This was the original site of Michigan's first state prison, approved by the legislature in 1838. A temporary wooden prison, enclosed by a fence of tamarack poles, was built on sixty acres donated for that purpose here. In 1839 the first 35 prison…
During the the American Civil War (1861-1865) one of Michigan's military headquarters was In Jackson. Camp Blair was planned 1863 as a draft rendezvous point and as a center for convalescing troops. Named for incumbent governor Austin Blair, a Jac…