RSS Feed
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Editor's Notes
To be fair to the south end of the county, I figure I'd better explain how Jackson got its name. Jackson, along with Coffeeville farther up the Tombigbee River, and Barlow Bend, Choctaw Bluff and Gainestown over on the Alabama River, are the county's oldest communities. The rivers were a primary means of transportation in the late 1700s and early 1800s so it isn't unusual that all of these places are only a stone's throw away from a river. Historians referred to the area as "Pine Levels" and "Pine Level" as early as 1813. Nearly every time I am down at the Boise paper mill or elsewhere in the Depot area and start the long climb back up to the old downtown Jackson area, I think about the high plateau on which Jackson is situated and I imagine the beautiful tall pines those first settlers found there. It is no wonder that this beautiful high hill- truly a "Pine Level" and perhaps the highest point coming upriver from Mobile- was settled so early. A stockade was erected on the "Pine Level" during the Creek Indian War of 1813-1814 for the safety of the handful of settlers living there. The fort was on Carroll Street, about where Quality Cleaners is today. These early forts were usually built around a settler's home. David Taylor, an early resident of Pine Level, lived in this same vicinity on what is today Carroll Street. Clarke County was formed as a county of the Mississippi Territory in 1812. County courts were held near present-day Winn before being moved to Clarkesville. One session was held in Pine Level in March, 1814, at the home of a Dr. Biddlix. The little village also went briefly by the name of "Republicville" around 1815 but that apparently didn't stick too long. A stock company was formed in 1815 called the Pine level Land Company. Much of what is the old downtown area was purchased by a group of investors who believed they could promote the site, lure settlers and make a good profit. Not unlike some real estate speculators of today, huh? While the real estate company went by Pine Level, it was decided that the new town would be called Jackson, in honor of Gen. Andrew Jackson, hero of the just-concluded War of 1812 and the Creek Indian War of 1813-14. Coffeeville, by the way, was named for another hero of the war, Gen. John Coffee, who fought under Jackson. Jackson was incorporated in November 1816 with a number of municipal officials designated. Many of the streets on the 1817 plat are still in use today. The plat reflected the ambitions the developers had for Jackson- broad streets and wide avenues, a public square to be used as a market place (where Vanity Fair's downtown plant is today), church and school lots and a cemetery. The Pine Level Land Company advertised lots in Mississippi newspapers and the Huntsville Gazette. The advertising must have paid off- by 1816 early Clarke County historian T. H. Ball says there were 1,500 residents in the prosperous community. The city prospered through the Civil War but then declined. By 1875, only 15 families were said to be living in the town and there was only one store. But the arrival of the railroad in 1886-87 pepped the old town and there was rapid development. The timber business came into being and sawmills sprang up along with other industries. Stores were added and by the turn of the 20th century, two banks were established. The railroad and the river drew people and industries to the old frontier town. Telegraph and then telephone lines linked the town with outside areas. A private lighting plant was established to provide electricity. The town declined again briefly during the early part of the Depression but was sparked by Vanity Fair's decision to locate a plant in the town in the late 1930s. Allied Paper constructed a paper mill in the early 1960s (today's Boise) and the town has continued to grow and prosper into the 21st century. There's a lot going on in Jackson right now and a lot of optimism for the future.
It has been nearly 200 years since the first settler erected a log cabin on the "Pine Level" of what is today downtown Jackson. I wonder what he would think if he could come back and see the place today.
|
for larger version       |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
