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Except for the quarrying of
miller's burr stones and agricultural activities, very little
economic growth occurred in Jackson or Jackson County until
the birth of the charcoal iron industry in the early 1850s.
The iron industry in turn brought railroads to the Jackson area.
This led to a solid and steady economic and population growth.
The county's population was under 4,000 in 1820 and jumped to
10,000 by 1860.
With this combination, Jackson
became an important part of the emerging charcoal iron industry.
Before 1850, there were only two iron furnaces in the county.
Twenty-one furnaces were constructed in the Hanging Rock Iron
Region between 1853 and 1856. Jackson County accounted for eight
of these during that time and by 1856 eleven furnaces were operating
in the county.
By 1860, the town of Jackson
had a population of 1,077 and prosperity continued as the Civil
War created a great demand for the high quality Hanging Rock
charcoal iron. The iron used in the construction of the Union
ironclad, "Monitor," came from nearby Jefferson Furnace
just west of Oak Hill.
During the Civil War, General
John Hunt Morgan and his Confederate troops paid Jackson a visit
during his famous "Raid." He and his two thousand
troops spent the night here, arresting all men and older boys,
burning the railroad station and rolling stock, looting stores
and destroying a local Yankee supporting newspaper.
However, by 1869 many of the
charcoal furnaces began to go out of blast. They were being
superceded by a series of new coke or coal fired furnaces which
were able to draw upon the abundant coal resources of the region.
Between 1864 and 1866 three new coke furnaces were established
in the area.
A second surge in coke iron
furnaces occurred from 1872 to 1875 when six more stacks were
built in the county. In 1882, Jackson County ranked third in
the state in the production of pig iron.
Coal was a growing factor in
the economic development of Jackson. Coal shipments rose from
10,000 tons in 1878 to 300,000 tons in 1880, making Jackson
County tenth in the state's production of coal.
By 1898 the county was the
largest producer in the state with 89 mines and an annual tonnage
of over 1,500,000 tons. This was in a time when all coal was
mined by hand. Because of its impressive position in industry
and population, Jackson became a favorite location for national
political figures to visit.
Jackson would host visits by
William McKinley and President William Taft, starting a trend
which would later bring candidates Warren Harding and still
later Thomas Dewey. Iron production also received a temporary
boost at the turn of the century.
During the period of 1899-1900,
iron prices were soaring and Jackson experienced a tremendous
boon between 1902 and 1906. Inter-urban railroad (street car)
service was introduced with the construction of the Wellston
Jackson Beltline Railway. It was at this point that Jackson
reached its economic zenith.
As business increased Jackson
saw the number of railroads serving this area expand. At its
height Jackson was serviced by four railroads: The Baltimore
and Ohio (B&O), The Detroit, Toledo and Ironton (DT&I),
The Hocking Valley, later the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O)
and finally the Wellston and Jackson Belt Railway.
In 1908, Jackson County saw
the construction of its last iron furnace. At the same time,
the southern Ohio iron industry was beginning to decline because
of increasing competition from the cheaper and higher quality
Great Lakes region ores.
By the 1930s the production
of clay products had taken up some of the economic slack but
the prosperous boom days associated with the iron and coal industries
were over.
With the coming of World War
II, Jackson found itself with two blast furnaces. These were
prime employers in the area, continuing after the war with Globe
Furnace closing in 1960 and JISCO closing in 1972.
***
Courtesy of The Jackson Historical Society, city of Jackson
Tourism Board
and the Jackson County Genealogical Society
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