Jacksontown, OH

Jacksontown grew along the National Road at the meeting point of today’s U.S. 40 and State Route 13. Thomas Harris surveyed 78 lots in 1829, and the settlement was first called Jackson for President Andrew Jackson. The post office adopted Jacksontown in 1831 after another Ohio community already used the name. In its busiest National Road years, the village had taverns, general stores, a hotel, blacksmith shops, and other businesses serving travelers and nearby farms. Rail travel later pulled traffic away from the old road.

That transportation history still shapes the view of Jacksontown: the old route remains a busy regional road, and the village sits between Newark, Buckeye Lake, and the farm country of central Licking County. Jacksontown was also the birthplace of Carl Osburn, the rifle shooter who won eleven Olympic medals, including five golds. Today the place is a small residential and crossroads community with a post office, local roads, and easy access to larger Licking County services. Its story lives in the National Road buildings, the name on the signs, and the people who pass through every day.