Editing Jackson, Michigan (section)

==History==
[[File:71jackson tower.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Jackson County Tower, Jackson's tallest building]]
[[File:Michigan - Escanaba through Jackson - NARA - 23941581 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Aerial view of the city in 1934]]
On July 3, 1829, Horace Blackman, accompanied by Alexander Laverty, a land surveyor, and ''Pewytum'', an Indian guide, forded the Grand River and made camp for the night at a site now marked as Trail and N. Jackson Street. They arrived there along a well-traveled Native American trail leading west from [[Ann Arbor]]. Blackman had hired Laverty and Pewytum to guide him west. Returning to Ann Arbor and [[Monroe, Michigan|Monroe]], Blackman registered his claim for {{convert|160|acre|ha|0}} at two dollars an acre.

He returned to the Jackson area in August 1829 with his brother Russell. Together they cleared land and built a cabin at what would become the corner of Ingham and Trail streets. The town was first called Jacksonopolis. Later, it was renamed Jacksonburgh. Finally in 1838, the town's name was changed to simply Jackson.

===Birthplace of the Republican Party – "Under the Oaks"===
{{See also|History of the United States Republican Party}}

Jackson is one of the birthplaces of the [[History of the Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]]. The first official meeting of the group that called itself "Republican" was held in Jackson on July 6, 1854.<ref name="Jackson">[http://www.experiencejackson.com/business/316 "Under the Oaks"], Experience Jackson website</ref> A Michigan historical marker at what is now the northwest corner of Second and Franklin streets in Jackson commemorates an anti-slavery county convention held that day. Meeting outside to avoid a hot, overcrowded hall, the group ultimately selected a slate of candidates for state elections. The marker identifies this as the birth of the Republican Party. The site, an oak grove on "Morgan's Forty", then on the outskirts of town, became known as "Under the Oaks".<ref name="markers">{{cite web |url=http://www.jacksonmich.com/markers/mark1.htm |title=Jackson Michigan Historical Markers Under the Oaks |publisher=Albion Design}}</ref><!-- The following website is blacklisted on Wikipedia, for some reason.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.examiner.com/city-guide-in-lansing/michigan-historical-marker-under-the-oaks |title=Michigan Historical Marker Under the Oaks |last=Draper |first=Faith |date=October 22, 2010 |work=Lansing City Guide Examiner}}</ref> -->

===Auto industry===
Before Detroit began building cars on assembly lines in 1910, Jackson factories were making parts for cars and putting them together. By 1910, the auto industry had become Jackson's main industry. More than 20 different brands of cars were once made in Jackson, including: [[Milton Reeves|Reeves]], [[Jackson Automobile Company|Jaxon, Jackson]], [[Cartercar|CarterCar]], [[Orlo]], Whiting, Butcher and Gage; [[Buick]], Janney, Globe, Steel Swallow, C.V.I., [[Imperial Automobile Company|Imperial]], Ames-Dean, [[Cutting (automobile)|Cutting]], Standard Electric, Duck, Briscoe, Argo, Hollier, Hackett, Marion-Handly, Gem, Earl, Wolverine, and Kaiser-Darrin.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://yeolecarriageshop.com/id15.html|title = Ye Ole Carriage Shop|access-date = 2015-02-20|website = Jackson Cars|publisher = Y Ole Carriage Shop|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150403191346/http://yeolecarriageshop.com/id15.html|archive-date = April 3, 2015|df = mdy-all}}</ref> 
Ye Ole Carriage Shop in Spring Arbor displays more than 60 antique and classic cars, including five one-and-onlys and 16 made in Jackson. One of these is a 1902 JAXON. Today the auto parts industry remains one of the largest employers of skilled machine operators in Jackson County. The city was also an early site for the [[moped]] parts industry.

===Birthplace of the Coney Island hot dog===
In 1914 [[Macedonian Americans|Macedonian]] immigrant [[George Todoroff]] founded the first [[Coney Island (restaurant)|"Coney Island restaurant"]] and created his famous [[Coney Island hot dog]] topping. His Coney Island restaurant was located directly in front of the railroad station on East Michigan Avenue and was open 24 hours. The restaurant proved to be a popular dining option for rail passengers. Over the course of 31 years, Todoroff sold more than 17 million Coney Island hot dogs. Today two Coney Island restaurants unaffiliated with Todoroff's are located in a building near the train station on East Michigan Avenue, Virginia Coney Island and Jackson Coney Island. In addition, several area restaurants throughout the Jackson area offer their own version of the Coney Island hot dog, or just "coney" as referred to by local residents. Jackson's version of the coney dog is distinctly different from those featured in Detroit-area Coney Island restaurants or other Coney Island restaurants throughout Michigan and the Midwest. In 2014 Todoroff's Coney Island celebrated its centenary.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.todoroffs.com/toci/Our_History/our_history_index.htm |title=Todoroff's® Original Coney Island — Treasure the Taste ! |access-date=2011-03-28 |archive-date=2011-07-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717065536/http://www.todoroffs.com/toci/Our_History/our_history_index.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== Michigan's first state prison (1838–1934) ===
The legislature authorized Michigan's first state prison in 1838. A temporary wooden prison, enclosed by a fence of tamarack poles, was built on 60 acres donated for that purpose inside the city limits of Jackson. In 1839 the first 35 prisoners were received. [[Michigan State Prison|A permanent prison]] was built three years later.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.michmarkers.com/startup.asp?startpage=S0178.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140107165208/http://www.michmarkers.com/startup.asp?startpage=S0178.htm|url-status=usurped|archive-date=January 7, 2014|title=Michigan Historical Markers|work=Michigan Markers}}</ref> Beginning in the 1850s, Warden [[H.F. Hatch]] placed more emphasis on the education and rehabilitation of prisoners. By 1882, Michigan's First State Prison (1838–1934) had developed as the largest walled prison in the world. Within its walls, the factories and surrounding farms, manned by cheap inmate labor, made Jackson one of the leading industrial cities in the nation. In 1934 a new prison was completed just north of Jackson's city limit in Blackman Township; it took all of the state prisoners.

The historic building is now used as an artists' resident community, known as the Armory Arts Village. Tours of the original prison site on Cooper Street are available through the [http://historicprisontours.com/ Original Jackson Historic Prison Tours]. A closed, fully intact cell block at the modern prison in Blackman Township was operated as the [http://www.cellblock7.org/ Cell Block 7 Prison Museum] from 2014-2019. Independently operated by the accredited [http://www.ellasharp.org/ Ella Sharp Museum], this was the only museum where visitors could enter a closed cell block on the grounds of an active prison for a self-guided tour.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.experiencejackson.com/prison|title = Jackson's Prison History|access-date = 2015-02-20|website = Experience Jackson}}</ref>

===Corset industry (1860s–1920s)===
{{Unreferenced section|date=February 2024}}
Numerous railroad connections were constructed to Jackson, connecting it to many markets. The local invention of the duplex [[corset]] by Bortree helped make Jackson a center of corset manufacturing. By the early 20th century, as many as 16 manufacturers of women's corsets operated here; the majority of which were located on Cortland and Pearl streets. As elastics were adopted in manufacturing and fashions changed, the corset industry quickly declined. The majority of the corset manufacturers in Jackson closed their doors by 1920. Only three of the original corset companies survived past the 1920s, by changing their production to therapeutic and prosthetic support garments and devices.

"The First"
Moses Bortree founded the Bortree Corset Company, the first corset manufacturer outside of New York, in 1868 at 112 W. Cortland. Founded to make crinoline skirts and bustles (hoop skirts!), they began manufacturing Bortree's newest creation, the Duplex Corset, in 1875. Within five years, production rose from 50,000 to 300,000 corsets per year.

"The Biggest"
Founded in 1884, the Jackson Corset Co. became the largest manufacturer of corset and waist garments in the US. Located at 209-215 W. Cortland St., they employed almost 300 people by 1895.

"Woman-Owned"
The Coronet Corset Manufactory opened in 1880 at 146 W. Main St. and later moved to 131-133 W. Pearl St. Coronet had the distinction of being run by the first and only female president, Mrs. C.A. McGee, who invented and patented the Coronet Corset.