Jackson County, Indiana

Jackson County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

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Etymology - Origin of County Name

Named for General Andrew Jackson, hero of the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812 later becoming the 7th President of the United States.

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History

Jackson County was the fourteenth to be organized in the Territory of Indiana and was formed form Washington and Jefferson counties, the legislative act having been passed December 18, 1815. Jackson County was organized January 1, 1816. It was named for Andrew Jackson, who defeated the British in 1815 at the Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812, and later became President.

Jackson County is home to the second longest covered bridge in the United States. However, due to decades of neglect the bridge is on the verge of collapse and has been closed to pedestrian traffic. Another long neglected covered bridge, the Bells Ford Bridge, which was the last remaining Post Truss bridge in the world, succumbed to similar neglect, collapsing into the White River on January 2, 2006.

Because the Bell's Ford Bridge used a metal truss it was able to be largely salvaged, however, the Commissioner President Gary Darlage has been quoted as saying: "There is nothing left of the Bell Ford Bridge and I will not spend another tax dollar on it. Ninety percent of the people in this county think it is asinine to even consider rebuilding that bridge. By asking for any amount of money to be used on it, you are asking me to do something I don’t believe is right." Although it has been brought to Darlage's attention that federal funds could be used to restore the Bell's Ford Bridge, Darlage has refused to request federal funds, saying, "I guess I’m just not a historic person. The average taxpayer sees it as their tax money, even if it is federal money."

Jackson County is divided into 12 Civil Townships as follows: Brownstown, Carr, Driftwood, Grassy Fork, Hamilton, Jackson, Owen, Pershing, Redding, Salt Creek, Vernon and Washington.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 514 square miles (1,331 km²), of which 509 square miles (1,319 km²) is land and 4 square miles (12 km²) (0.86%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

Northeast: Bartholomew County; Jennings County
Southeast: Scott County
South: Washington County
West: Lawrence County
Northwest: Monroe County; Brown County

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County Resource Guide

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The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."

Penn Foster High School

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