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Business View Magazine
Jackson, Mississippi
The best of the New South
Jackson, Mississippi, is the capital and largest city in
the state. The region that is now the City of Jackson
was historically part of the Choctaw Indian nation. It
was obtained by the United States in the early 1800s,
and settled by Europeans, who eventually pushed out
most of the native population to lands west. The City
was named after General Andrew Jackson to honor his
1815 victory at the Battle of New Orleans. Before the
American Civil War, Jackson’s population remained
small, particularly in contrast to the river towns along
the commerce-laden Mississippi River; despite the
city’s status as the state capital, the 1850 census
counted only 1,881 residents. During the Civil War,
Jackson became a strategic center of manufacturing
for the Confederate States of America. Following the
War, the city grew slowly, only coming into its own in
the 1930s with the discovery of natural gas fields,
nearby.
At its height in the early 1980s, Jackson had a popula-
tion over 200,000. Today, with a diminished popula-
tion of about 172,000, it still remains the anchor for
the greater metropolitan area’s population of about
540,000. Jackson has a strong service industry that
