The Jackson post office opened in 1816, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Anaquasscook (1826), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 2,004 in 18202020 census: 1,723210 years
How historic is Jackson?
A
More historic than 87% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Jackson post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Jackson’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Jackson is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Jackson’s overall grade.
New York towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New York town has 12.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Jackson’s 41.3 sits above most of its state (66% of New York towns have fewer) while its 7 historic buildings outnumber those of 73% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.0 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’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The town was formed from part of the town of Cambridge in 1815. Cambridge Valley Livestock is the longest running business in the town.
In March 2010, the Town Board passed a law making English the only language to be used for town business and municipal work, and is considering a law making English the town's official language.
The Rexleigh Covered Bridge and Maxwell Farm are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Passages that mention Jackson, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Portrait and biographical album of Jackson County, Michigan1885 · page 766Read the page →
Read the text
Taylor found employment on the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad, and for a period of three years was identified with the railroadmen. He then returned to Jackson ami entered the employ of Dwight Merriman, for whom he did agricultural work for three and a half years. We next find him a resident of the city of Jackson, acting in the capacity of janitor of the Methodist Episcopal
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Portrait and biographical album of Jackson County, Michigan1885 · page 732Read the page →
Read the text
The northern counties were then poor and sparsely settled, and the then village of Jackson had about 15 per cent, of its present population, (in 1890) and less than that percentage of its present wealth.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Proceedings of the sesqui-centennial gathering of the descendants of Isaac and Ann Jackson1878 · page 35Read the page →
Read the text
There are others of whom I niight speak, if time would permit, besides General Andrew Jackson, who is supposed to have been a branch of the same family. The father of Andrew Jackson emigrated in 1765, from Carrickfergus, in Ireland, near which city Anthon}' Jackson settled in 1649, and I remember to have heard it said by some of our relatives, before Andrew Jackson became President, that he was descended from a brother of Richard and Anthonj' Jackson, and that the brother removed from England
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.
Timeline
Jackson, 1806 to 1895
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Jackson post office opened in 1816, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Jackson rank for history?
Jackson is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns. 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.
What is on the National Register in Jackson?
Two places: the Shushan Covered Bridge (listed 1978) and the Maxwell Farm (2012).
How old are the homes in Jackson?
25% of Jackson’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.0 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
