JACKSON'S GROWTH HAS BECOME STEADY

Many Jackson residents probably conceive of expansive growth as a post 1970 phenomena in the city. Growth, however, has been steady and consistent over the years -- at least in population.

Jackson entered the last century a bustling little town of 1,685. The Cape Girardeau County seat, Jackson was a bee hive of activity and was already on the grow. During the next decade, the population rose 20 percent -- a figure that would be consistent with the entire century's growth. Jackson gained 420 souls, for a 1910 population of 2,105.

The aberration of the 20th century occurred between 1910 and 1920. In every other decade, Jackson gained at least 14.2 percent. Yet in the 1920 census, the city gained only nine residents -- a paltry 4.3 percent increase, to 2,114 citizens. This is puzzling and bears further investigation. Two possible explanations lie in World War I casualties and deaths during the great influenza epidemic of 1918-19. Growing numbers of decent jobs in cities like St. Louis and Flint, Michigan may also have siphoned off a few residents.

One other possibility is brought to light by a striking change in school enumeration figures. School-age children were enumerated each May. (During this period, all children ages 7-14 were required to attend school.) Between May, 1914 and May, 1922, the total number of school-age children in Jackson rose by just three -- 737 to 740, for a 0.4 percent rise.

The real statistic behind the statistic, though, leads to still more

unanswered questions. White children increased by 34 pupils (631 to 665), for a 5.1 percent increase. This basically matches the 1910-1920 city-wide figure of 4.3 percent growth. The number of black children, though, dropped by an alarming 29.2 percent. Where 106 black school-age children were counted in 1914, only 75 were on the 1922 enumeration. Just what happened to the Jackson school-age black population during this eight-year period is a mystery worth investigating; it would also be interesting to discover whether a similar drop on adult black residents occurred.

Growth picked back up during the Roaring Twenties. Population rose 14.2 percent, to 2,465 by 1930. The Depression did nothing to slow the growth of the town. Another 20.2 percent increase had boosted the city to a population of 3,113 by 1940. Poised on the brink of World War II, Jackson was quickly growing into a big little town.

The growth continued, with a 15.8 percent increased by 1950. As the Baby Boomers began showing up in record numbers, the growth exploded during the 1950s. A whopping 1,168 residents were added to the rolls between 1950 and 1960. The population shot up 24 percent, from 3,707 to 4,875.

After a more moderate 17.3 percent gain gave the city 5,896 residents in 1970, the city enjoyed its biggest decade to date. From 1970 until 1980, the population ballooned by 24.7 percent. It rose from 5,896 in 1970, to 7,827 in 1980 -- a gain of 1,931 people, or more than Jackson's entire 1900 population.

The city grew explosively in size as well as in population during these years. The size of the city more than doubled, from 2,087 acres in 1970, to 4,330 acres in 1979.

Growth leveled off a tad during the 1980s, with a 15.4 percent increase moving the figure to 9,256 for the 1990 census. Where the 2000 figure will wind up is the subject of wide speculation. If Jackson maintains its 60-year average of 19.5 percent growth per decade, the figure would be just over 11,000.

Note: This is the first of an ongoing series, examining Jackson's historic and recent growth and its effects on various aspects of community life.