The Jackson post office opened in 1823, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Jackson Court House (1816), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 136 in 18302020 census: 6,252203 years
How historic is Jackson?
A−
More historic than 80% 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 80% of U.S. towns, #316 of 993 in Ohio. 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.
Ohio towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Ohio town has 2.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Jackson’s 1.6 sits near the middle of its state (51% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.2 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.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
Established in 1817, residents named the town after Andrew Jackson, a hero of the War of 1812, and an eventual president of the United States. The community grew slowly, having only 297 inhabitants in 1840. In 1846, Jackson had four churches, about seven stores, and a single newspaper office. Over the next 40 years, the town grew quickly, attaining a population of 3,021 people in 1880. By 1880, two railroad lines passed through the community, helping to spur economic and population growth. In 1886, two newspaper offices, eight churches, and two banks existed in Jackson. The largest businesses in the town were the Star Furnace Company and the Globe Iron Company, with 30 employees apiece. Both firms used local coal and iron ore deposits to make iron products.
In 1828, Jackson and Pike were put together again and given one Representative. Alexander Miller, of Jackson, was given the first term. John Barnes, of Pike, was elected in 1820 and 1830, Robert Lucas, of Pike, in 1831, Geoge Burris, of Jackson, in 1832, Barnes again in 1833, John Burnside, of Jackson, in 1834, and David Mitchell, of Jackson, in 1835.
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The family tree of John Jones (Tirbach)1929 · page 59Read the page →
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neighbors, John Horton, Adam Welker, James Lewis, Thomas Buck, James Adkins, Benjamin and Elijah Duiany, Thomas Oliver, Nimrod Arthur, Hick¬ man Powers, William Callahan and George Radabaugh. In the year the Welsh settlers came Jackson County polled only 309 votes, surveyors were at that time platting and laying out the town of Jackson and not until next year was there a person buried in its oldest cemetery.
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The family tree of John Jones (Tirbach)1929 · page 41Read the page →
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Their land, at this time, was in Raccoon Township except the farm of Lewis Davis. The county line lay between his and the land of Evan Evans, thus giving Lewis Davis the distinction of being the first Welshman to settle in Jackson County. A few years later two tiers of sections of Western Gallia were added to Jackson, thus they all became citizens of Madison Township, Jackson County.
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Resolved, by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That Joseph Armstrong of Jackson county be, and he is, hereby appointed director of the town of Jackson, in said county. Januarv 27, 1817.
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, 1816 to 1935
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Jackson post office opened in 1823, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Jackson rank for history?
Jackson is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #316 of 993 in Ohio. 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?
One place: the Gibson House (listed 1985).
How old are the homes in Jackson?
25% of Jackson’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.2 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1959.
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 Wikimedia Commons (18), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
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