Situated between Chicago and Detroit some 35 miles due south of Lansing, Jackson was founded in 1829.
Founded in 1829, it was named after President Andrew Jackson. By the late 19th century, it had developed as a railroad hub and was known as the crossroads of Michigan. It had strong manufacturing by 1910 of a variety of automobiles and parts, and was also a center of corset manufacturing into the 1920s. As an industrial city, it attracted numerous European immigrants and migrants from the American South, both white and black, who were seeking better economic opportunity.
The city boasts a population of roughly 34,000 people.