Jackson, city, seat of Jackson County, southern Michigan, on the Grand River; incorporated as a city 1857. It is a commercial and manufacturing center in an agricultural area. Major manufactures include transportation equipment, nonelectric machinery, metal products, and tires. Jackson is the site of a community college; the Ella Sharp Museum, with several restored 19th-century buildings; the Cascades, an illuminated artificial waterfall; the Michigan Space Center, a museum of space travel; and automobile and Standardbred horse racetracks. The community, settled in 1829, is named for President Andrew Jackson. On July 6, 1854, the first state convention of the Republican Party was held here. Population 39,739 (1980); 37,446 (1990); 36,316 (2000).
