Jacksonville, Illinois

==History==
Jacksonville was established by European Americans on a {{convert|160|acre|adj=on}} tract of land in the center of Morgan County in 1825, two years after the county was founded. The founders of Jacksonville were settlers from [[New England]]. They were descended from the [[English American|English]] [[Puritans]] who had settled New England in the 1600s and were part of a wave of New England farmers who headed west into what was then the wilds of the [[Northwest Territory]] during the early 1800s. Most of them arrived as a result of the completion of the [[Erie Canal]] and the end of the [[Black Hawk War]]. When they arrived in what is now Jacksonville, there was nothing but dense virgin forest and wild prairie. The "[[Yankee]]" New Englanders laid out farms, constructed roads, erected government buildings and established post routes. They brought with them values such as a passion for education, establishing many schools, as well as staunch support for [[abolitionism]]. They were mostly members of the [[Congregationalist Church]], though some were [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopalian]]. Due to the [[Second Great Awakening]], some of them had converted to [[Methodism]] and [[Presbyterianism]], while some others became [[Baptist]], before moving to what is now Jacksonville. Jacksonville, like some other parts of Illinois, would be culturally very continuous with early New England culture for most of its early history.<ref>Stewart Hall Holbrook, ''The Yankee Exodus: An Account of Migration from New England.'' University of Washington Press, 1968</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=American Zion: The Old Testament as a Political Text from the Revolution to the Civil War |last=Shalev |first=Eran |date=2013 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=9780300188417 |location=New Haven, Conn. |pages=70–71 |oclc=841172308}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Recollections of a Nonagenarian |last=Holbrook |first=John Calvin |date=1897 |publisher=Pilgrim Press |location=Boston |pages=96 |hdl = 2027/mdp.39015064369419}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Jacksonville, Illinois: The Traditions Continue |last1=Kay |first1=Betty Carlson |last2=Barwick |first2=Gary Jack |date=1999 |publisher=Arcadia Pub |isbn=9780738502328 |location=Charleston, S.C. |pages=21|oclc=43110457}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=4312622 |title=Yankee Colonies Across America: Cities upon the Hills |last=Rosenberg |first=Chaim M |date=2015 |publisher=Lexington Books |isbn=978-1498519847 |location=Lanham |pages=81 |oclc=934035950}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=New England in the Life of the world. A Record of Adventure and Achievement |last=Bridgman |first=Howard Allen |date=1920 |publisher=Pilgrim Press |location=Boston |pages=93 |oclc=903470282 |hdl = 2027/hvd.32044012018057}}</ref>

The town was laid out on a treeless prairie and along a state road that ran from [[Springfield, Illinois|Springfield]] to the [[Illinois River]].<ref>{{Citation |title=Jacksonville, Illinois: The Traditions Continue |last1=Kay |first1=Betty Carlson|last2=Barwick|first2=Gary Jack|year=1999|publisher=Arcadia Pub|isbn=9780738502328|location=Charleston, S.C.|oclc = 43110457}}</ref>

The town grew at a rapid rate, and a town square was quickly developed. In 1829, the Presbyterian Reverend John M. Ellis worked to found a new "seminary of learning" in the new state of Illinois. A group of Congregational students at [[Yale College]] heard about his plans and headed westward to establish the new school. These students were a part of the famous "Yale Bands", groups of students who established several colleges in the frontier, what is now the [[Midwest]]. [[Illinois College]] was one of the first institutions of higher learning in the Midwest. A new courthouse was built on the square, churches were constructed, railroads were planned, and stores and taverns were built. By 1834, Jacksonville had the largest population of any city in the state of Illinois, vastly outnumbering [[Chicago]] (only founded the year before). In the 1830s, the town was on the path of Native Americans who were being forcibly [[Indian removal|removed]] by the federal government to west of the Mississippi. The [[Potawatomi]] passed through here in 1838 on what they called their [[Potawatomi Trail of Death|Trail of Death]] as they were forced from their traditional homelands to the dry and barren [[Indian Territory]] to the west.

Jacksonville's education complex and standing in the state were developed by the establishment of state institutions: the [[Illinois School for the Deaf]] and what is now called the [[Illinois School for the Visually Impaired]]. The Illinois Conference Female Academy was founded for education for girls; it later developed as [[MacMurray College]]. By 1850, Illinois College had issued Illinois' first college degrees and opened the first medical school in the state. Because of this, Jacksonville earned the nickname of "Athens of the West".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://jacksonvilleil.org/local-history-people/ |title=Local History & People |date=<!--not specified--> |publisher=Jacksonville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau<!--present in archive.org--> |access-date=February 22, 2017}}</ref>

In 1851, Illinois opened its first state mental hospital in Jacksonville; it became a major employer for the area.<ref>{{cite book |title=The History of Elgin Mental Health Center: Evolution of a State Hospital |first=William |last=Briska |publisher=Crossroads Communications |year=1997 |page=12 |isbn=0-916445-45-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title= |publisher=mantenostatehospital.com | date=January 2, 2016 | url=http://www.mantenostatehospital.com/jacksonville.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102204521/http://www.mantenostatehospital.com/jacksonville.html | archive-date=January 2, 2016 | url-status=dead | access-date=August 9, 2019}}</ref>

The attorney [[Abraham Lincoln]] occasionally had legal business in Jacksonville, frequently acting either as co-counsel or opposing counsel with David A. Smith, a Jacksonville resident.<ref name="Lincolninjacksonville.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.lincolninjacksonville.com/sites.html |title=Voices of Jacksonville – Audio tour sites |publisher=Lincolninjacksonville.com |access-date=March 5, 2014}}</ref> In what is now Central Park, Lincoln delivered a strong antislavery speech on September 6, 1856, in support of the presidential campaign of [[John C. Frémont]], lasting over two hours.<ref>''Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln.'' Vol. 2 pp. 369–373, as reported in '' The Illinois Sentinel,'' September 12, 1856. Online at: http://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln/lincoln2/1:393?rgn=div1;view=fulltext</ref> A mural depicting the event has been painted on the side of a building at the southwest corner of the square.<ref name="Lincolninjacksonville.com"/> During the antebellum years, Jacksonville was a stopping point on the historic [[Underground Railroad]], as refugee slaves moved north to freedom, many going into Canada.

One of Lincoln's early political rivals, [[Stephen A. Douglas]] settled in Jacksonville in 1833 where he first got involved in local politics. He quickly rose the ranks of Illinois politics and was elected to the House of Representatives in 1842.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stephen Douglas |url=https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/stephen-douglas |access-date=2024-04-13 |website=American Battlefield Trust |language=en-US}}</ref>

===1900 to present===
Between 1892 and 1910, Jacksonville was home to [[minor league baseball]], as the [[Jacksonville Jacks]] and Jacksonville Lunatics played in eight different minor leagues. Jacksonville teams played at League Park on Finley Street.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.statscrew.com/venues/v-1246 |title=League Park in Jacksonville, IL history and teams on StatsCrew.com |website=statscrew.com}}</ref>

In 1911 as part of the progressive movement, Jacksonville adopted the [[city commission government|city commission]] form of government, the first mayor being George W. Davis.<ref>{{cite news |title=Personal Points |date=April 5, 1912 |work=[[Rock Island Arg.|Rock Island Argus]] |page=5 (col. 3–4) |via=[[Chronicling America]] |url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn92053934/1912-04-05/ed-1/seq-5/ }}</ref>

In the summer of 1965, in order to keep up with customer demand for records by [[the Beatles]], the wildly popular English band,<ref>{{cite web |author=Wolf |url=http://www.beatlelinks.net/forums/archive/index.php/t-7289.html |title=1960s press coverage of the Beatles' sales [Archive&#93; – BeatleLinks Fab Forum |publisher=Beatlelinks.net |date=January 2, 2002 |access-date=March 5, 2014}}</ref> [[Capitol Records]] opened a vinyl record pressing plant on the western outskirts of Jacksonville, at 1 Capitol Way. The plant produced a number of highly collectible pressings. This plant eventually served the Capitol Records Club, producing vinyl LPs and later audiocassettes, CDs, and DVDs of a number of artists.

At its peak, operating as [[EMI Records]] (owner of Capitol), the plant employed over 1,000 workers. It was a significant location in the music industry.  For example, all seven albums released by country western artist [[Garth Brooks]] sold more than 50 million copies. EMI held a "thank-you" luncheon for 1,000 workers at the Jacksonville plant on March 10, 1995.<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6AsEAAAAMBAJ |title=Garth Brooks Sets Records |last=<!--no byline--> |date=April 8, 1995 |access-date=February 22, 2017 |magazine=Billboard |page=44 (column 1) |via=Google Books}}</ref> A decade later, in 2004 EMI ceased manufacturing operations at Jacksonville.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.sj-r.com/top-stories/x574921394/EMI-employment-down-to-two-dozen-in-Jacksonville |title=EMI employment down to two dozen in Jacksonville |last=Landis |first=Tim |date=November 11, 2011 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130411200537/http://www.sj-r.com/top-stories/x574921394/EMI-employment-down-to-two-dozen-in-Jacksonville |archive-date=April 11, 2013 |url-status=dead |work=[[State J.-Regist.|The State Journal-Register]] |via=SJ-R.com |access-date=March 11, 2013 }}</ref>