Jacksonburg Public Square

On March 30, 1830, a commission appointed to choose Jackson County’s seat of government reported: “A territorial road, called the St. Joseph’s road, was last winter laid. . . . Where this road crosses the Grand river . . . a flourishing village is commenced.” Named Jacksonburg, the village was surveyed and platted that year. Residents proclaimed the town the future site of the new state capital. The plat included a public square at the intersection of Jackson Street and the Territorial Road (present-day Michigan Avenue). By the 1880s the square was a bustling business district comprising the county courthouse, the First Congregational Church and three commercial blocks, including the Blackwell Building, now known as the Old Post Office.