The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut, on 24 January 1972 and her keel was laid down on 21 February 1976.

In 1988, Jacksonville participated in a shock trials test program for Los Angeles-class submarines, which was followed by a three-year major modernization overhaul in Norfolk Naval Shipyard.

[8] On 20 December 2004 a small fire broke out aboard Jacksonville while she was undergoing a refueling overhaul at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

The fire was immediately extinguished and the reactor was never in danger, though a shipyard firefighter and a sailor were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation.

This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register as well as various press releases and news stories.