The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1874-11-05
JACKSON y

JACKS SON
4 PFNCIL SKETCH OF THE TowN-THE PAS
IN CONTRAST WITH THE PRESENT-REvIE'
OF OUR PROMINENT BUSINESS INTERESTS
Sixty years ago the spirit of enterprise an
speculation were as active as now but the re
suits were not quite SO rapid or abundant, ow
ing, in the main, to the lack of ready modes G
INSTRUMENTATION between distant points
Men were very much the same then as now
and, undoubtedly, the pioneer was A. D. 1915
animated by nearly the same motives a
prompts the speculator in towns of the presen
day; that is, the ends to accomplish are, OF were
the same.
Origin of the Town.
Sixty years ago, what is now the enterprIsinl
village of Jackson was an unimproved waste
inhabited only by the wild beasts of the fores
and roaming bands of red men. Lordly tree
stood upon the sites of residences of to-day, ant
there was nothing here 'per Sc" to create o.
sustain a town. In the year 1917, commission
ers.were appointed by the State to select suit
able place for location of the seat OF justice fol
| Jackson county, which, by an act of the Legis
lature, had, short time previous, be n created
As far back as 1872, when Ohio belonged to the
General Government, salt was discovered in
| this vicinity, and furnaces were erected for its
manufacture; and when the survey of town
ships occurred, for the benefit of those locating
land, the township in which the salt works
| were. situated were reserved by the state, and
when the commissioners were appointed to eS-
tablish the county seat, they were instructed
to donate, in behalf of the State, a section OF
! this land to the county, to aid in the improve
| ment of the town, and for the erection of public
! buildings. And thus it that the Commits
| sioners selected the present site, and employed
| General Fletcher to survey and locate the orig
| inal plat Of Jackson-naming the town the
same the county, which received its name,
! if we have been rightly informed, in honor of
| General Andrew jackson, at that time the Ma
tion's hero.
Herein lies'the primal origin of our village.
In law, a town had been created in fact, there
was naught' but few rude cabins, a few huge
trees that had yielded to the woodman's ak,
the rest was a waste of almost endless wilder
ness.
Improvements.
And now, that the town county seat was
located, it became necessary to improve it. Ac-
cordingly sale of lots made by the Com
mis>ioners, and steps taken for the erection of
buildings.
Among the first or original settlers of this To-
cality, we will mention Mr.. John James, who
came here from Parkersburg, Virginia, in 1907.
In his family was John D. James, one of our
respected citizens OF to-day, and who was one
year of age at that time. Andrew Donnelly,
Elias Long, Daniel Hoffman, Abram Welsh
and Joseph Ross were also among the firsG 20
take up their abode in Jackson. A man by The
name of Runkel also came here at an early
day, and he, in company with Mr.. Hoffman,
started a store, the first in the place.
They were soon followed by Messrs. Offner
& Faulkner, and here was the first competition
in trade in jackson, and from these two insig
nificant establishments have sprung the sixty
odd business houses of to-day. Verify, their
progeny has been prolific.
The first hotel, or tavern, was kept by Abram
Welsh; but it was not one of the modern con-
Germs like those of the present day, where the
"Bldse' guest sits down to a dozen courses, but
an humble log structure in which the fare was
of a primitive character, where corn pones and
venison formed the staple diet.
The growth of the town, in early years, was
exceeding slow there were many annoyances
and incon veniences to submit to, there was no
market, no milling privileges, and there were,
in fact, few comforts to be obtained.
In 1920 small brick court house was erected
upon the site of the present building; previous
to that time the courts were held in private
dwellings, and the prisoners were secured by
tying them to stumps and trees. The court
house was a small structure, but answered the
purpose quite well until its destruction by fire
in the fall of 1860. There was little here in an
early day to encourage emigration; naturally
a somewhat rough and broken country, it did
not present the inducements to those possessed
of agricultural inclinatiOns that were offered
by many of our sister counties; and the result
was many came, and aftera short stay, became
discouraged and either returned to their old
homes, or sought some more favored locality.
But Notwithstanding all these drawbacks, the
town moved slowly, but surely, onward.
Churches were organized, the Methodist being
first, and those aUaunt courrieTS of the faith"
were followed by others. Merchants were at
tracted mechanics, and all the various classes
composing the integrals of towns; and, not
withstanding the unfavored locality, Jackson
became headquarters for trade for considera-
BILE distance around. The discovery of coal and
iron ore, in after years. the nucleus to great
er and more rapid growth and development,
the benefits of which were far more fully real
lied upon the completion of the Portsmouth
Branch of the Marietta & Cincinnati railroad.
From this date the real, earnest growth of the
town commenced. 1t not only gave to our
citizens the means of ingress and egress but
placed US upon the great plane of equality with
other towns. 1t furnished the means for the
utilization of the vast deposits of coal and iron
and was the great agent in the development
of what had heretofore been considered an al
most worthless waste of barren hills, into one
great State. 1t brought capital, and increased
population, and gave to the business interests
of the place renewed impetus of growth-fur-
niture for the manufacture of iron were estab-
lished, coal mines were opened and operated,
the rude cabins of an earlier day gave place to
more slightly structures, our stores multiplied
and business increased, and general spirit of
improvement was everywhere manifest Bet
ter than all, however, was the fact that Jack
son county contained within herself sustain
ing force. In her hills was that which con-
tributes largely to a nations wealth-her de-
posits of coal and iron were ineXhaustable-and
she was peopled with a hardy and industrious
race of men and women, who had their compe-
tences to acquire, and whose daily labor was a
labor of love. Every tree that was felled was
step toward prosperity. Every acre in cultiva
ton was guerdon of success, and SO these no.
BILE men and women toled on, creating for the
generation ofto-day an inheritance which time
shall not dim. This, then, in rude outline, has
been the history of Jackson. We have not
aimed, nor have we time or space, to give even
fragments of minute; we must ignore anec-
dotes and incidents, those particulars which go
to make up the warp and woof of history-nor
are the columns of a newspaper a suitable |
place for their preservation. Our sphere of ac- |
ton as Journalist, is very different from that |
of the historian.
jackson of To-Day.
But what is Jackson of to-day? we are asked
We answer, an enterprisiug and CROWN viii |
Iage of about three thousand inhabitants; a |
place whose appearance has nothing of the APP |
pearance of the speculative or ephemeral, |
substantial wel-built town. Situated upon |
rolling or undulating ground, and, although |
making 10 particular pretensions to beauty, it |
is nevertheless susceptible of being made at |
tractive in appearance. And we are glad to