Paradise Township appears in Jefferson County records only briefly, roughly from 1839 to 1842, as a civil division carved from the interior of the county. Historians note that its territory later became Gaskill, Bell, Henderson, McCalmont, and part of Winslow townships, and that Paradise “disappeared from the records as mysteriously as it appeared.” For genealogists, Paradise is a paper township with changing boundaries rather than a long-lived community.
Paradise Township no longer exists as a modern township. Most records for families who lived within its short-lived boundaries will be found under earlier Jefferson County townships and later Bell, Gaskill, Henderson, McCalmont, and Winslow.
Tip: Combine Paradise Township with the later township names Bell, Gaskill, Henderson, McCalmont, Winslow plus nearby village names (such as Punxsutawney, Anita, Sykesville) when searching deeds, tax lists, or obituaries.
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When searching, try combinations such as Paradise Twp., Paradise Township, or simply Jefferson Co. along with later township names Bell, Gaskill, Henderson, McCalmont, and Winslow. Many residents who were once counted in “Paradise” show up in later records under those successor townships instead.
Strategy: Treat “Paradise Township” as a short-lived label for a region that later stabilizes as Bell, Gaskill, Henderson, McCalmont, and Winslow. When you encounter a reference to Paradise, always ask: “Which of these later townships did this land fall into?”
County histories describe Paradise Township as a briefly existing civil division. Drawing on Jefferson County records, historians note that a township “known from about 1839 until 1842 as Paradise” was organized from interior lands of the county. From the names of its officers and early taxables, the territory appears to have included all of what is now Gaskill, Bell, Henderson, McCalmont, and part of Winslow townships.
Paradise seems to have been more of an administrative experiment than a lasting community. With subsequent acts creating and refining townships like Bell, Gaskill, Henderson, McCalmont, and Winslow, the name “Paradise” fades quickly from the record books, leaving only a short series of assessment rolls and election minutes as evidence of its existence.
Because Paradise existed for such a short time and left few distinct institutions, it functions as a paper township in genealogical research. Residents did not move when the township lines changed; instead, the name of the township on the records changed around them. A landowner who is listed in Paradise in one assessment might appear in Bell, Gaskill, or another successor township a few years later, even though the farm itself did not relocate.
For this reason, researchers should use Paradise as a pointer to a region rather than as a destination in itself. It signals that your ancestor’s land lay within that interior belt of the county, later divided among the successor townships listed above.
Records created during the Paradise years include tax assessments, election returns, and scattered references in county commissioners’ and court minutes. Deeds, probate, and vital events for the same families will often be filed simply under Jefferson County or under older or newer township names, depending on the year.
Historical summary adapted from county histories and election/tax commentary, emphasizing genealogical use: Paradise’s real value lies in helping you pivot between early and later townships within this interior part of Jefferson County.
Because Paradise existed only a short time, county histories focus less on pioneer settlers and more on the taxables and officers who appear in the brief township records. Use these as entry points into the assessment rolls and as a guide to the families concentrated in the Paradise region.
Tip: If you locate a reference to a Paradise Township officer, search for the same surname in early deed indexes and in the first assessment lists for Bell, Gaskill, Henderson, McCalmont, and Winslow to see where that person “lands” after the township reshuffle.
Paradise did not develop named villages of its own, but its territory overlaps several later townships and the neighborhoods within them. Think of Paradise as an early label for this interior region rather than a settled “township community.”
Part of the former Paradise territory became Bell Township, which later included farming districts and settlements tied to the Punxsutawney–Brookville road network. If a family is listed in Paradise in the early 1840s and later appears in Bell, it is likely they never moved—only the township name changed.
Use Bell Township tax lists, maps, and church records to pick up Paradise-era families after the township shuffle.
Other portions of Paradise were later organized as Gaskill and Henderson townships. These areas eventually tied more closely to the Punxsutawney trade region, with roads, coal operations, and small hamlets. For families whose land lay near later Punxsutawney-area communities, Gaskill and Henderson are likely successors.
Look for your Paradise ancestors in early Gaskill and Henderson censuses, school records, and church circuits that also served Punxsutawney neighborhoods.
County commentary suggests that McCalmont and parts of Winslow also absorbed pieces of the Paradise region. As these townships took shape, their assessment rolls and tax maps preserve the landholding patterns first grouped under Paradise.
When a deed or tax entry cites “Paradise” with a metes-and-bounds description, try plotting the land against later McCalmont or Winslow township maps to see where it ended up.
There is no known cemetery that carried the official name “Paradise Township Cemetery” during the brief life of the township. Burials for families living in the Paradise region now appear under cemetery names tied to the successor townships and their churches or family plots.
Strategy: Use the Jefferson County cemetery directory under Bell, Gaskill, Henderson, McCalmont, and Winslow, and then correlate those burial grounds with early land descriptions that once fell within Paradise.
Paradise existed during the period when Jefferson County’s township school system was taking shape, but there is no evidence of a distinct, long-lived school specifically identified as “Paradise.” Children from the area likely attended small district schools that later came to be associated with Bell, Gaskill, Henderson, McCalmont, or Winslow.
For indirect evidence of residence, consult county-level school reports, teacher pay lists, and township school board minutes in the successor townships rather than looking for a Paradise school label.
Churches serving families in the Paradise region were part of broader circuits that crossed township lines. Congregations later identified with Punxsutawney and the surrounding townships often drew members from the same territory that was briefly called Paradise.
Check church and circuit histories that cover Bell, Gaskill, Henderson, McCalmont, and Winslow, and look for sacramental registers that list residences simply as “near Punxsutawney” or by road or landmark.
Because Paradise was short-lived and largely administrative, church records will almost always be filed under regional congregations and successor townships rather than under the Paradise name itself.
There is no evidence of a distinct post office officially named “Paradise” during the township’s short existence. Residents in this interior belt of the county likely received mail through nearby Jefferson County offices that later aligned with Punxsutawney-area townships and villages.
Tip: Look for post-office names associated with Bell, Gaskill, Henderson, McCalmont, and Winslow rather than a Paradise post office when tracing addresses through time.
Paradise Township did not leave behind formally platted towns under its own name, but its land later encompassed neighborhoods and crossroads within Bell, Gaskill, Henderson, McCalmont, and Winslow. This locality snapshot will eventually highlight those overlapping places.
Use historic atlases and modern GIS, alongside the Locality Guide and township snapshots, to translate early Paradise-era descriptions into modern township locations.
County histories offer only fragmentary statistics for Paradise, but the basic picture is clear: a sparsely populated administrative district that quickly gave way to more stable townships.
Use these points to frame Paradise as a very short-term label in the evolution of Jefferson County’s township system, not as a fully developed community like the later townships that inherited its land and population.
Use county maps and atlases to identify where Paradise-era land later fell within Bell, Gaskill, Henderson, McCalmont, and Winslow. Deeds recorded during the Paradise years may not mention the township at all, but metes-and-bounds descriptions can be matched to later township outlines.
Families living in the Paradise region were buried in cemeteries that now fall within the boundaries of Bell, Gaskill, Henderson, McCalmont, and Winslow. There is no separate “Paradise Cemetery” to search.
For the short period when Paradise appears by name, look at Jefferson County dockets, commissioners’ minutes, and tax books for township references. Then move into the earliest records of Bell, Gaskill, Henderson, McCalmont, and Winslow to follow the same families forward in time.
Regional newspapers seldom used the Paradise name for long, but they did cover communities and farms that later fall into the successor townships. Look for references to roads, creeks, and neighboring towns rather than relying solely on a township name.