02/09/2025
Happy birthday, Jacksonville!
By Chad Boehlke
The Source Newspaper
As described by early settlers, our city started in a grand prairie full of tall grass, flowers and a few trees, with a narrow dirt road atop a ridge between Springfield and Naples. The area near Jacksonville was a vast boneyard where Native Americans hunted and killed thousands of buffaloes. Some early settlers recall the eerie howls of wolves at their cabin doors.
It was in January of 1825 that the state lawmakers appointed three Morgan County residents, John Howard, John Lusk and Abraham Pickett, to select an 80-acre site in Morgan County for the county seat, as “near as possible to the center of the territory, having a due regard to the present and future population.” After the future site of the county seat was selected at Township 15 North, Range 10 West, between sections 20 and 21, John Shelton was hired to lay out the new town.
Johnston Shelton, a key figure in our city’s history, laid out Jacksonville’s city lots and streets on March 10, 1825. He first measured out five acres of what will be the town square. Next, Shelton measured the two main streets 60 feet wide. The dirt road that went east and west became State Street. He then laid out a north-south street called Main Street, also termed the St. Louis Road. Once the two main streets were laid out, next came the town lots. Jacksonville had 180 lots that were 180 feet long and 60 feet wide. Besides the full-size lots, 36 lots were 90 feet wide and 18 feet long.
Besides the two main roads, Johnston Shelton laid out nine roads and eight alleys within the town’s limits. The original streets were North (now Douglas), Court, Morgan and South Street. South Street at first changed to College Avenue, then to Beecher Street, West, Sandy, Main and Mauvaisterre. Most alleys, such as A, B, C and D, are still in use. Water is still an alley. Timber is now Reid, Jordan Alley is now a street, and Diamond is no longer an alley. These changes in street names reflect our city’s evolving identity and growth over the years, a testament to the city’s dynamic nature.
In his book, “Historic Morgan and Classic Jacksonville,” written in 1885, Charles Eames tells the story of how Jacksonville got its name:
“There are several stories as to the origin of the name of our city, but the most generally accepted one is that it was named after and in honor of ‘Old Hickory’ — Gen. Andrew Jackson — the hero of that day. The other generally circulated tale is that it was named directly after [an African American] boy, the first [African American person] ever seen in the county — a slave at the time, of Thomas P. Clark. This boy is living here today and preaching the Gospel, being no other than the venerable Rev. A. W. Jackson, who informs us that when a boy he was living with a man named Clark, about ten miles west of the city, and was sent to some parties located near Diamond Grove to get some seed corn. Losing his way, he wandered across the unbroken prairie until he reached a spot about where the Dunlap House now stands. Here, he saves some men, evidently surveyors, driving stakes among the grass and inquires of them the way. They gave him the desired information and then asked him how he, a colored boy, happened to be there. He told them, whereupon they inquired his name and were told it was A. W. Jackson. They remarked that Jackson, or Jacksonville, would be a good name for the place they were laying out. They said to him: ‘Young man, we have entered this land and are staking of lots for a town which we are going to name after you; do you understand?’ He replied that he did, little thinking that he would live here sixty years after and see such great changes.”
Before Shelton surveyed Jacksonville, two land speculators, Thomas Arnett and Issac Dial, learned about Jacksonville becoming the county seat. Thus, the two of them purchased the proposed town property for $1.25 per acre. As part of the land sale, about 20 acres of land, such as the town square, went to the local government. The two men sold off the town lots to new settlers seeking to build businesses in the young town of Jacksonville.
One of these early businesses on the square was the partnership of Hackett and Fairfield, a testament to the city’s early entrepreneurial spirit. Another was the barber shop of Mr. Ball, a free person, highlighting the city’s diverse population even in its early days. At first, the town lots on the square sold slowly; however, once weekly mail service came to Jacksonville in 1826, the sales of town lots picked up, marking a turning point in the city’s economic growth.
These early businesses on the square started in log buildings that lined the square. Soon, these log buildings were replaced by frame buildings, a sign of the city’s growth and progress. These frame buildings, in turn, were later replaced by larger brick structures, which marked a significant milestone in our city’s development. The earliest brick structure was erected in 1828 by John P. Wilkinson on the south side of the square.
So, who was Johnston Shelton? Shelton was born February 16, 1788, in Stokes County, North Carolina. He married Sarah, sometimes called Sally, Fergerson on October 13, 1811. Together, they had 10 children, most born in Morgan County. Shelton came to Morgan County in 1821. By 1827, the Shelton family became chartered members of the South Fork of Mauvaisterre Primitive Baptist Church and purchased 80 acres on November 29, 1827, roughly between Loami and Union Baptist roads.
Besides laying out Jacksonville, Shelton surveyed Cass County towns, Virginia and Monroe in 1836. By 1848, Johnston Shelton and his family moved to Caldwell County, Texas, to farm. He died on August 4, 1860, in Bell County, Texas.
The original survey and land deed of Jacksonville are in the Records of Deeds office of the Morgan County Courthouse.
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