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Jackson, Minnesota

6 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Jackson City. It lies in ZIP code area 56143. The Survey maps it on the Jackson quadrangle. 3,323 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,316 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Jackson within Jackson County

On record in Jackson

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 4 records

Population over time

2 figures

Jackson grew from 3,299 to 3,323 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20103,299
20203,323+24 (+1%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 surveys from 6 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

What happened here

An account from the chapter on Jackson city. The inset identifies its exact source book and publication year.

From An Illustrated History of Jackson County, Minnesota, published 1910 - Jackson City

Description

During the time these claims were being filed upon and before Jackson was. platted a few cabins were erected. On the east side of the river stood the old fort which had been erected by the soldiers after the massacre of 1862; the Joseph Thomas cabin, which had been erected by William T. Wheeler in 185G; and the cabin of Israel F.

Read the rest of this passage

In the county-history sources

11,327 words on this township

An Illustrated History of Jackson County, Minnesota, published 1910 names this settlement in its chapter on Jackson City. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

The population of Jackson, according to the census of 1905, was 1,776, but there has been an increase since that, and a census today would show a population of about 2,000. Jackson is one of the progressive and prosperous towns of southwestern Minnesota. All lines of business that are to be found in the towns of the agricultural communities of the upper Mississippi valley' are represented. It is noted for its schools, churches and social organizations, and in this respect it is the peer of any town of its size in the state.

Passage source: An Illustrated History of Jackson County, Minnesota, published 1910.

The location of Jackson, considered in its natural state, is one of unusual beauty ; southwestern Minnesota has not a more lovely spot. Here the Des Moines river forms a semi-circle, and on the hills and benches on either side of that stream is builded the city. On the east side are hills and bluffs, covered with a heavy growth of natural timber ; on the west side are a succession of benches. On the lower bench is the business part of the city, while on the higher ground of the next rise is the residence portion. The bluffs and hills surrounding protect the little city from the wintry winds of the prairies.

Passage source: An Illustrated History of Jackson County, Minnesota, published 1910.

In the summer season, when the beautiful natural parks that surround the town are clothed in emerald foliage, even he who has not the esthetical nature is moved. The lover of landscapes, as he stands upon one of the tree-crested hill tops of the east side and gazes upon the little city of Jackson, nestling in the valley and perched upon the sunny hillsides, with the sparkling water of the Des Moines flowing below him, sees a picture of beauty and is led to exclaim, ^TVTiat a beautiful sight V' In its natural state and with the embellishments added by the hands of man, Jackson stands at the present time as one of the prettiest little cities of a state distinguished for its pretty towns. Especi- ally i? one charmed with its loveliness in the summer. Then the broad avenues and parks are clothed in brightest green. Trees are evervwhere.

Passage source: An Illustrated History of Jackson County, Minnesota, published 1910.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Jackson City - it names this place 64 more 64 times.

Mines and quarries near this place

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Jackson: 1 producer. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Willett Pit and MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Jackson County

Storms near this place

60 of 62 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Jackson in 62 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 35 hail, 22 thunderstorm wind, 3 flash flood, 1 tornado. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
August 2004Thunderstorm WindJackson$50,000Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including a few trees blown down. One of the trees severely damaged a van when it fell, with several other vehicles receiving minor damage from wind blown debris. The winds damaged crops in the area, but the amount of crop damage was not known.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindJackson$10,000Thunderstorm winds caused extensive tree damage, with tree debris blocking several roads. Power lines were also damaged.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindJackson$10,000Thunderstorm winds blew down power lines.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindJackson$5,000Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including several trees blown down. Falling trees damaged two campers at Brown Park.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindJackson$5,000Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including trees of unknown size blown down. A camper was damaged by tree debris near Loon Lake.
July 1995Thunderstorm WindJackson$5,000Thunderstorm winds of unknown speed blew down several trees including one, two and one-half feet in diameter.
April 1998Thunderstorm WindJackson$5,000no account filed
August 2002Thunderstorm WindJackson$1,000Thunderstorm winds, measured by privately owned equipment, cracked windows in a house.
May 2023HailJackson-Occasional hail fell over a long period, at times reaching as large as penny to quarter size.
April 2022Thunderstorm WindJackson-Thunderstorm winds downed wrist-sized branches, with one 8-inch diameter tree trunk snapped.
May 2011HailJackson-Wind driven hail cracked windows.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindJackson-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including several trees blown down.
April 2010HailJackson-Hail covered the ground.
July 2007Thunderstorm WindJackson-Thunderstorm winds flattened corn and damaged a light pole.
April 2006Flash FloodJackson-Heavy rainfall of 2 to 4 inches caused flooding of the West Fork Des Moines River, and also caused lowland, basement, and street flooding.
August 2006Thunderstorm WindJackson-Thunderstorm winds caused widespread tree and crop damage, including 8 inch diameter trees blown down. The crop damage was most severe to corn, with soybean crops expected to show a greater recovery. The winds also caused a steel culvert, which was 50 feet long and 6 feet in diameter, to roll over a half mile.
June 2005Flash FloodJackson-Heavy rain caused flooding of numerous streets, stranding several vehicles.
May 2005Flash FloodJackson-Heavy rain caused a mudslide on Jackson County Road 23, with water and mud up to three feet deep.
September 2005Thunderstorm WindJackson-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including a few large trees blown down.
July 2002HailJackson-Large hail covered the ground and knocked small branches off of trees. The hail caused crop damage, but the amount of crop damage was not known.
July 2002Tornado (F0)Jackson-A tornado developed over open country and caused no reported damage before crossing into Martin County.
July 1995HailJackson-Hail wiped out over 640 acres of corn and beans in southwest Jackson County.
July 1995HailJackson-Hail caused undetermined crop damage.
June 1994HailJackson-A number of grain bins were blown over and many acres of crops were damaged by strong thrunderstorms winds and hail.
June 1994Thunderstorm WindJackson-A number of grain bins were blown over and many acres of crops were damaged by strong thrunderstorms winds and hail.
June 1994Thunderstorm WindJackson-A 240-foot-long pole building under construction was blown down as well as several trees. Steele County Meriden,17,1645CST,,,0,0,2,0,Thunderstorm Winds Powerful thunderstorm winds blew over a large shed, along with numerous power lines.
April 2025HailJackson-no account filed
May 2022HailJackson-no account filed
March 2022HailJackson-no account filed
August 2021HailJackson-no account filed
July 2019HailJackson-no account filed
July 2018HailJackson-no account filed
May 2018HailJackson-no account filed
September 2015HailJackson-no account filed
June 2014Thunderstorm WindJackson-no account filed
May 2011HailJackson-no account filed
May 2011HailJackson-no account filed
September 2007HailJackson-no account filed
April 2006FloodJackson-no account filed
June 2006HailJackson-no account filed
May 2005HailJackson-no account filed
August 2005HailJackson-no account filed
April 2004HailJackson-no account filed
April 2004HailJackson-no account filed
August 2004Thunderstorm WindJackson-no account filed
August 2003Thunderstorm WindJackson-no account filed
June 2002HailJackson-no account filed
July 2002HailJackson-no account filed
August 2002HailJackson-no account filed
August 2002HailJackson-no account filed
July 2002HailJackson-no account filed
June 2001Thunderstorm WindJackson-no account filed
June 2001HailJackson-no account filed
September 2001HailJackson-no account filed
May 1999HailJackson-no account filed
June 1998HailJackson-no account filed
June 1998HailJackson-no account filed
June 1998HailJackson-no account filed
October 1998HailJackson-no account filed
June 1997Thunderstorm WindJackson-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Jackson County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Alpha6.4 miles6
Petersburg7.3 miles6
Lakefield10.5 miles9
Bergen11.7 miles6
Rost16.3 miles8
Sioux Valley17.6 miles7
Wilder18.0 miles7
Okabena19.2 miles8

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on JacksonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1065531The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 645559. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.