Jamestown, Indiana

This township occupies the southwest corner of the county. It is bounded on the south by Hendricks County, on the west by Montgomery County, on the north by Jefferson Township, and on the east by Harrison and Center Townships. It contains a little less than forty-eight sections, being a little deficient at the northeast corner. Jackson Township is drained by Eel River and Raccoon Creek, the former leaving the county and entering Hendricks County at the south line of section eleven a short distance southeast of Jamestown. Raccoon Chests flows in a southwestern direction, leaving the township in section thirty-one, near where the Indiana, Bloomington & Western Railroad enters the county of Montgomery. The above railroad enters Jackson Township at the south line on section eleven, passing through Jamestown, bearing to the north of west, and leaving the county and township in section thirty-one. Without doubt, Jackson is one of the best townships in the county. The land along the above streams can be excelled in no place, much less in Boone County. Good husbandry is noticeable in every direction, brought about by a well-directed system of drainage. Jackson originally was the best timbered township in the county, if one may judge from what is yet standing and from stumps of trees cut down - timber of the most valuable kind - such as walnut, poplar, oak, etc. There is yet (in 1886) standing on the farm of Mrs. Ashley, three miles northwest of Jamestown, one of the finest poplar groves in the state. It is a grand sight to behold those monarchs of the forest. But the ax is, or soon will be, whetted that will lay them low, as well as others of the same kind. A stump of a poplar tree, on the farm of W. H. Coombs, measures nine feet.. This tree, when standing, was said to be one of the finest specimens of its kind in the township. The proposed Anderson & St. Louis Railroad will, if ever finished, pass through Jackson Township in a southwesterly direction, entering at section eighteen, passing through Advance, and leaving the county and township at section thirty. Jamestown, one of the earliest settled places in the county, is, and has been for years, the principal trading point in the township, as well as the voting precinct, a separate account of which will be found in another part of this work, under the head of "Sketch of Jamestown." Advance, mentioned as being located on the Anderson & St. Louis Railroad, is a voting place, and contains several business houses, postoffice, church, etc. Although a new place, it has quite a local trade, and, on the completion of the railroad, will be a place of some importance. It is located in the northern part of the township, midway between the east and west lines, and is six miles due north of Jamestown. Jackson Township was settled about the year 1828. Among the first to arrive, we find the following: Young Hughs, Lewis Dewees, John and Washington Gibson, William Farlow, Isaac Miller, David Bush, John Porter, Robert Davis, Andrew Hudson, Alijah Brown, Samuel Jessie, Andrew Long, George and William Walters, William White, Hiram Young, Jacob Johns, and John Whitley. This pioneer band were joined a few yeers later by the following persons : The Headys, Niceleys, Emmerts, John McLean, John T. Hurt, John Crisman, John Cunningham, Mieken Hurt, Thomas Caldwell, Samuel Miller, James Davis, Robert Walker, William Duncan, Isaac M. Shelly, Anderson Trotter, John Airhart, Henry Airhart, Isaac H. Smith, W. H. Coombs, S. P. Dewees, W. B. Gibson, Dr. George L. Burke, Samuel Penry, Samuel Cunningham, Elisha Jackson, Henry B. Myers, W. W. Emmet, and the Galvins.

Passage source: Early Life and Times in Boone County Indiana, published 1861.

To canvass a community when there are seven threshing machines at work, besides the making of hay, cutting oats, and other work going on at the same time, is not a very desirable job, especially when the thermometer is in the nineties. Among the older citizens called on during the past week were Elijah Jackson, Bart Miller, G. W. Shockley, Peter Deweese, J. H. Kibbey, Milton Young, W. H. Coombs, and J. M. Sandy. All are interested in the early history of Boone. Among the younger men called on were J. M. Ashley, Thos. Ashley, J. M. Emmert, Stephen D. Emmert, Ephraim Kibbey,

Passage source: Early Life and Times in Boone County Indiana, published 1861.

The finest grove of timber to be seen anywhere is on the farm of Mrs. Ashley, two and one-half miles northeast of Jamestown, and in sight of the Lebanon road. But one has to be in it to behold its beauties - one hundred and forty poplars and as many oaks standing on eight or ten acres. It is a great sight now, and would in time to come, if preserved, become more so. It is worth thousands of dollars, but it would be almost a sin to cut down those monarchs of the forest, towering over their surroundings. While looking at those grand old trees I thought of the lines:

Passage source: Early Life and Times in Boone County Indiana, published 1861.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Jackson Township - it names this place 6 more 6 times.