Jarvis Township, Madison County, Illinois

Jarvis Township is located in Madison County, Illinois, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 14,232 and it contained 5,540 housing units.[2]

Jarvis Township
Township
Location of Illinois in the United States
Coordinates: 38°42′27″N 89°52′14″W
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Madison
Settled	November 2, 1875
Area
• Total	35.84 sq mi (92.8 km2)
• Land	35.27 sq mi (91.3 km2)
• Water	0.56 sq mi (1.5 km2)
Elevation	541 ft (165 m)
Population  (2010)
• Estimate  (2016)[1]	14,390
• Density	403.5/sq mi (155.8/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
FIPS code	17-119-38245

Jarvis Township was named for John Jarvis. The town when first started was known as Columbia and for some time its principal industry was the Jarvis grist mill, which supplied the wants of the farmers for miles around. In 1819 more territory was added to the town and its name changed to Troy. Mr. Jarvis died here on October 29, 1823.

Jarvis Township was named for John Jarvis. The town when first started was known as Columbia and for some time its principal industry was the Jarvis grist mill, which supplied the wants of the farmers for miles around. In 1819 more territory was added to the town and its name changed to Troy.

Jarvis township was named in honor of John Jarvis, who made the first entry of land from the United States government on September IO, 1814. The first settlement within its present boundaries was made by Messrs. Moore and Gregg, who located near the present site of the Vandalia depot. In the spring of 1804 came Herman and Titus Gregg, natives of Kentucky, and Robert Seybold, a native of Virginia. Titus Gregg, in 18x4, entered the north half and part of the south half, in all 520 acres, in section 4. Among those who settled soon after 1804 were: Wm. F. Purviance, John Jarvis, Robert McMahan, Jiesse Reniro, Wm. Hall, Sr., James Watt, and others, all of whom settled here before the organization of the state in 1818.

In an address delivered by Dr. John S. Dewey at the centennial celebration in Troy on July 4, 1876, he stated that Jacob Gregg settled the old Baird place in 1804 and planted the old pear tree which up to that time was still standing, and in 1865 yielded a crop which was sold in Dubuque, Iowa, for 8125. Philip Gregg settled the Julius A. Barnsback farm, Titus Gregg the place of Ignatius Riggin, John Gregg the place of James H. Taylor and Herman Gregg on the present site of Troy. Robert Gregg made settlement in section 8, near John Gregg, and not far from the head of Cantine creek.

Jarvis township was not surveyed until the year 1806. Robert Seybold made an entry of X00 acres, part of the northwest quarter of section 1, in 1814. On May 1, 1815, Pierre Menard entered 160 acres in section I. The first burial in the township was that of John Grotts, who was interred in the spring of 1804. The first justice of the peace was Joseph Eberman, who was appointed soon after the War of 1812. The first supervisor elected in the township was Ignatius Riggin in 1876, who at this writing still survives and is one of the most prominent and influential farmers of this section. The second military station in the county was established in Jarvis township a short distance of where Troy now stands.[3]