The city of Jacksonville is a great place to live, work and raise a family. With its revitalization efforts, park improvements and other ongoing projects, Jacksonville offers a welcoming environment where there is much to be explored and experienced.
THE CITY OF
JACKSONVILLE
The city of Jacksonville is a great place to live, work and raise a family. With its revitalization efforts, park improvements and other ongoing projects, Jacksonville offers a welcoming environment where there is much to be explored and experienced.
Items of Interest
• Concrete Tomatoes:
A visitor to Jacksonville is sure to notice the many concrete tomatoes at businesses, parks, churches and even residences. These tomatoes, sold by the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, celebrate the city’ s history as the“ Tomato Capital of the World.” Take a drive through town and see the creative ways in which the concrete tomatoes are painted to reflect the individual businesses that have them.
• Downtown Murals: A variety of murals can be viewed throughout downtown Jacksonville. Whether they invite you into a specific business, reflect a specific culture or simply celebrate Jacksonville, the murals add beauty and charm to the brick and mortar landscape. Take a tour through downtown and see how many you can find.
• Killough Monument: A memorial to those slain in‘ The Killough Massacre’ is located in northwestern Cherokee County, near the site of the Larissa community. The stone obelisk, standing approximately 30 feet tall, honors the 18 members of the Killough family that were killed or kidnapped Oct. 5, 1838, supposedly by a group of Native Americans. The memorial was erected in the late 1930s by the Works Project Administration and a state historical marker was dedicated there in 1965.
• World’ s Largest Salsa Bowl: On the west wall of the Chamber of Commerce, located at 307 E. Commerce, is a mural containing half of the“ World’ s Largest Salsa Bowl.” The record – 2,672 pounds – was secured during Jacksonville’ s 25th annual Tomato Fest in June of 2010. Don’ t miss this tribute to Jacksonville’ s accomplishment.
Places to Visit
• Historic Tomato Bowl:
Jacksonville’ s Historic Tomato Bowl was built under the Federal Works Progress Administration in 1940. Renovations provided desperately needed improvements, modernizing the stadium in 2018-2019. In 2019, the Tomato Bowl was voted as Best Public Improvement for a city under 50,000 population by the Texas Downtown Association. In 2025, the stadium emerged as the No. 1 High School Football Stadium in Dave Campbell’ s Texas Football. The venue has more than an 8,300-seat capacity and is home to Fighting Indian football and soccer.
• Love’ s Lookout: Love’ s Lookout is more than just a roadside rest stop offering restrooms and picnic tables. Love’ s Lookout has a visitor’ s center providing information about Jacksonville’ s history, events and attractions. You won’ t want to miss the panoramic view of the surrounding landscape – stretching up to 30 miles on a clear day – that is offered at the lookout.
• Vanishing Texana Museum: The Vanishing Texana Museum, open from 11 a. m. to 4 p. m.
Thursday through Saturday, has a collection of approximately 7,000 items, with about 2,500 on rotating display. Many of the items are artifacts representing local and area history and have been donated by local residents. Much of the museum has recently been renovated, so now is the time to visit.
16 | Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce | www. jacksonvilletexas. com | 903-586-2217