Editing Jacksonville, Alabama (section)

==History==
Jacksonville was founded in July 20, 1833, on land purchased from [[Muscogee|Creek Indian]] Chief "Du-Hoag" Ladiga. First called Drayton,<ref>{{Citation|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-1971. NARA Microfilm Publication, M841, 145 rolls. Records of the Post Office Department, Record Group Number 28|publisher=[[National Archives and Records Administration|National Archives]]|place=Washington, D.C.}}</ref> the town was renamed to honor President [[Andrew Jackson]] in 1834. There are several  [[American Civil War|Civil War]] monuments in town, including a statue of Major [[John Pelham (officer)|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 until the 20th century when the county seat moved to [[Anniston, Alabama|Anniston]]. [[Jacksonville State University]] was founded in the city in 1883.

An EF3 tornado hit Jacksonville on [[March 20–22, 2018, nor'easter|March 19, 2018]], causing extensive damage to the city and the university of almost $42 million.<ref name=WTVM>{{cite news|url=http://www.wtvm.com/story/38116937/jacksonville-state-holds-first-graduation-following-tornado|title=Jacksonville State holds first graduation following tornado|last=Huddleston|first=John|work=WTVM|access-date=July 19, 2018}}</ref> The relatively low number of casualties &ndash;  just four injuries &ndash; was attributed by some to the fact that the university was on [[spring break]] at the time.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2018/04/09/jacksonville-state-university-releases-security-cam-videos-of-ef-3-tornado/?noredirect=on|title=Watch the horrible EF-3 tornado tear up Jacksonville State University in security cam video|last=Fritz|first=Angela|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=July 19, 2018}}</ref><ref name=WHNT>{{cite news|url=https://whnt.com/2018/04/09/classes-resume-at-jacksonville-state-university-after-tornado/|title=Classes resume at Jacksonville State University after tornado|last=Porter|first=Joel|work=WHNT|access-date=July 19, 2018}}</ref> More than 1,000 volunteers assisted in the immediate tornado relief.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.annistonstar.com/free/more-than-volunteers-pour-into-jacksonville-for-tornado-relief-work/article_bd48e7c2-2edc-11e8-8cb5-030ce95f0b39.html|title=More than 1,000 volunteers pour into Jacksonville for tornado relief work (updated with video)|last=McCreless|first=Patrick|work=The Anniston Star|access-date=July 19, 2018}}</ref> Caleb Howard, then a senior at Jacksonville State University, said that "[i]t's been amazing to see the university and the community come together." Classes resumed at the university the following month.<ref name=WHNT /> 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."<ref name=WTVM />