[1][2] Its county seat is Murphysboro,[3] and its most populous city is Carbondale, home to the main campus of Southern Illinois University.

It was not until the 18th and 19th century when pioneer farmers began to settle in the area's inexpensive land along the Mississippi River and in the forested Shawnee hills with its one-hundred-foot trees.

As early as 1810 William Boone and his indentured servant Peter mined coal from the banks along Big Muddy River.

By 1813, Conrad Will, namesake of Will County, conducted a large salt extraction operation using slave labor on the banks of the Big Muddy River, south of today's Murphysboro.

Murphysboro, located on land owned by Dr. John and Elizabeth (Jenkins) Logan, became the second county seat in September 1843.

During his residence in Carbondale, he took part in a Memorial Day observation at that city's Woodlawn Cemetery.

[5] On March 18, 1925, the great Tri-State Tornado ripped through Jackson County, leaving devastation in its path.

The current reinforced concrete courthouse, completed in 1928, replaced earlier brick structures.

The first coal mine in Illinois was opened on the south bank of the Big Muddy River near the present-day Route 127 Bridge.

A rapidly developing city, it is part of the Metro Lakeland area consisting mainly of the major communities of Carbondale, Marion, Herrin, and Carterville.

Jackson County has had a distinctive political history owing to the combination of its typically “Southern” Southern Illinois culture combined with the presence in recent times of a strong student voter population in Carbondale.