Jackson (HBO series)

Jackson is a major location in HBO's The Last of Us. It is an isolated, independent settlement governed by an elected council with a moderately-sized population of over a few hundred people, located in western .HBO's The Last of Us episode 6: "Kin"
== History ==
=== Background ===
Located on the west side of the Yellowstone River, Jackson was once a thriving town but was abandoned after the . Given its isolation from the cities, cold winters, and placement in the countryside, hordes never populated the area. As such, around 2016, and her group of s took over the area. It gradually expanded into a functioning, self-sufficient community built on friendly collaboration, coordinated leadership, and sharing supplies. By 2023, it was home to around 300 people, including children and elderly citizens, and had working electricity supplied by a nearby hydroelectric dam. joined the community before this time, eventually marrying Maria.
To ensure the new settlement survived, a governing council was created with publicly elected members, of which Maria was one. The town functioned like a self-reliant, pre-apocalypse community, with people working jobs, running services like schools, stores, and bars, and a mess hall serving meals and showing movies for residents. They would even allow people of all personal faiths to harmoniously worship and celebrate with each other, including public holidays like Christmas. Work duty rosters were created to ensure people shared the burdens of surviving in the area, such as constructing houses and other new buildings, growing food and taking care of the domesticated animals on the farms, or conducting armed patrols of the surrounding area on horseback. The community faced some threats from raiders and infected, but Tommy and Maria insisted these threats were of minimal concern, and easy to manage.
The patrolmen in particular worked to create a reputation for themselves as aggressive hostiles who slaughtered any who wandered into their area. Masked and armed with rifles, they would surround survivors wandering the area and check them with dogs, who would kill the survivors if they sensed they were infected with Cordyceps. They would even sometimes leave mauled bodies out in the open for other survivors to see, leading those in the surrounding area to deem the river too dangerous to cross for fear of meeting them. However, if survivors passed this inspection check and proved they were not hostile, they would be allowed access to the community. Despite this admittance, their weapons would be taken from them to ensure no violence could occur in the town. This drive to keep hostile forces away led them to become isolationist. Maria insisted radio contact be ended, and only those their patrolmen scouted could be brought into the community.
== Government ==
Jackson's government operates as an autonomous, decentralized, isolationist commune. The community refuses to engage with the outside world to protect themselves from unknown threats and ensure survival. However, they allow in outsiders who prove they mean no harm. Tolerance and respect for other people's different religious faiths and personal beliefs are also present in their multi-faith, universalist church. 
The community does not have a singular leader and instead has a democratically elected council that governs the town. Resources such as livestock, agriculture, and other materials are publicly owned and controlled through self-managed collective ownership rather than any hierarchical management. Items like tools and other personal property are equally distributed among the community. While there does not seem to be a consensus on any specific political philosophy, (an elected member of the council) describes the town's society as practicing , referring to the town as a "commune".
== Known inhabitants ==
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* 
* 
== Gallery ==
=== Official stills ===
S1 E6 Maria 2.jpg|Maria, a member of the Jackson council.
S1E6 Joel and Ellie 5.jpg|The Jackson patrolmen surround Joel and Ellie.
S1E6 Joel Tommy Maria Ellie 1.jpg|A herd of sheep in Jackson.
S1E6 Joel and Tommy 4.jpg|Joel and Tommy in the Jackson workshop.
S1E6 Joel Tommy Maria Ellie 3.jpg|The mess hall in Jackson.
S1E6 Ellie 3.jpg|Children watching a film in the mess hall.
== References ==
Category:HBO's The Last of Us locations