History of Jackson Township Communities
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Blowville – Blowville was a very small hamlet of just a few houses situated on the crossroads of Jackson Pike and State Route 133. That section of State Route 133 was known as the Williamsburg and Hartman Road at the time of Blowville. There was a store located on one of the four corners in 1872, but was vacated by 1874. A blacksmith shop was established in 1870 on Jackson Pike near the intersection of the two roads. Today, this intersection consists of three private homes and a farm field.
Brownsville, today known as Laredo, was laid out in April of 1834 by Bernard Conn on the “Newtonsville and Brownsville free turnpike”, now called State Route 131. At one time this village had a hotel, a general store, two blacksmith shops and a turning lath shop. A post office was established there in 1876. It was thought, at one time, that Brownsville would become a sizeable town with considerable population and many businesses.
Marathon, once called Cynthiana, is located on U S Route 50 at the Eastern most boundary of that highway’s journey through the township where it passes into Brown County . When the village was established in 1838 by John Fergusion and John Eckelberger, the roadway was known as the Milford and Chillicothe turnpike. At one time or another Marathon was home to several businesses including several general stores and dry goods shops, blacksmith shops, a drug store, a hotel, a wagon shop, a shoe shop, a harness maker, a tailor shop, a post office, and several other various shops of different occupations. A Cooperage was built in1845 by Joseph Varney and in 1866 Edward and William McQuillan established a steam grist mill in Marathon.
The first physician in Marathon was a Dr. Hollingsworth who hung his shingle in 1837. He was succeeded by a Dr. Collins in 1848 and a bevy of other physicians sat up practice in Marathon in the succeeding years.
Blowville – Blowville was a very small hamlet of just a few houses situated on the crossroads of Jackson Pike and State Route 133. That section of State Route 133 was known as the Williamsburg and Hartman Road at the time of Blowville. There was a store located on one of the four corners in 1872, but was vacated by 1874. A blacksmith shop was established in 1870 on Jackson Pike near the intersection of the two roads. Today, this intersection consists of three private homes and a farm field.
Brownsville, today known as Laredo, was laid out in April of 1834 by Bernard Conn on the “Newtonsville and Brownsville free turnpike”, now called State Route 131. At one time this village had a hotel, a general store, two blacksmith shops and a turning lath shop. A post office was established there in 1876. It was thought, at one time, that Brownsville would become a sizeable town with considerable population and many businesses.
Marathon, once called Cynthiana, is located on U S Route 50 at the Eastern most boundary of that highway’s journey through the township where it passes into Brown County . When the village was established in 1838 by John Fergusion and John Eckelberger, the roadway was known as the Milford and Chillicothe turnpike. At one time or another Marathon was home to several businesses including several general stores and dry goods shops, blacksmith shops, a drug store, a hotel, a wagon shop, a shoe shop, a harness maker, a tailor shop, a post office, and several other various shops of different occupations. A Cooperage was built in1845 by Joseph Varney and in 1866 Edward and William McQuillan established a steam grist mill in Marathon.
The first physician in Marathon was a Dr. Hollingsworth who hung his shingle in 1837. He was succeeded by a Dr. Collins in 1848 and a bevy of other physicians sat up practice in Marathon in the succeeding years.
Marathon in the early 1900's, near the turn of the century. This was taken at the intersection of modern day U.S. Route 50 (looking straight into the photo) and State Route 286 (road turning to the right).