Before the white settlers came to Jonesville, the Pottowatomi Indians were the only inhabitants of this area. Jonesville’s main street, Chicago Road, is part of the old Indian trail between Detroit and Chicago.

The Benaiah Jones family, traveling by ox-drawn wagon from Ohio, chose for its home a site where the Sauk Trail crossed the St. Joseph River in the year 1828, when Michigan had not yet become a state. The Village, thus founded, played an important part in the growth of Michigan. It was the first village between Tecumseh and White Pigeon, the first county seat of Hillsdale County, had the first saw mill, the first grist mill, and the first general store.

Hundreds of Conestoga wagons passed through Jonesville on the way west. Families found accommodations at the “Fayette House”, a hotel built by Benaiah Jones. It was also a stop on the stagecoach route.

A physician set up a permanent practice in 1834, a law office opened in 1837, and both Methodist and Episcopal Church services were held in the log cabin schoolhouse by 1834.

Not only did Jonesville become a business center, but a cultural center as well. The first “ball” was held in Jones’ Tavern on New Year’s night in 1832, and the first Fourth of July celebration observed there in 1833 with “fiddling” being the principal attraction for both events. All this occurred before Michigan joined the union in 1837.