Jackson Township
Jacob Lunger settled near Green Creek in 1800 and a family named White lived
there at that time. In 1805 Abram Whiteman constructed a residence near Green
Creek. Jonathan Robbins came in 1810 via New Jersey and Sugarloaf. In 1811,
Paul Hess located north of Waller on 240 acres and about that time Levi Priest
lived southeast of Waller and George Farver lived nearby. These families represented
the entire population of the township at that time. Later residents came from
Greenwood, with several families from New Jersey. Family names of Yorks, Golder,
Waldron, Everhart, Campbell, and Parker are typical Jackson Township names.
Land speculators from the Asylum company acquired a large tract of land that
includes the present Sugarloaf, Greenwood, Pine and Jackson Townships, and land
which is now Lycoming and Sullivan counties. Settlement of this land was somewhat
curtailed because buyers frequently got defective titles to non-existent or
unsurveyed land. The Asylum Land Co., formed in the late 1700s, owned by some
accounts about a million acres of land in north central Pennsylvania to create
a place of residence for royalty freeing the French Revolution, including the
French town of Asylum.
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A view of Jackson Township, from an 1976 map. | |
The first schoolhouse was built in 1825. The first useable road opened from
Unityville to Benton in 1828. Columbia County came into being in 1813, consisting
of twelve townships. Jackson township was not formed until 1838, and came from
parts of Greenwood and Sugarloaf townships. In 1840, the part carved off from
Sugarloaf township reverted back to Sugarloaf because of resident's objections.
The township was probably named for Andrew Jackson. Taxes were based on a population
of 130 people in 1830. The township is in the northwestern part of Columbia
County bounded on the north by Sullivan Country (Davidson Township), on the
east by Sugarloaf and Benton Townships, on the south by Greenwood Township,
and on the west by Pine Township. The township is between Little Fishing Creek
on the west and Fishing Creek on the east.
The first post office, Polkville, was established in the township in 1848, at
the house of John P. Hess near his residence, one-half mile from Waller. Lot
Parker followed Mr. Hess in 1863 and was succeeded in 1866 by D. L. Everhart.
Postal services came to the southern part of Jackson in 1878, when the Rohrsburg
postoffice began providing service via a carrier. On December 22, 1879, the
Derr's post office was established in a store building with A. J. Derr as postmaster.
John Denmark was the first teacher. The school opened opened in the winter of
1821-22 in a log dwelling near the location of the Union Church building at
Waller. The following year, a school house was built with John Keeler and William
Yocum as teachers. Cornelius McEwen, Helen Calvin, Joseph Orwig, and Peter Girton
taught at the first school in lower Jackson Township, built in 1825.
Baptist ministers began visiting the township as early as 1819. Joel Rodgers
and Elias Dodson regularly held monthly services, preaching in houses, barns,
woods, and school houses. Samuel Chapin, Brookins Potter, and Merrit Harrison
Huntington, Luzerne County, later preached without compensation. They were "plain,
earnest men, and supported themselves by farming at their homes." Elders
William S. Hall and J. Edminster preached occasionally during the period 1845-49.
Reverend James Seybert formed the Evangelical Association in upper Jackson in
1846. The first class consisted of George Hirleman, Henry Wagner, Michael Remley,
David Remley, and Frederick Wile.
The Jackson Township web site, http://www.seda-cog.org/col-jackson/site/default.asp,
tells an interesting story about Abram Golder Sr. going into a swamp in the
early days of what is now Jackson Township to cut some "hoop poles."
He carried a small hatchet, but anticipated no danger from wild animals. A painter
(mountain lion) suddenly appeared. Golder's dog attacked the animal, and he
struck the painter's neck with a "large pine knot" with such force
that it fell dead. The animal measured eight feet from the nose to the tip of
its tail.
There are currently four churches in the Township. Additional information about
these Churches can be found under Churches, on the side panel. The Churches
are:
• Derrs Christian Church
• Divide Union Church
• Jackson Baptist Church
• Waller United Methodist Church