An area of dense forest, inhabited by wild animals and Indians was purchased by Gideon Granger and Oliver Phelps in 1795 from the Connecticut Land Company. It was then Township No. 11, Range 3 of part of Trumbull County, Richfield township. The years 1805-1807 was the defining of Ashtabula County, earliest settlements of the Connecticut Western Reserve, and establishment of Jefferson. Gideon Granger was Postmaster General and named the area thus in honor of President Thomas Jefferson. Although Granger never lived here, he devised the detailed plans for its development with its many village greens, streets with wide tree lawns and donation of land for the first jail and a courthouse. Thus, when Ashtabula County (largest in area in the state - with its 27 townships covering 451,800 acres) was formed June 7, 1807 and Jefferson became its County Seat.

The Jefferson township borders were defined in 1819 and the Village incorporation July 5, 1836. The original Court House was built in 1811, Baptist and Methodist Churches were also organized that year and the Congregational Church was founded in 1831. The first library was organized in 1817, the Gazette newspaper began in 1828 and the Town Hall was built in 1879. Lawyer, statesman Joshua Reed Giddings had built his quaint law office on N. Chestnut St. in 1823, practiced law there with Senator Benjamin Wade, and wrote the first draft of the first Republican party platform there in 1856. Before the Civil War, they were among the nation’s leaders in the anti-slavery movement.

An area rich in history, Jefferson is home to the following buildings on the National Register: Lawyers Row, Old Court House, Joshua Giddings Law Office, County Commissioners Offices, Jefferson Village Hall, Railroad Depot and various Century Homes in the Village. Jefferson is now home of the County Fairgrounds (former civil war training camp), which also hosts the annual Covered Bridge Festival and parade; the restored Depot and adjoining AC & J Railroad offering seasonal rides on the old rail line; and the Victorian Perambulator Museum, the only one of its kind in the world. With its rich history, yet diverse and progressive, and its highly rated school system; Jefferson is a great place to live and work.