Editing Jackson County, Ohio (section)

==History==
Jackson County is north of the [[Ohio River]] in eastern Ohio, an area that was long occupied by various tribes of [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]]. Evidence of this era in the Ohio Valley is found in the area's large burial and ceremonial [[mound builder (people)|mounds]] and [[petroglyph]]s including the [[Leo Petroglyph]].<ref name=odnr>{{cite web |url=https://ohiodnr.gov/wps/portal/gov/odnr/go-and-do/plan-a-visit/find-a-property/jackson-lake-state-park |title=Jackson Lake State Park |publisher=Ohio Department of Natural Resources |access-date=November 9, 2020}}</ref>

Tribes that inhabited the area in the [[Colonial history of the United States|Colonial period]] included with [[Mingo]], [[Lenape]], and [[Shawnee]]. Westward expansion by American pioneers displaced the [[Indigenous People]] who were killed in wars or relocated to the [[Great Plains]] and placed on reservations following the passage of the [[Indian Removal Act]]. The pioneer settlers cleared the land for [[farming]] and developed industries around which towns and cities grew.<ref name=odnr/>

[[Iron ore]] was discovered in southern Ohio in the mid-19th century. The combination of deposits of ore and vast stands of [[old-growth forest]]s made the Hanging Rock Iron Region ideally suited for the [[iron]] industry. The [[Jefferson Furnace|Jefferson Iron Furnace]] was constructed in 1854. It met the growing demand for iron in the developing United States of America. The importance of the furnaces in the Hanging Rock region grew tremendously during the [[American Civil War]]. Iron produced in Jackson County was sold to manufacturers under the trademark, "Anchor". This iron was used to build the [[USS Monitor|USS ''Monitor'']], an ironclad warship made famous by its contest against the [[CSS Virginia|CSS ''Virginia'']], a Confederate ironclad sometimes known as the ''Merrimack'', at the [[Battle of Hampton Roads]].<ref name=odnr/>

The era of iron production in Jackson County began to wane in the years following the Civil War. Demand for iron outstripped the resources in the Hanging Rock Iron Region. Ore deposits had been cleared and what remained was minimal and difficult to extract. Also much of the forested land had been cleared to provide [[charcoal]] to fire the furnaces. A combination of a lack of ore and charcoal helped bring about the end of the iron era. Remnants of the [[Jefferson Furnace|Jefferson Iron Furnaces]] are found in [[Jackson Lake State Park (Ohio)|Jackson Lake State Park]].<ref name=odnr/>

Other industries that were in the area included [[coal]] mining and [[salt]] mining. Over a million tons of coal were mined in 1888. Jackson County was the second leading coal producing county in the state during the coal mining era. Salt mines along Salt Creek were set aside "by Congress for the use of the state to secure the salt." Indian tribes also used the area and came from great distances to gather salt.<ref name=odnr/>