Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Jacksonville

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Jacksonville

Jacksonville’s post office opened in 1884, and 67% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 6 old photos and papers from 1850 on.

1884first post office
0on the National Register
67%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Jacksonville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Jacksonville began

When was Jacksonville founded?

1884

The Jacksonville post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 400142 years
Founding year: the first Jacksonville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Jacksonville’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Old housesHalf of Jacksonville’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · The story

How Jacksonville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Jacksonville.

Read it all →

Jacksonville was laid out in 1879 by Oliver D. Jackson, for whom the village is named. A post office began operating in 1884 and continues to serve the community today.

During its early years, the village grew around coal mining and small‑business enterprises. Many residents commuted along nearby Sunday Creek, which supported several mines in the area.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Jacksonville, 1850 to 1947

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Ohio - Athens County - ED 5-25, ED 5-26, …
  3. 1884Post officeThe Jacksonville post office opens
  4. 1898Born hereHerrick L. Johnston is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900In the archiveJacksonville Baseball Club, Athens County, Ohio, 1900 - DPLA - ee36172418e0bd058e80cb95d5…
  7. 1938In the archiveRange Book v. 21- Range 14, Town 11 (Trimble Township, Athens County, Ohio) - DPLA - 1e1e…
  8. 1947In the archiveAthens County, Ohio
By decade

Jacksonville, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1850s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s1 item
1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Ohio - Athens County - ED 5-25, ED 5-26, ED 5-27, ED 5-28, ED 5-2918501940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Ohio …
1900s–1940s5 items
Jacksonville Baseball Club, Athens County, Ohio, 1900 - DPLA - ee36172418e0bd058e80cb95d52e9a31 (page 1)1900Jacksonville Baseball Club, Athens County, Ohio, 1900…Jacksonville Baseball Club, Athens County, Ohio, 1900 - DPLA - ee36172418e0bd058e80cb95d52e9a31 (page 2)1900Jacksonville Baseball Club, Athens County, Ohio, 1900…Range Book v. 21- Range 14, Town 11 (Trimble Township, Athens County, Ohio) - DPLA - 1e1eb2af6fc2729e855d4507f47302d8 (…1938–1947Range Book v. 21- Range 14, Town 11 (Trimble Township…Range Book v. 21- Range 14, Town 11 (Trimble Township, Athens County, Ohio) - DPLA - 1e1eb2af6fc2729e855d4507f47302d8 (…1938–1947Range Book v. 21- Range 14, Town 11 (Trimble Township…Athens County, Ohio1947Athens County, Ohio
1950s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Ohio - Athens County - ED 5-25, ED 5-26, ED 5-27, ED 5-28, ED 5-29
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Ohio - Athens County - ED 5-25, ED 5-26, ED 5-27, ED 5-28, ED 5-29, 1850

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Jacksonville’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Help out

Finish Jacksonville’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Descri…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

TrimbleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Jacksonville’s history

What year was Jacksonville founded?

The Jacksonville post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.