Welcome to the Jackson County Public Library Local History Page!
The main library of Jackson County Public Library system is located in Seymour, Indiana, with branches in Crothersville and Medora and the Discovery Bus. This page is our latest effort in preservation of our local history and the use of technology to bring that history to our patrons in every way possible. Please continue to check back, as we will be continually adding new items!
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Where is Jackson County & how was it settled?
Erected in 1816 as Indiana became a state, Jackson County is today at the crossroads of Interstate 65 and US 50, about halfway between Indianapolis and Louisville. The East Fork of the White River bisects it northeast to southwest.
Permanent settlement spread in the early 1800s from the V where the Muscatatuck, which forms most of the southern boundary, joins the White River (known in early days as the Driftwood). Vallonia, just south of the county seat of Brownstown, is believed to have been an early location for French traders and once was considered as location for the state capital and the county seat.
Seymour in the northeast corner became the largest incorporated area shortly after north-south and east-west railroads intersected there about 1852.