The story
Read it all →How Jackson Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Jackson Township.
Jackson Township was named for Col. John Jackson, a pioneer settler.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
BHistory
History · Jackson Township
Jackson Township’s post office opened in 1840, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 58% of U.S. towns · #339 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Below: maps from 1951 on and old-book passages.
1840first post office
0on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Jackson Township began
When was Jackson Township founded?
1840
The Jackson Township post office opened in 1840, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Jackson (1840), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 4,996186 years
How historic is Jackson Township?
B
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 58% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Jackson Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Jackson Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Jackson Township is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #339 of 593 in Indiana. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Jackson Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1840, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194018.0% of homes (±5.6) · typical IN town 14.4% · U.S. 8.4%B+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical IN town 7.9 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 58%
NewerOlder
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 43%
Indiana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Indiana town has 7.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Jackson Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (22% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.6 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Jackson Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Jackson Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Jackson Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Jackson Township, 1840 to 1951
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Jackson Township, 1915–1916
Passages that mention Jackson Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Jackson Township, Sullivan County, Indiana1915Read the page →
Read the text
Township practically all her life and has seen it change from a forest of heavy timber abounding with wild game to the Jackson Township of 1915. At that time there were no churches in the township and but one school house. This was made of logs and stood on the ground)
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A standard history of Elkhart County, Indiana1916 · page 63Read the page →
Read the text
John Jackson, who purchased of Elias Riggs and William Simpson their claims on Elkhart Prairie in Jackson Township, and these two men then moved across the line into what is now the southeast comer of Elkhart Township, and became, in all probability, the first settlers in the township where Goshen is now situated. Colonel Jackson had an interesting history, and was acquainted with this county long before he became an actual settler. He played a valiant part in the War of 1812 under General Harrison. After the British and
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A standard history of Elkhart County, Indiana1916 · page 69Read the page →
Read the text
Jackson Township of Today Jackson Township was the first township to be erected with limits as they are today. This is a full congressional township and as such is designated township 35 north, range 6 east. This organization for civil purposes was effected in November, 1833, and Col. John Jackson was chosen the first justice of the peace.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your albumOn the map
Jackson Township on the map, 1951 to 1981
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Jackson Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1951Milford sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Jackson Township.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Jackson Township
Nobody well known was born in Jackson Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
I
Ida Shepard OldroydAmerican conchologist, curator, and paleontolog… · b. 1856Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Another post office, Jackson, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Jackson
New Paris
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bainter TownNew Paris
1cemetery inside Jackson Township
Jackson
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Jackson Township’s history
What year was Jackson Township founded?
The Jackson Township post office opened in 1840, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Jackson Township rank for history?
Jackson Township is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #339 of 593 in Indiana. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Jackson Township?
18% of Jackson Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.6 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1983.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Start a conversation
Sources
Where this page comes from
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.