JACKSONVILLE, TX

Jacksonville is a city located in Cherokee County, Texas, United States. The population was 13,997 at the 2020 U.S. census. It is the principal city of the Jacksonville micropolitan statistical area, which includes all of Cherokee County, and part of the larger Tyler–Jacksonville combined statistical area.

Jacksonville is located in an area of rolling hills in East Texas, north of the county seat, Rusk, and south of Tyler, in neighboring Smith County, on U.S. Highway 69. The north-south Highway 69 intersects the east–west U.S. Highway 79 adjacent to the city's downtown area.

Area production and shipping of tomatoes gained the town the title "Tomato Capital of the World". The impressive red iron ore rock Tomato Bowl, built by Works Progress Administration workers during the Great Depression, is home to the Jacksonville High School "Fightin' Indians" football and soccer teams. Annual events include the "Tops in Texas Rodeo" held in May and the "Tomato Fest" celebration in June.

History

Jacksonville began in 1847 as the town of Gum Creek. Jackson Smith built a home and blacksmith shop in the area, and became postmaster in 1848, when a post office was authorized. Shortly afterward, Dr. William Jackson established an office near Smith's shop. When the townsite was laid out in 1850, the name Jacksonville was chosen in honor of these two men. The name of the post office was changed from Gum Creek to Jacksonville in June 1850.

Despite never having organized unions in any Walmart stores before, meatcutters working at the Jacksonville Walmart voted in favor of organizing under the wing of the United Food and Commercial Workers union in February 2000. During a flurry of subsequent legal actions, Walmart discontinued store-level meatcutting and started shipping in pre-packaged/pre-frozen meat to their stores. When all the hearings and appeals were exhausted, it was decided that the local meatcutters didn't embody the characteristics of a group that could bargain since they weren't specialized. Even now, there is no one in the Jacksonville meat department to make special cuts of meat or any union presence there.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 13,997 people, 5,027 households, and 3,670 families residing in the city.

Geography

Jacksonville is located a .

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and 0.07% is water.

Lake Jacksonville

Lake Jacksonville is three miles (5 km) southwest of Jacksonville. It is the city's primary water source. It is a popular location for recreation and residences. It was created in 1957 and the city expected it to take years to fill with water from the surrounding creeks. But, with an unusually rainy season, the lake reached full capacity in a year.

::Location: 3 miles southwest of Jacksonville off US 79

::Surface area: 1,320 acres

::Maximum depth: 62 feet

::Impounded: 1957

Climate

With records only dating to 1953, Jacksonville was one a few Texas locations to have its all time low occur during the 2021 Texas power crisis cold snap in February 2021.

Government

Local government

According to the city's most recent Adopted Budget, the city's various funds had $14.9 million in Revenues, $15.7 million in expenditures, and $4.4 million fund balance.

Management of the city and coordination of city services are provided by:

State government

Jacksonville is represented in the Texas Senate by Republican Robert Nichols, District 3, and in the Texas House of Representatives by Republican Travis Clardy, District 11.

Federal government

At the Federal level, the two U.S. Senators from Texas are Republicans John Cornyn and Ted Cruz; Jacksonville is part of the Fifth Congressional District, represented by Republican Lance Gooden.

Recreation

The Jacksonville Public Library served the City of Jacksonville and Cherokee County for over 70 years. The Library was a member of the Texas Library Association, the Northeast Texas Library System and the Forest Trails Library Consortium. In September 2020, the lot it sat on was sold to Chick-fil-A, where construction promptly began on a restaurant location. The new Jacksonville Public Library is planned to open in April of 2021, in the Norman Activities Center. Until the opening of the new location, Jacksonville residents have been allowed to visit the Rusk Public Library with library card fines waived.

Vanishing Texana Museum, located downtown, displays many local historical artifacts related to Jacksonville and its vicinity.

Education

The City of Jacksonville is served by the Jacksonville Independent School District. Jacksonville High School, the district's only high school, has "Fightin' Indians"/"Maidens" as mascots for its team sports.

Colleges, universities

150px|right|thumb|Baptist Missionary Association Theological Seminary, an entity of the Baptist Missionary Association of America, is located off

Jacksonville College and the Baptist Missionary Association Theological Seminary, both of which are owned by the Baptist Missionary Association of America, are located in Jacksonville.

Lon Morris College, a United Methodist Church operated private junior college, was located in Jacksonville until ceasing operations in 2012.

Transportation

Many highways pass through and intersect in Jacksonville: US 69, US 79, US 175, SH 135, SH 204, FM 347, FM 768, FM 2138, and Loop 456. However, no Interstate highways pass through the city limits

Where 3 railroads once served the Jacksonville area (Southern Pacific and Cotton Belt abandoned their tracks in the mid-1980s), only one, Union Pacific, remains.

Cherokee County Airport is the sole airport within Jacksonville, but solely serves general aviation. Commercial aviation can be accessed by traveling north to Tyler Pounds Regional Airport with an American Eagle flight to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), or simply driving 132 miles directly to either DFW or Dallas Love Field via U.S. Route 175.

Notable people