Jacksonville, Alabama, United States

🇺🇸 Jacksonville is a city in Calhoun County, Alabama, United States. It is included in the Anniston-Oxford Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is home to Jacksonville State University, which is a centre of commerce and one of the largest employers in the area.

History Jacksonville was founded in 1833 on land purchased from Creek Indian Chief "Du-Hoag" Ladiga. First called Drayton, the town was renamed to honor President Andrew Jackson in 1834. There are a couple Civil War monuments in town, including a statue of Major John Pelham in the city cemetery and a statue of a Confederate soldier in the middle of the square. Jacksonville served as the county seat for Calhoun County (Cal'n County) until the 20th century when it moved to Anniston. Jacksonville State University was founded here in 1883.

An EF3 tornado hit Jacksonville on March 19, 2018, causing extensive damage to the city and Jacksonville State University, almost $42 million in damages. The relatively low number of casualties, specifically just four injuries, was attributed by some to the fact that the university was on spring break at the time. More than 1,000 volunteers assisted in the immediate tornado relief. Caleb Howard, then a senior at Jacksonville State University, said that "t's been amazing to see the university and the community come together". Classes resumed at the university the following month. Although the university's usual site for graduation, Pete Mathews Coliseum, was damaged in the tornado along with over 20 other buildings, the first spring graduation since the tornado proceeded as scheduled on May 4 outside the football stadium. Dr. John Beeler, the university's president, said "It's a joyous event generally because you're celebrating the accomplishments of all your graduates, but it's an even more joyous event because to me it's a celebration of how far we've come in a short time in recovering from these tornadoes".

Geography Jacksonville is located in the foothills of the Appalachians.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.8 square miles (25.5 km²), of which 0.008 square miles (0.02 km²), or 0.10%, is water. Jacksonville is located in a valley between Choccolocco Mountain to the east and smaller ridges to the west.

Transport Two Alabama state routes pass through Jacksonville: • State Route 21 (Pelham Road) • State Route 204 (Nisbet Street)

Education Jacksonville is the home of Jacksonville State University, a public, coeducational university with an enrollment of almost 10,000. It offers degrees in business, communication, education, family sciences, liberal arts and sciences, nursing and technology in addition to continuing education programs. The university's campus is located a few blocks north of the square.

Media: Print • The Jacksonville News - Weekly, locally owned newspaper • The Chanticleer - Student-run newspaper of Jacksonville State University

Magazine • House to House Heart to Heart - Bi-monthly Christian magazine distributed through Churches of Christ; circulation over 2.5 million each issue

Media: Television • WJXS TV 24 - Local news, sports and programming

Media: Radio • WCHA Alabama 810 - Local news, sports and Classic Country music • WLJS 91.9 - College radio, limited NPR station