Jacksonville, Illinois

==Business==
[[Image:EliWheelinJacksonville.JPG|thumb|Big Eli Wheel on corner of E. Morton and S. Main]]

Jacksonville is the home of the [[Eli Bridge]] Company, manufacturer of [[Ferris wheel|Ferris wheels]] and other amusement rides such as the Scrambler. W.E. Sullivan founded the firm with the introduction of his first portable "Big Eli" Wheel on the Jacksonville Square on May 23, 1900. He was inspired to make this portable version of the famous amusement ride after visiting the [[World's Columbian Exposition]] and seeing the original Ferris Wheel created by [[George Washington Gale Ferris Jr.]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-05-24 |title=This Week In Illinois History: Big Eli, The First Portable Ferris Wheel (May 23, 1900) |url=https://www.northernpublicradio.org/illinois/2021-05-24/this-week-in-illinois-history-big-eli-the-first-portable-ferris-wheel-may-23-1900 |access-date=2024-04-13 |website=Northern Public Radio: WNIJ and WNIU |language=en}}</ref>

Jacksonville was once home to the [[J. Capps & Son]] Company, one of the largest manufacturers of textiles and clothing in the United States, and owned by the Capps family, which was intermarried with the family of [[Jacob Bunn]] and [[John Whitfield Bunn]] of [[Springfield, Illinois]], and Chicago.

[[Reynolds Group Holdings]] (formerly Mobil Plastics, Tenneco, Pactiv) and [[Nestlé|Nestlé Beverage Co.]] have facilities in Jacksonville.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jredc.org/workforce/major-employers|title=Jacksonville Regional Economic Development Corporation Major Employers|work=jredc.org|access-date=2021-01-19|language=en}}</ref>

Jacksonville was also home to a food processing plant for [[ACH Food Companies]] from 1952 to 2008.<ref>{{Cite web |last=LANDIS |first=TIM |title=Food processing plants closing in Jacksonville, Champaign; 450 jobs gone |url=https://www.sj-r.com/story/news/2008/12/12/food-processing-plants-closing-in/44260106007/ |access-date=2024-04-13 |website=The State Journal-Register |language=en-US}}</ref>