 35.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.87. The median age was 29.1 years. The median income for a household in the county was $32,169 and the median income for a family was $50,787. Males had a median income of $42,747 versus $31,244 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,294. About 17.4% of families and 28.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 32.1% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Much of the county's economic situation is dependent upon

Southern Illinois University Carbondale Southern Illinois University (SIU) is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois, United States. Chartered in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. SIU enrolls students from all 50 sta ...

and the city of Carbondale. A rapidly developing city, it is part of the

Metro Lakeland Metro Lakeland is a name that was coined in the 1960s for an area of southern Illinois that is centered on the intersections of Interstate 57, Interstate 24, and Illinois Route 13—a four-lane east-west highway connecting the communities of Murp ...

area consisting mainly of the major communities of Carbondale, Marion, Herrin, and Carterville. The outer regions of the Metro include Murphysboro, the rest of Jackson County, the rest of Williamson County, Perry County, and Saline County. Jackson County is also located near the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail.

Communities

Cities

* Ava * Carbondale * Grand Tower * Murphysboro (seat)

Villages

* Campbell Hill * De Soto * Dowell * Elkville * Gorham * Makanda * Vergennes

Census-designated place

* Harrison

Unincorporated communities

* Boskydell * Cora * Crain * Degognia * Dry Hill * Etherton * Glenn *

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town in Lincolnshire, England with a population of 86,138 (as of 2021). It is located near the mouth on the south bank of the Humber that flows to the North Sea. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes dir ...

* Hallidayboro * Howardton *

Jacob Jacob, later known as Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother E ...

* Jones Ridge * Mount Carbon * Neunert * Oraville * Pomona * Raddle * Reeds Station * Sand Ridge''Sand Ridge, Jackson County IL'' Google Maps (accessed 29 December 2018)
/ref> * Sato *

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

Ghost town

* Brownsville

Townships

* Bradley * Carbondale * DeSoto * Degognia * Elk * Fountain Bluff * Grand Tower * Kinkaid * Levan * Makanda * Murphysboro * Ora * Pomona * Sand Ridge *

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

* Vergennes

Politics

Jackson County has had a distinctive political history owing to the combination of its typically “ Southern”

Southern Illinois Southern Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois comprising the southern third of the state, principally south of Interstate 70. Part of downstate Illinois, it is bordered by the two List of U.S. rivers by discharge, most voluminous ri ...

culture combined with the presence in recent times of a strong student voter population in Carbondale. In its early years Jackson County was solidly Democratic; no Republican presidential candidate won the county until 1888. In the following seven decades Jackson County turned solidly Republican, but

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

was the last Republican to carry Jackson County in 1984.

Notes

References

External links

Jackson County official website
{{Coord, 37.79, -89.38, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-IL_source:UScensus1990 Illinois counties 1816 establishments in Illinois Territory Populated places established in 1816 Jackson County, Illinois Jackson County, Illinois Illinois counties on the Mississippi River Pre-statehood history of Illinois