Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County (the town of Raymond is the other),[4][page needed] but the city also contains areas in Madison and Rankin Counties. The 2000 census recorded Jackson's population at 184,256, but according to July 1, 2008 estimates, the city's population was 173,861 and its five-county metropolitan area had a population of 537,285.[5][6] The Jackson-Yazoo City combined statistical area, consisting of the Jackson metropolitan area and Yazoo City micropolitan area, has a population of 565,749, making it the 88th-largest metropolitan area in the United States.[7]
The current slogan for the city is Jackson, Mississippi: City with Soul.[8] The city is named after President Andrew Jackson.
Cont
Founding and antebellum period (to 1860)
The area that is now Jackson was initially referred to as Parkerville[11] and was settled by Louis LeFleur, a French Canadian trader, along the historic Natchez Trace trade route. The area then became known as LeFleur's Bluff[12]. LeFleur's Bluff was founded based on the need for a centrally located capital for the state of Mississippi. In 1821, the Mississippi General Assembly, meeting in the then-capital of Natchez, had sent Thomas Hinds (for whom Hinds County is named), James Patton, and William Lattimore to look for a site. After surveying areas north and east of Jackson, they proceeded southwest along the Pearl River until they reached LeFleur's Bluff in Hinds County. Their report to the General Assembly stated that this location had beautiful and healthful surroundings, good water, abundant timber, navigable waters, and proximity to the trading route Natchez Trace. And so, a legislative Act passed by the Assembly on November 28, 1821, authorized the location to become the permanent seat of the government of the state of Mississippi.
