Most other towns are named for someone's surname, but Jamestown takes its name from the first name of its first settler.

A 1900 Mercer County history told the tale of Jamestown's beginnings.

An Irishman named James Campbell bought 400 acres for $1.25 an acre in 1796. Despite having all that land, Campbell took up residence in a cave on Seminary Hill. The hill is located behind Jamestown Area High School.

Campbell left the cave and built himself and his family a cabin. He divided his 400 acres among his sons.

Two of his sons, John and James Campbell II, opened a grist mill in 1817.

Growth proceeded slowly after that. It was not until 1831 that John Williamson, an uncle of James Campbell II, built a frame house.

A year later, John Keck mapped out the grist mills and residences in town to lay out a village. Keck named the village after the first settler, James Campbell.

Also in 1832, John Williamson was elected as Jamestown's first justice of the peace. That same year, John Downing became the first physician in town.

The town was coming together. Jamestown got its first union school in 1861, and in 1871 it got its first newspaper, under the prestigious name of the "World." Also in 1871, Jamestown Banking Co. opened its doors for depositors.

The growth of the railroad linked Jamestown with the region. The Erie and Pittsburgh Railroad, later to be Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad, came to Jamestown in 1869. That spurred the Jamestown and Franklin Branch in 1872. The Jamestown and Franklin Railroad branch had its tracks over James-town's landmark stone arch.

Fires brought a century of slow growth to a screeching halt. The grist mills were destroyed by fire in 1890, rebuilt and destroyed again by fire in 1908. An 1887 fire destroyed most of the stores and businesses along Liberty Street.