Michigan was not yet a state in July 1829 when Horace Blackman of Berkshire, New York, arrived in Ann Arbor to visit his friend Jonathan F. Stratton, who advised Blackman to make a location claim in a new county that had just been surveyed west of Washtenaw County. Blackman began traveling with Capt. Alexander Laverty, a woodsman and land surveyor, and Pee-wy-tum, a Native American guide. Along the way, they came to the mouth of the St. Joseph Indian Trail, which crossed the Grand River. The earliest pioneers of Jackson stayed there for the first night at what are now Jackson and Trail Streets. The town was first called Jacksonopolis. Later, it was renamed Jacksonburgh. Finally, in 1838, the town's name was changed to simply Jackson.
Patricia Snoblen is an accomplished genealogist and local history researcher working on behalf of the Meijer Branch Library. She is currently a branch manager for the Jackson District Library system and a member of the Jackson Genealogy Society and the Grass Lake Historical Society. This book illustrates the rich history and culture that make Jackson County an interesting place to live.