Next Meeting
Regular Library Hours
Tuesdays and Thursdays
1PM to 5 PM
Tax Exempt Organization under IRS Section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code
Our Society
Our Society was formed in 1977 by a small group, all of whom lived in the Jackson County area. Initially, meetings were held in homes, libraries and churches.
Our first newsletter was published on April 4, 1978, containing our By-Laws, Objectives & Purpose, Upcoming Events, How-To's and Search Tips. The Lexicon, our quarterly, was first published in the spring of 1979 and produced on an old mimeograph machine.
In 2004 our reference library was established to serve as a repository for research files and resources that had been held in members' homes. Our holdings are 100% donated and include resources not only for Jackson but of many other areas.
HISTORY OF THE FORMATION OF JACKSON COUNTY
On July 3, 1829 Horace Blackman, accompanied by Alexander Laverty, a land surveyor, and an Indian guide forded the Grand River and made camp for the night at what is now Trail and N. Jackson Street. They arrived in Jackson on a well-traveled Indian trail leading west from Ann Arbor, Blackman hired Laverty and Pewyturn to guide him west. Blackman returned to Ann Arbor and then Monroe and registered his claim for 150 acres at two dollars an acre. Blackman returned to Jackson in August, 1829, with his brother Russell. Together they cleared land and built a cabin. The town was first called Jacksonopolis. Later, it was renamed Jacksonburgh. Finally, in 1838 the town's name was changed to simply Jackson.
Jackson County was named for President Andrew Jackson. The Michigan Territorial legislature created twelve counties in 1829, naming ten of them after Jackson and his recently elected cabinet. Jackson County was organized on August 1, 1832. It was Jackson who, as one of his last acts in office, signed the 1837 bill making Michigan the 26th state.