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Our old house is part of the foundation of the history of Jackson Township. The couple that purchased and settled the
farm, William and Lucretia Smith of Monmouth County, New Jersey, moved into the area in 1809.
We get the story that
a log cabin was the orginal structure. Apparently the cabin burned at some point and the house was rebuilt with brick. The
small part of the house is the current kitchen, below the kitchen is a small cellar and in the cellar is the foundation for
a large hearth that no longer exists. The wall seperating the kitchen from the rest of the house is an almost one foot
thick brick wall, leading one to believe the small part of the house was built over the original foundation with the larger
part, which is built over a crawl space was erected at a later date. There is also a small loft over the former kitchen with
a long ago covered hole for a ladder.
We hope to research the tax records and find out more information on these questions.
The Smiths were among the first 10 settlers of the area that was to become Jackson Township. First to settle the area
was Mr. William Hunter, who bought 300 acres and established a farm in 1798. Shortly afterwards, Mr. Robert Dickey became
settler number two when he arrived in February, 1799 and moved onto Mr. Hunter's farm.
Pioneer number three, in 1802,
was German born Christopher Hartman.
1806 was a popular year for settlers in the future Jackson Township: Delawarian
Ichabod Willis; Samual Cox of West Virginia; John Workman (moving out almost as soon as he settled in); Robert Dickey's brothers,
Andrew and Hughey; and New Jersey native, Ezekial Hutchinson.
Next in, as mentioned, the Smiths arrived in 1809 to
settle our acreage. The couple purchased the acreage from Joseph & Hannah Wainright and Halsted & Catherine Wainright
while still living in Monmouth County, New Jersey. The Smiths raised thirteen children, 5 of which were born in the house
on the Xenia Road, the orginal name of the State Route that runs in front of our house.
We will certainly be adding
more information on the history of the house as we find out more about it.
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