The Jackson Area

The Jackson Area is a Michigan historical marker in Jackson, Jackson County, dedicated 1964.

Jackson County · dedicated 1964 · Rest Area Westbound I-94, Jackson

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The pioneers in the 1830s, by the tens of thousands, traveled west over the Territorial Road (roughly parallel to I-94). Many of them stopped in the Jackson area to take up land. Jackson County was named after Andrew Jackson and organized in 1832. The principal settlement, Jackson, founded in 1829, was first called Jacksonopolis and later Jacksonburgh. Located near the head of the Grand River, Jackson has always been an important transportation center. One of America’s most famous political conventions took place in this city on July 6, 1854, when fifteen hundred persons from throughout Michigan assembled “under the oaks” and organized a new party, which they named the Republican party. This area is the home of Michigan’s oldest and largest state prison and many diversified industries.

TodayHistorical map

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Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

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under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s

what this marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years here

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Marker data: Michigan History Center
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