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 Wyoming.[1]
History[]
Background[]
Located on the west side of the Yellowstone River, Jackson was once a thriving town, but fell into abandonment after the Cordyceps brain infection outbreak. However, given its isolation from the cities, along with cold winters and its placement in the countryside, infected hordes never populated the area. As such, around 2016, Maria and her group of survivors took over the area and gradually expanded it into a functioning community built on collaboration and sharing supplies. By 2023, it was home to around 300 people, including children and elderly citizens, and had electricity supplied by a nearby hydroelectric dam. Tommy joined the community before this time, eventually marrying Maria.
To ensure the new settlement survived, a council was created with democratically-elected members, of which Maria was one. The town functioned like a pre-apocalypse community, with people working jobs, schools being created and a mess hall in the town that served meals and played movies for members to watch. They would even allow people of all faiths to celebrate, including Christmas. Rosters were created to ensure people shared the burdens of surviving in the area, whether that role was constructing new buildings, growing food on the farms, or conducting armed patrols of the surrounding area on horseback. The community did face some threats from raiders and infected, but Tommy and Maria insisted it was minimal 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. Indeed, 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, then 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.[1]
Government[]
The settlement of Jackson's administration is run as an autonomous, decentralized, isolationist commune, with the community refusing to actively engage with the outside world in the name of survival and to protect themselves from unknown threats. Although, they allow in outsiders should they prove they mean no harm. Tolerance for people of different faiths is also present in their multi-faith church.
The community does not have a singular leader and instead has a publicly elected council that governs the town. Resources such as livestock, agriculture, and other materials are collectively owned and controlled by self-managed, cooperative public ownership rather than any structured hierarchical management. While there does not seem to be any consensus on any specific political philosophy, Maria (an elected member of the council) describes the town's society as practicing communism, referring to the town as a "commune".[1]
Known inhabitants[]
- Maria Miller
- Shimmer (horse)
- Tommy Miller
Gallery[]
Official stills[]
