Settlement of Jackson County

            Jackson County has a good soil, well adapted to the production of all kinds of grain. Some parts of the county, however, have a clay soil, which is very poor. The county was first settled in 1809, by parties from the falls of the Ohio and from Kentucky. When they first came to the county they met with a few French traders, who complained that the trade with the Indians had been ruined by the war. These Frenchmen left the county, and went, probably, to Vincennes. Among the first Americans who settled in the county, were H. and A. Rogers, Abram Miller, J.B. Durham, James Hutchinson, Thomas Ewing, John Ketcham, William Graham, Abram Huff, Thomas Carr, and Alexander Craig.

            In 1812, the Indians became troublesome, and some of the settlers removed to escape their wrath; others sent their families, but remained themselves. They built a little fort for their defense, which alone saved them from the Pigeon Roost massacre, where, in 1812, twenty families perished beneath the tomahawk. This little fort was frequently besieged, but always held out. The Indians, however, drove off all the horses and cattle, and otherwise impoverished the settlers.

            John Ketcham lived near the site of the present town of Brownstown, where he had a block house for his own protection. In the fall of 1813, Mr. Kethcam, and a hired man named Buskirk, were hauling pumpkins from a field to the house. Mr. Ketcham driving and the other man following the team, when they were fired upon by Indians. Buskirk was instantly killed, and Kethcam was wounded and would have been tomahawked, only that his team became exceedingly frightened and ran away, taking him along on the cart.

            The news of this disaster was at once sent to the fort already mentioned, which was at Vallonia, where a company of militia had been organized. The troops started out the following day, and finding the body of Buskirk, buried it, but so bold were the Indians, in the assaults upon the militia, that one of the men lost his life, being fired on by the enemy from some hiding place. During the war of 1812-13, several persons were shot and killed or wounded in this county. The Indians were very hostile, and kept a close watch for an opportunity to pick off the settlers. However, the only battle fought in the county during the war, was at Tipton Island, in 1814. There were about fifty Indians opposed to thirty whites, but they were quickly dispersed, leaving one or two killed, upon the field. This encounter was conducted by General Tipton, the commander.

            Jackson County was organized in 1815, by an act of the Territorial legislature. In the following spring, the county seat was located at Brownstown, which received its name in honor of General Jacob Brown, who distinguished himself in the war of 1812. Brownstown was laid out in the woods, and, in consequence, the county seat was temporarily located at Vallonia. Very soon after the organization of the county, the population began to increase, and general improvement was pushed forward. The surplus produce of the early settlers was generally shipped down the Driftwood river in flat-boats, but since the completion of the Ohio and Mississippi railroad, the trade of the county has been carried to Cincinnati.

            In 1830, a number of Germans settled in the eastern part of the county. They were a very enterprising class of people, and since their first residence in the county their number have been largely increased. They have done much to promote the material and moral growth of the county, and are mostly all wealthy.

            Brownstown, one of the principal towns in the county, is located on the Ohio and Mississippi railroad, and is in a flourishing condition. It has a fair court house and good school facilities; population about one thousand. The larges place in the county is Seymour, a town of over three thousand inhabitants. It has every appearance of thrift, and is pressing forward in all valuable industries and improvements.

Source: An Illustrated History of the State of Indiana by DeWitt C. Goodrich and Charles R. Tuttle, 1875.