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Founding
Originally the territory that is now Mississippi was inhabited predominantly by Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Natchez Indians. Hernando de Soto’s expedition (1540-1542) most likely traveled through some of the territory.
The area that is now Jackson was first settled by Europeans in 1792 by Louis LeFleur, a French-Canadian trader. The city, originally known as LeFleurs Bluff, was founded based on the need for a centrally located capital for the state of Mississippi, which was at that time located in the cotton capital of Natchez. The call for a more centrally located capital was most likely an attempt by the more small-scale, rustic farmers to wrest some control of the government away from the extremely wealthy planter elite that dominated Natchez political, social and economic life at the time.
In 1821, the Mississippi General Assembly, meeting had sent Thomas Hinds (for whom Hinds County is named), James Patton, and William Lattimore to look for a site. A legislative Act passed by the Assembly on Nov. 28, 1821, authorized the location to become the permanent seat of the government of the state of Mississippi. However, because it was settled for the sole purpose of serving as the captial rather than because of pre-existing thriving economic or social activity, the permanent population of Jackson remained quite small for quite some time. It was not until almost the mid-twentieth century that Jackson became the state’s largest city.
Jackson was originally planned, in April 1822, by Peter Van Dorn in a “checkerboard” pattern advocated by Thomas Jefferson, in which city blocks alternated with parks and other open spaces, giving the appearance of a checkerboard. This plan has not lasted to the present day, though Smith Park is a relic of that original plan. The state Legislature first met in Jackson on Dec. 23, 1822. It is named for the seventh president of the United States, Andrew Jackson, in recognition for his victory in the War of 1812 in the Battle of New Orleans.
