Jackson Township, Brown County

How Jackson Township, Brown County began

Jackson Township was set off from the southern part of Eagle Township by the Brown County Commissioners on June 20, 1823, in the eastern part of the county bordering Adams County. Stephen Reynolds, a New York native, was its first settler, arriving in 1801 and locating south of the later village of Carlisle, which John Anderson and John Anderson, Jr. laid out in 1834 on the Ripley & Hillsboro pike.

Settled 1801, incorporated 1823-06-20, by Brown County Commissioners, from the southern part of Eagle Township.

Where the name comes from

No documented source for the township's name was found; likely named for Andrew Jackson, as with many Ohio townships organized in this era, though no Jackson-specific source confirms it.

Before the town

No Native American village, mound or trail specific to Jackson Township is recorded in the sources checked. The township lies within the 1795 Treaty of Greenville cession and the Virginia Military District.

Nations recorded here: Shawnee, Miami.

Timeline

1. 1792-02-22 — Arthur Fox, district surveyor, surveys the township's largest military tract, Survey No. 700 of 4,000 acres for Thomas Fox; the whole township lies in the Virginia Military District and was entered on military warrants.
2. 1801 — Stephen Reynolds, a native of New York State, becomes the township's first settler, locating about half a mile south of the later village of Carlisle; he remains there until his death in August 1842.
3. 1803 — John Glendening, a Scot who had lived in Virginia, settles on over 100 acres in the western part of the township with nine children; his daughter Elenor later marries James Inskeep.
4. 1805 — James Inskeep emigrates from Virginia and settles in the township, where he remains until his death.
5. 1815-1816 — A Methodist class of thirteen members organizes in the Mahappy neighborhood in the township's western part; by 1819 it unites with a class from Ash Ridge to form White Oak Station, later called Ash Ridge Church.
6. 1817 — A small three-cornered schoolhouse is built on the branch of the creek above James McNown's residence, believed to be the township's first schoolhouse.
7. 1819 — The Mahappy-neighborhood and Ash Ridge Methodist classes unite as White Oak Station; about 1824 the neighborhood builds a log church on ground obtained from Samuel Evans.
8. 1820 — A schoolhouse is built in the eastern part of the township on Eagle Creek, where Isaac Gantz is the first teacher.
9. 1823-06-20 — The County Commissioners set off Jackson Township from the part of Eagle Township lying south of the extended Franklin-Washington township line.
10. 1823-07-19 — The first township election is held at Stephen Reynolds's house; Edward Francis, William Greathouse and John Wright are elected trustees.
11. 1834 — John Anderson and John Anderson, Jr. lay out the town of Carlisle on May 30, with the plat recorded June 16; its post office is established soon after as Ash Ridge.
12. 1835 — John Francis donates a half acre, and the Mount Olivet Methodist society, an outgrowth of meetings begun about 1832, builds a small log church on it.
13. 1853 — A tavern opens on Main street in Carlisle, run by Samuel Mitchell for several years; a saw mill is built south of the town in 1854, and a carding and fulling mill built before 1850 by David Ross is later burned and rebuilt.
14. 1856 — The Ash Ridge Methodist society leaves its old log church and builds a one-story frame church in Carlisle for $1,100.
15. 1861 — About the start of the Civil War about fifty members break away from the Ash Ridge church to form an independent Christian Union Church, taking over the abandoned log building.
16. 1871-05-10 — Ash Ridge Lodge No. 492, I.O.O.F., is chartered at Carlisle and instituted on August 19 with ten charter members; in 1875 it builds a second story for its hall at a cost of $700.
17. 1880 — The census counts 966 people in the township; its 16,989 acres are assessed at $238,474 and it has six school districts with 229 pupils enrolled.
18. 2020 — The census counts 1,738 people in Jackson Township.

Stories

James Inskeep drowns fording Eagle Creek

James Inskeep, born in New Jersey in 1766, settled in Jackson Township in 1805 and raised eleven children with his second wife, Elenor Glendening. On May 24, 1824, returning from court in West Union, he attempted to ford Eagle Creek on horseback while it was swollen by recent rains. He was thrown from his horse and drowned. His widow survived him until 1861, and his sons remained prominent in the township, one of whom -- Fountain Inskeep -- later served repeatedly as township clerk and justice of the peace.

Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · archive.org · archive.org · archive.org · archive.org · archive.org · archive.org · archive.org · archive.org

Mostly private wells The water here

• Waynoka Regional Water and Sewer Dist32% of residentsLake Waynoka / Sycamore Run reservoirs
• Sardinia Village29% of residentsOhio River Valley Aquifer (wells)
• Winchester Public Water System21% of residentsOhio River Valley Aquifer (wells near Manchester)
• Adams County Regional Wd12% of residentsOhio River Valley Aquifer (wells near Manchester)
• Georgetown Village6% of residentsOhio River Valley Aquifer (wells)
• Tate-monroe Water Association0% of residentsOhio River valley aquifer (collector/vertical wells)

Spills reported since 2021 (1)

Who holds office

Roster as of 2026-09-18: county board of elections.

Elections for office

Winners in bold. Results from the county board of elections' official canvass unless marked.

Auditor of State record

• No fiscal caution, watch or emergency on the Auditor of State's lists.
• Agreed Upon Procedures, 2023 to 2024, released 2025-10-07

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