Jackson Township is a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

Lycoming County Lycoming County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 114,188. Its county seat is Williamsport. The county is part of the North Central region of the commonwealth. Lycoming County compris ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, United States. The population was 394 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Williamsport Metropolitan Statistical Area. The

unincorporated village An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

of Buttonwood is in the township. In Buttonwood there is a

covered bridge A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...

over Blockhouse Creek, a tributary of Little Pine Creek.

History

Jackson Township was once part of Lycoming Township. At the time Lycoming Township stretched from the

West Branch Susquehanna River The West Branch Susquehanna River is one of the two principal branches, along with the North Branch, of the Susquehanna River in the Northeastern United States. The North Branch, which rises in upstate New York, is generally regarded as the ex ...

to the northern border of Lycoming County. The residents of the northern part of the township became dissatisfied with their representation in township matters. Most of the officers of the townships were from the southernmost portions near the river and they tended to forget about their neighbors to the north. The concerned citizens of the northern portions of Lycoming Township petitioned that a township for their interests be formed from Lycoming Township, and the Court of Quarter Sessions of the Peace of Lycoming County formed Jackson Township in 1824. The township was named for

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

, who was then known as the hero of the

Battle of New Orleans The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815, between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the Frenc ...

in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. He was not to become

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

until 1829. Peter Sechrist was one of the first settlers to arrive in Jackson Township. He moved there from

Liverpool, Pennsylvania Liverpool is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in the northeastern corner of Perry County, Pennsylvania, Perry County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area. The borough's population ...

, in 1811. Sechrist cleared the land for a farm and also constructed a

saw A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, Wire saw, wire, or Chainsaw, chain with a hard toothed edge used to cut through material. Various terms are used to describe toothed and abrasive saws. Saws began as serrated materials, and when man ...

and

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

. His mills were the first of their kind in the area, and his child, Daniel, was the

first white child The birth of the first white child is a concept that marks the establishment of a European colony in the New World, especially in the historiography of the United States. Americas Snorri Thorfinnsson is the first person of European descent bel ...

born in the area. Other earlier settlers, seeking their fortune, arrived from York County. Two sets of brothers, Jacob and Daniel Beck and George and Daniel Miller, first stopped in Williamsport before moving further to the north. They cleared some dense wilderness and established their homesteads in what is now eastern Jackson Township. The population of Jackson Township was 619 according to the 1890 census. It has since declined to 396 residents as of the 2010 census. The area is largely mountainous and is covered with a thriving

second-growth forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has regenerated through largely natural processes after human-caused disturbances, such as timber harvest or agriculture clearing, or equivalently disruptive natura ...

. The Buttonwood Covered Bridge was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1980.

Geography

Jackson Township is on the northern edge of Lycoming County and is bordered by Tioga County to the north,

McIntyre Township McIntyre, McEntire, MacIntyre, McAteer, and McIntire are Scottish and Irish surnames derived from the Gaelic ' literally meaning "son of the Craftsman or Mason", but more commonly cited as "son of the Carpenter."Scottish Clans: MacIntyre - Origi ...

to the east, Cogan House Township to the south, and Pine Township to the west.

U.S. Route 15 U.S. Route 15 or U.S. Highway 15 (US 15) is a United States Numbered Highway, serving the states of South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. The route is signed north–south, from US ...

, the

Appalachian Thruway Interstate 99 (I-99) is an Interstate Highway in the United States with two segments: one located in central Pennsylvania and the other in northern Pennsylvania into southern New York (state), New York along US 15. The southern terminus of ...

, passes through the center of the township, with access from Exit 158 at Buttonwood. US-15 leads north to

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of the Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area and the second largest settlement in Nottinghamshire (following the city ...

and south to Williamsport, the Lycoming

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

. Pennsylvania Route 284 runs west from US-15 down the valley of Blockhouse Creek and Little Pine Creek to

Pennsylvania Route 287 Pennsylvania Route 287 (PA 287) is a state highway in the Tioga Valley of Pennsylvania, United States. PA 287 runs from an intersection with U.S. Route 220 (US 220) in the community of Larrys Creek in Piatt Township, Lycoming County, no ...

in Pine Township. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the township has a total area of , of which are land and , or 1.26%, are water. Blockhouse Creek drains the center of the township, flowing southwestward to Little Pine Creek and thence Pine Creek, leading to the

Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania Jersey Shore is a borough in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is on the West Branch Susquehanna River, west by south of Williamsport. It is part of the Williamsport, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. In the past, Je ...

. Blacks Creek, another tributary of Little Pine Creek, drains the northwest corner of the township. The eastern part of the township is drained by tributaries of

Lycoming Creek Lycoming Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River located in Tioga County, Pennsylvania, Tioga and Lyco ...

, another tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna: Grays Run in the southeast, and Roaring Branch in the northeast.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 414 people, 148 households, and 121 families residing in the township. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was 11.6 people per square mile (4.5/km²). There were 192 housing units at an average density of 5.4/sq mi (2.1/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 99.76%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

and 0.24%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.48% of the population. There were 148 households, out of which 37.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.9% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.2% were non-families. 14.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.11. In the township the population was spread out, with 27.1% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 30.0% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 97.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.4 males. The median income for a household in the township was $40,568, and the median income for a family was $40,000. Males had a median income of $28,958 versus $19,063 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the township was $16,903. About 6.7% of families and 6.7% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 13.9% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

References

{{Lycoming County, Pennsylvania Townships in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania Populated places established in 1811 1811 establishments in Pennsylvania