Jackson County, Ohio

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

County Seat: Jackson
Year Organized: 1816
Square Miles: 420

Court House:

275 Portsmouth Street
County Courthouse
Jackson, OH 45640-1750

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Residents named the county in honor of Andrew Jackson, a hero of the War of 1812. Jackson also eventually became president of the United States.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

On January 12, 1816, the Ohio government authorized the creation of Jackson County. Residents named the county in honor of Andrew Jackson, a hero of the War of 1812. Jackson also eventually became president of the United States. Most of Jackson County’s early residents were Welsh migrants.

Jackson County is located in southeastern Ohio. It is predominantly rural, with less than two percent of the county’s 420 square miles consisting of urban areas. The county seat is Jackson. With a population of 6,184 people, Jackson was the county’s largest community in 2000. Unlike many of Ohio’s more rural counties, Jackson County experienced a significant increase in population—roughly eight percent—between 1990 and 2000, raising the total number of residents to 32,641 people. The county averages almost seventy-eight people per square mile.

The largest employers in Jackson County are manufacturing businesses, with retail positions and farming almost tied for a distant second. The county is best known for its abundant apple orchards and hosts an apple festival every year. During the early to mid-nineteenth century, county residents earned money through coal mining, iron production, and salt processing. In 1999, the per capita income in the county was 18,628 dollars, with 16.4 percent of the people living in poverty.

Most voters in Jackson County claim to be independents, yet in recent years, they have supported Republican Party candidates at the national level. Ohio Governor James A. Rhodes was born in Jackson County.

Sources

Jackson County, Ohio History Central, July 24, 2008,

http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=1949&nm=Jackson-County

Neighboring Counties:

Vinton County (north)
Gallia County (east)
Lawrence County (south)
Scioto County (southwest)
Pike County (west)
Ross County (northwest)

Cities and Towns:

- Bloomfield	township
- Coal	township
- Coalton	village	Incorporated Area
- Jackson (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Liberty	township
- Lick	township
- Milton	township
- Oak Hill	village	Incorporated Area
- Scioto	township
- Wellston	city	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resource Guide

Counties: US Map

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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