ABOUT US
The Jackson Purchase Resource Conservation and Development Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, non-governmental corporation serving Ballard, Calloway, Carlisle, Fulton, Graves, Hickman, Marshall, and McCracken.  All contributions are fully tax deductible under the US Internal Revenue Code.

OUR VISION
Sustainable development in harmony with our environment.

OUR MISSION
Join with others to strengthen our community through measurable and sustainable means for the benefit of all.

OUR GOALS
Sustain our Natural Resources
Improve the Quality of Life
Enhance Economic Vitality

OUR FIELDS OF INTEREST
Land Conservation
Land Management
Water Management
Community Development

OUR SERVICES
Project Planning and Partnership Development
Grant Writing and Administration

OUR SERVICE AREA

OUR HISTORY
The first actions to establish the Jackson Purchase Resource Conservation and Development Foundation, Inc. were taken in the fall of 1994.  At the time, there were 243 designated RC&D areas in the United States, ten of which were in Kentucky. The first official Board of Directors meeting was held November 30, 1994.  The Foundation was incorporated December 2, 1994. An application was submitted to the IRS for nonprofit community foundation status as a 501(c)(3) and the nonprofit status awarded in April 1995.  The United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service assigned an RC&D Coordinator in October 1995 to assist the Foundation in its natural resource conservation efforts and community development activities.

The Application to the Secretary for official RC&D area status was originally submitted April 19, 1995.  A revised application was submitted on September 30, 1997.  The Jackson Purchase was designated as an official Resource Conservation and Development Area by the Secretary of Agriculture on March 17, 1998.

There are currently 375 designated RC&D areas and 35 applicant areas across the United States.  The state of Kentucky is now covered by 14 authorized areas.  The Jackson Purchase Resource Conservation and Development Foundation, Inc. is a nonprofit, non-governmental corporation serving the Kentucky counties of Ballard, Calloway, Carlisle, Fulton, Graves, Hickman, Marshall, and McCracken.

In 2005, the Foundation was accepted into the Circle of Diamonds Program, a program through the National Associations of RC&D Councils, that is designed to highlight those RC&D Councils that show exemplary public accountability and have produced high quality programs within their local community.  This mark of excellence will assist the Foundation in showcasing itself to the Jackson Purchase communities, other Councils, and the Nation.

WHERE DO WE GET THE NAME JACKSON PURCHASE?
The Jackson Purchase was a historic event before it became a region. The transaction involved prolonged negotiations culminating in a treaty between agents of the United States and those of the Chickasaw Indian Nation. Representing the United States were the aging Isaac Shelby, Revolutionary War hero and twice Kentucky governor, and General Andrew Jackson, hero of the Battle of New Orleans and later president. The Chickasaws were represented by their chiefs, head men and warriors including Levi and George Colbert, Chinubby (the Boy King), and Tishomingo. The two sides signed the treaty in northwestern Mississippi on October 19, 1818; it was ratified by the United States Senate and confirmed by President James Monroe on January 7, 1819.

In return for the relinquishments of all lands east of the Mississippi River and north of the Mississippi state line, the Chickasaws received $300,000 at the rate of $20,000 annually for fifteen years. The states of Kentucky and Tennessee, neither of which had previously extended beyond the Tennessee River, were enlarged by approximately 2,000 and 6,000 square miles respectively. The Kentucky addition became known as the Jackson Purchase, the larger Tennessee portion as West Tennessee.