Jackson Township, Monroe County

How Jackson Township, Monroe County began

Jackson Township holds the earliest documented settlement in Monroe County: in 1791, more than two decades before the county was formed, Philip Witten and his family moved onto the Ohio River bottom here, bringing enslaved people with them, including Sol Hooper, remembered in local history as a musician at community gatherings. Witten's five sons and one daughter spread families across the township in the following decades, and the small village of Cochransville, named for Thomas Cochran, was platted in 1846. The township organized formally on July 19, 1815 as one of the county's original four.

Settled 1791 (Philip Witten family), incorporated 1815-07-19 (township organized).

Where the name comes from

No source consulted explains the origin of the township name 'Jackson.'

Before the town

No source consulted names a Native American village, camp or mound specific to Jackson Township, despite it holding the county's earliest documented settlement (1791), four years before the Treaty of Greenville formally closed most of this region to Native land claims. The Ohio River bottomland here lay within the broader hunting and travel range of the Wyandot, Shawnee, Lenape (Delaware) and Mingo peoples in the years just before and during Witten's settlement, but no source found ties a specific incident or site to the township.

Nations recorded here: Wyandot, Shawnee, Lenape (Delaware), Mingo (Seneca-Cayuga).

Timeline

1. 1791 — Philip Witten and his family settled the Ohio River bottom in what became Jackson Township, the earliest documented settlement in the future county.
2. 1791 (detail) — Philip Witten, who settled the Ohio River bottom in what became Jackson Township, is recorded as a brother-in-law of Kinsey and Vachel Dickenson, described in the county's early-settlement history as 'noted Indian scouts and fighters.'
3. 1815-07-19 — Jackson Township was formally organized as one of Monroe County's original four townships.
4. 1818 — John Bridgeman and his son John H. arrived from New England.
5. 1831 — The first schoolhouse, on the Bridgeman farm, opened, also serving as a Presbyterian, Baptist and Methodist meeting place.
6. 1833 — A post office was established on the Witten farm, with James Witten serving as postmaster until about 1865.
7. 1846 — The village of Cochransville was named after Thomas Cochran.
8. 1881 — James Hissom, a War of 1812 pensioner living in the township, was reported at 103 years of age.

Stories

The county's first settlement, and Sol Hooper

When Philip Witten brought his family to the Ohio River bottom in Jackson Township in 1791, Monroe County did not exist -- it would not be formed for another twenty-two years -- and this stretch of the river was still contested, dangerous frontier. Witten's household included enslaved people, among them Sol Hooper, who is remembered in the township's local history specifically as a musician who performed at the community's gatherings, one of the few enslaved individuals in early Monroe County history whose name and role survive in any written record at all. Witten's five sons -- Thomas, Joseph, John, Peter and James -- and daughter Virginia went on to raise their own families across the township, and their descendants populated Jackson Township for generations, giving the township's founding settlement an unusually well-documented, multi-generational record by the standards of Monroe County's local histories.

Local history sources: monroe.ohgenweb.org · archive.org

Mostly private wells The water here

• Matamoras Village51% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)
• Ohio and Lee Twp Water Authority49% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)
• Monroe Water Systems0% of residentsGroundwater wells (5 wells)

Bridges rated poor (1)

Money issues on the ballot since 2020: 1 of 1 passed.

Ballot issues

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.
• Basic Audit, 2024 to 2025, released 2026-06-23
• Basic Audit, 2022 to 2023, released 2024-09-19

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