Under the Oaks Park

Site of the 1854 founding convention of the Republican Party

Under the Oaks is a small triangular city park at the corner of West Franklin and Second Streets, marked by a large boulder and a state historical plaque. There is not much else to see — the original grove was cleared long ago — but the spot is recognised as the birthplace of the Republican Party, founded here in July 1854 at an open-air anti-slavery convention.

A short walk from the downtown business district, the park makes a useful stop on a walking tour of historic downtown Jackson.

things to do sight
A story
On 6 July 1854, around 10,000 anti-slavery activists met in this Jackson grove because the local hall was too small to hold them. The platform they adopted gave the new Republican Party its founding policy: opposition to the extension of slavery into the western territories. Abraham Lincoln joined the party four years later.