Business View Magazine - November 2016

136 Business View Magazine - November 2016 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