Jackson County was created on March 1, 1831 from parts of Kanawha, Mason and Wood counties.  It was named in honor of Andrew Jackson, who was then President of the United States. In 1770, George Washington had explored the region and claimed two tracts of land along the Ohio in exchange for his service during the French and Indian Wars. William Hannamon, Benjamin Cox, and James McDade, Revolutionary War veterans, were the first permanent settlers, moving into the Mill Creek area in May 1796.
By 1840 the population had risen to almost 5,000.   Farming was the main occupation with other trades developing around the grist mills and small towns. The early roads consisted of Indian and packhorse trails. By the 1850s, several turnpikes were built within the county.  These roads vastly improved local transportation.  Railroads began to replace roads in the 1880s as the primary means of moving large quantities of goods in the county.  The population boomed in the late 1800s due to timbering
and the oil and gas industries.