On July 13, 1857, the recently organized Slaughter County is renamed Kitsap County to honor Chief Kitsap, a Suquamish military leader. The county seat is at Port Madison and will remain there until 1893, when it will move to Port Orchard.
In Slaughter County’s first election on July 13, 1857, voters were given the opportunity to rename the county. The options were “Mill”, “Madison” or “Kitsap”. Slaughter was not one of the options. Kitsap won by an overwhelming majority.
Like most planters in the Southern United States, Jackson used slave labor. In 1804, Jackson had nine African American slaves; by 1820, he had over 100; and by his death in 1845, he had over 150. Over his lifetime, he owned a total of 300 slaves.