The town is named after John Woodward Wyndham Jackson, who was a sawmiller at Channing (an area now within
Jackson South) around 1887 and who later became the police magistrate at Mackay. Jackson Post Office opened by July 1908 (a
receiving office had been open from 1887) and closed in 1988. Jackson Provisional School opened on 18 January 1892. On 1 January 1909, it became Jackson State School. It closed on 9 December 1983 after 91 years of service. It was at 23 Edward Street (). In 2002, local resident Ella Robinson petitioned the former
Bendemere Shire Council to have Jackson State School's play shed, built in 1908, relocated from the former school site (which had lain dormant since the School's closure in 1983) to the centre of town at the old railway station site to serve as a Intercity Bus Stop (ICBS) for passengers travelling on
Greyhound Australia's long-distance coach services. In 2012, numerous information panels were installed in the old play shed illustrating the town's history and paying tribute to the pioneers who helped establish the rural community. == Demographics ==