Jacksonville, Texas


Jacksonville is a city located in Cherokee County, Texas, United States. The population was 14,544 at the 2010 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.

An attempt to unionize meatcutters at Walmart

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, while Walmart was found to have engaged in unfair labor practices. 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 census of 2000, there were 13,868 people, 4,882 households, and 3,358 families residing in the city. The population density was 981.0 people per square mile. There were 5,397 housing units at an average density of 381.8 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 62.60% White, 21.70% African American, 0.48% Native American, 0.68% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 12.72% from other races, and 1.69% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 23.04% of the population.
There were 4,882 households out of which 35.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.5% were married couples living together, 17.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.2% were non-families. 27.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.28.
In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 29.2% under the age of 18, 12.1% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 17.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $25,800, and the median income for a family was $31,176. Males had a median income of $23,650 versus $19,375 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,541. About 19.2% of families and 23.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.0% of those under age 18 and 17.7% of those age 65 or over.

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 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.

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:
DepartmentDirector
City MayorDick Stone
City ManagerMo Raissi
Director of FinanceRoxanna Martin
Fire ChiefKeith Fortner
Police ChiefAndrew Hawkes
Director of Public WorksJordan Yutzy
Director of Water and SewerRandall Chandler
Director of Development ServicesJody Watson
Director of StreetsJames Worley
Library DirectorTrina Stidham

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.

Attractions

The Jacksonville Public Library has served the City of Jacksonville and Cherokee County for over 70 years. The Library is a member of the Texas Library Association, the Northeast Texas Library System and the Forest Trails Library Consortium.
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

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. Where 3 railroads once served the Jacksonville area, only one, Union Pacific, remains. Cherokee County Airport serves small airplanes and general aviation a few miles south of town. Shipping and trucking firms can serve area customers, or pass through town to several important points directly from Jacksonville, including Beaumont, Houston, Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Kansas City, Shreveport, and Memphis.

Notable people