The Jackson is a small city and the county seat in Jackson County, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1829 and named for President Andrew Jackson, the area developed as a regional center of rail transport, manufacturing and civic institutions in southern Michigan. The city became an early automotive hub, producing parts and assembling more than twenty car brands before Detroit's rise, and it claims the 1914 Coney Hot Dog tradition through George Todoroff's long-running depot-front restaurant. Jackson also hosts Michigan's first state prison (1838), whose vast walled complex was integrated into the city's industrial economy through inmate-powered factories and farms. Politically, Jackson is one of the recognized birthplaces of the Republican Party, marked by the 1854 "Under the Oaks" convention. Today the city retains a dense collection of historic churches, civic buildings, and industrial sites, alongside its role as a major rail crossroads anchored by the Michigan Central Railroad Depot, the nation's oldest continuously operating train station. - AsNotedIn