James Cemetery / Major John James Marker

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Jackson in Jackson County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

James Cemetery / Major John James

James Cemetery Marker (Side A) Photo, Click for full size

By William Fischer, Jr., August 15, 2009

1. James Cemetery Marker (Side A)

Inscription.
Side A: James Cemetery
Major John James (1772-1854) established James Cemetery in 1828 on and around a Native American mound that is the only significant ancient mound remaining in the city of Jackson. The mound is about 70 feet in diameter and nearly six feet tall. In the late 1800s, this mound comprised one point of three ancient mound groups forming a triangular configuration along East Broadway Street, formerly known as James Street. One group was a few hundred feet northeast of here on the Watson farm and a second was just to the northwest on the Warnicke farm. These mounds were built by the Hopewell Culture, prominent in southern Ohio from about 100 BC to 400 AD. Major James, his wife, and several immediate family members are buried on the mound including Jackson County pioneers Andrew Long, Daniel Hoffman, and David Mitchell.

Side B: Major John James
John James arrived in Marietta in 1788 with his parents and siblings, some of the first settlers of the Northwest Territory. His father was a member of Rufus Putnam's Ohio Company and the family lived in a blockhouse near Belpre. In 1791, his brother William was one of twelve settlers killed at the Big Bottom Massacre, a tragedy that touched off the Indian Wars. During that time, the James family retreated to what became Blennerhassett Island in

Major John James Marker (Side B) Photo, Click for full size

By William Fischer, Jr., August 15, 2009

2. Major John James Marker (Side B)

the Ohio River, where they built another blockhouse, later bought by Harman Blennerhassett who built a mansion nearby in 1798. Major James became a renowned Indian scout and explored what would become Jackson County. He settled here in 1807 and as a prominent salt boiler became for a time the "proprietor" of the Salt Licks. He went on to become an early Ohio legislator and the first treasurer of Jackson County.

Erected 2007 by Jackson County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society, Carl Coyan Companies, Stockmeister Enterprises, City of Jackson, Time Warner Cable, and The Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 6-40.)

Location. 39° 3.219′ N, 82° 37.613′ W. Marker is in Jackson, Ohio, in Jackson County. Marker is on Broadway Street 0.5 miles west of U.S. 35, on the left when traveling west. Click for map. Marker is in this post office area: Jackson OH 45640, United States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 10 miles of this marker, as the crow flies. John Wesley Powell / Morgan's Raid in Jackson, 1863 (approx. 0.5 miles away); The Scioto Salt Licks (approx. 0.6 miles away); Trails / The Kanawha Trail (approx. 0.6 miles away); Leo Petroglyph (approx. 7.2 miles away); Hanging Rock Region (approx. 9 miles away); Buckeye Furnace (approx. 9 miles away); Scales (approx. 9.1 miles away); Stock Shed (approx. 9.1 miles away). Click for a list of all markers in Jackson.