Jacksonville Illinois is the principal city of the Jacksonville Illinois Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Morgan and Scott counties.
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15 Facts About Jacksonville Illinois
2.
Jacksonville Illinois was established by European Americans on a 160-acre tract of land in the center of Morgan County in 1825, two years after the county was founded.
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3.
The Yankee migration to Jacksonville Illinois was a result of several factors, one of which was the overpopulation of New England.
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4.
Jacksonville Illinois College was one of the first institutions of higher learning in the Midwest.
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5.
In 1851, Illinois opened its first state mental hospital in Jacksonville; it became a major employer for the area.
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6.
In 1911 as part of the progressive movement, Jacksonville adopted the city commission form of government, the first mayor being George W Davis.
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7.
Lake Jacksonville was named the Number One Fishing Spot in Illinois by Field and Stream Magazine.
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8.
Jacksonville Illinois is the home of the Eli Bridge Company, manufacturer of Ferris wheels and other amusement rides such as the Scrambler.
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9.
Jacksonville Illinois College is the second oldest college in Jacksonville Illinois, founded in 1829 by one of the famous Yale Bands—students from Yale College who traveled westward to found new colleges.
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10.
Beecher Hall, the first college building erected in Jacksonville Illinois, is named after its first president, Edward Beecher, brother to Henry Ward Beecher and Harriet Beecher Stowe.
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11.
Jacksonville Illinois was the home of the now-closed private four-year college, MacMurray College from 1846 to 2020.
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12.
Jacksonville Illinois is home to three high schools, two private, and one public, including Routt Catholic High School.
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13.
City's daily newspaper, the Jacksonville Journal-Courier, is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Illinois.
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14.
Jacksonville Illinois holds the unusual distinction of having a large number of pipe organs for a city of its size – eleven in all – found at various local churches, as well as both of its four-year colleges.
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15.
Jacksonville Illinois Speedway is a racetrack on the Morgan County Fairgrounds.
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