Jackson Township, Preble County

How Jackson Township, Preble County began

Jackson Township was set off as its own township on December 18, 1816, in the northwestern part of Preble County, bordering Indiana to the west. Its first settler was Ayres Taylor, a Kentuckian who built a cabin near the confluence of Four Mile Creek's three branches in 1805 but could not keep up his land payments; he sold out in 1806 to Henry Paddack, whose family became one of the township's most prominent, and whose son Ebenezer recalled Native hunting parties camping on the family farm in his boyhood. The Elkhorn settlement, in the township's northwest, so nearly became the site of what is now Richmond, Indiana that a Quaker colony scouting the area for water power passed it over only after finding the stronger Whitewater River just across the state line. Note: this Jackson Township is distinct from the like-named township in Montgomery County that contains the village of Farmersville; no connection between the two exists beyond the shared name. Preble County's Jackson Township remains one of the county's smaller and more rural townships, with 1,141 residents at the 2020 census.

Settled 1805 (Ayres Taylor), incorporated 1816-12-18, by Preble County commissioners, incorporating the eighth township of the first range as its own civil township.

Where the name comes from

The township was named, as with many Ohio townships of the era, for Andrew Jackson, following a common naming pattern rather than any documented local connection; no source consulted explains why this particular name was chosen over another.

Before the town

No mound, village or treaty site specific to Jackson Township was found in the sources checked, but the 1881 county history records that in the years just after settlement, bears and elk had been 'nearly all driven away by the Indians, whose hunting parties frequently encamped on the Paddack farm' -- the family that had bought out the township's first settler in 1806 -- while Ebenezer Paddack was a boy there in the 1810s and 1820s.

Nations recorded here: Miami, Shawnee.

• Paddack farm hunting encampments (camp) — Paddack farm, section 29, Jackson Township, 1810s-1820s (archive.org)

Timeline

1. 1805 — Ayres Taylor, a Kentuckian, bought 160 acres of government land and built a log cabin near the confluence of Four Mile Creek's three branches, in section twenty-nine, but could not keep up the government's payment schedule.
2. 1806-04-05 — Henry Paddack, who had emigrated from Kentucky, arrived with his family and bought out Ayres Taylor's claim for $80; he raised the township's first crop and planted its first apple orchard.
3. 1807 — John Hardin settled near Elkhorn Creek and began selling land to incoming settlers, founding what became known as the Elkhorn settlement.
4. n.d. — Quaker Jeremiah Cox scouted the Elkhorn settlement area for water-power sites to bring a colony of North Carolina Friends, but found stronger water power just across the Indiana line and settled his colony there instead -- the site that became Richmond, Indiana.
5. 1816-12-18 — It was ordered that the eighth township of the first range be incorporated into one township for county purposes, becoming the distinct Jackson Township; the first election was held at the house of Adam Starr.
6. 1840 — Jackson Township's population was recorded at 1,257.
7. 1880 — Jackson Township's population had grown to 1,398.
8. 2020 — The U.S. Census recorded 1,141 residents in Jackson Township.

Stories

The settlement that almost became Richmond, Indiana

In the years after 1807, the country around Elkhorn Creek near the Indiana line filled up quickly with settlers from Kentucky, North Carolina and Virginia, and it looked for a time like it might grow into the most important settlement in the area. Then a Quaker named Jeremiah Cox arrived from North Carolina, scouting the region on behalf of a large colony of Friends who were considering a move west, looking specifically for strong water power to run mills. The Elkhorn settlers hoped he would like what he found and send for his friends. Instead, Cox pushed a little farther and found the Whitewater River, just over the line in Indiana, running stronger than anything on the Ohio side. He sent for his colony, and they settled where the Whitewater's power was -- founding what grew into the city of Richmond, Indiana, while Elkhorn remained a farming settlement, its early promise passed over for a river a few miles to the west.

Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · ohiogenealogyexpress.com · en.wikipedia.org · archive.org · genealogytrails.com

Mostly private wells The water here

• Eaton Public Water System59% of residentsSand and gravel (Pleistocene) aquifer wells, Preble County
• Lakengren Water Authority24% of residentsGroundwater wells (3 wells)
• New Paris Village17% of residentsGroundwater wells (3 wells)
• Gratis Village0% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)

Bridges rated poor (2)

Spills reported since 2021 (4)

Money issues on the ballot since 2020: 1 of 1 passed; of those asking for new or higher taxes, 1 of 1.

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.
• Financial Audit, 2023 to 2024, released 2025-11-06

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