Essex, Union County, Ohio

This village was platted in 1836 in the hopes that a new county would be created in the area with Essex serving as the seat of justice. The town was platted by Wiliam C. Lawrence for town proprietor John Cheney. There was no building in the village until 1838 when Dr. David Welch built a house in the area. At one time, this small village supported two general stores, a school, and one physician.

A small schoolhouse was erected in the village prior to 1846. The Jackson Rural School District was later located in Essex. The school building was erected in 1915, and it was later remodeled in 1922. The district received its charter in 1917. This district was later consolidated with other small districts in the northern part of Union County to form the North Union School District.

Elizabeth Cheney taught the first school session in Jackson Township in approximately 1830. The school session took place during the three summer months and included nearly 15 students. By 1883 there were 10 subdistricts in the Jackson Township School system being held in one-room school houses. At one time there were as many as 15 one room schools in Jackson Township. These schools included Bell, Stahl, Merit, Fountain Grove, Tanner Crossing, Carter, Tenery, Benedict, Wiley, Essex, Baldwin, Wiley, Cheney, Woodland, Swartz, and one Unknown. By 1937, the Jackson Township had consolidated its subdistricts into one school, centralized at Essex. The Jackson Rural School building was built in 1915 and later remodeled in 1922. This building housed grades 1-12. The Jackson Rural School was later consolidated with other northern Union County schools to form the North Union School District.