About Jackson, Michigan...
Jackson
is centrally located at the crossroads of Highway 127 (to Lansing, the capital
of Michigan) and Interstate 94 (to Detroit and Chicago). It's a convenient
25-40 minute drive (depending on how fast you drive) from
Lansing, home of MSU
or Ann Arbor, home of the U of M. It is about a three hour drive to
Chicago or a one hour drive to
Detroit. Most people don't realize
everything Jackson has to offer and unfortunately, we are widely known for our
huge state prison and this has stuck to Jackson like glue. But Jackson has
so much to offer. For the city's size, we have a surprisingly large number
of restaurants, stores, family events, beautiful parks and you don't have to
drive all over heck ot get to all of them. On top of that, the city and
surrounding townships are full of beautiful old houses (and new ones too) very
reasonably priced and at decent tax rates. Because of the central location
on major highways, you'd think Jackson would be doing fine, right? Well,
not exactly. Over the past 20-30 years, Jackson has experienced an
alarming decline in all of it's manufacturing businesses (a good 80% of all
business in Jackson). Most of these jobs and factories have gone to Asia
and Mexico. This greed-driven flight has left Jackson over a barrel and we
are having to quickly reinvent ourselves to become something a little different
from the past and not end up a city full of skilled yet unemployed blue-collar
workers. Many of those who have lived here a lifetime (or close to it)
aren't so quick to let go of what they know, but in order to survive, Jackson
must sell itself as something more than just the city that used to make things
and died, or that had the world's largest walled prison at one time.
Jackson's population has shrunk to about 36,000 from a high of about 55,000, but somehow it has managed to keep it's head above water. The small city realized around 2000 that if they wish to survive and flourish they must change their focus away from solely being manufacturing. With this renewed outlook and wise planning jackson has found really great things to invest in and look forward to. For more on what's happening in Jackson, go to my Jackson Links page.
Here are a couple Jackson History Links
Jackson Michigan History - Short and Sweet