Jackson Real Estate History
Jackson Real Estate was founded by Evelyn “Irene” Jackson in 1964. Evelyn Jackson was the mother of Melanie Jackson McLane. When Evelyn entered the real estate business in 1961, she was the first woman to be licensed in Lycoming County. She continued with a number of outstanding firsts: first woman President of the Lycoming County Board of Realtors® (now the West Branch Valley Association of Realtors®), the first woman President of the Multiple Listing Service, when it was separate from the board of Realtors®, and the first ever REALTOR® of the Year for the association. In 1964, Evelyn opened her first office—operating out of her dining room at 348 Washington Ave. When the Jackson family moved next door to 350 Washington Ave, she ran the office out of an enclosed porch. Within a few short years, she moved her office downtown. Originally, she was in an office on Main St., which was part of an L-shaped building she owned with her brother, Jim Mercury. Jim owned and operated Shore Stationery Store, which fronted on Allegheny Street (the other part of the L). That building was destroyed by fire in the late 1960’s-early 1970’s, forcing her out. The office was moved to a small building on the corner of Main and Allegheny, adjacent to Bill Ely’s State Farm Insurance Office. That office was flooded in 1972, during Hurricane Agnes, but the indomitable Mrs. Jackson bought a house at 225 N. Main St., which was a 2 unit building. The office was moved there in 1972. By this time, the company was growing. There were several agents, and Melanie Jackson, recently out of college, joined the firm in 1975. We stayed at this address for a number of years; when Lauren McLane Gross, Melanie and Jim McLane’s first child was born, a day nursery was set up and used in a room upstairs, over the office. Jim McLane married into the family in 1981, and immediately became the company numbers guy, a role he has fulfilled to this day. In 1984, Jackson Real Estate bought their current building, located at 226-232 Allegheny St. This building, known to many long time locals as “the Raup building”, because Raup’s store was located in it, is large, with two commercial spaces and two apartments overhead. The company is still in this location today. For a period of time in the mid 1970’s to the early 1980’s, Jackson Real Estate had a branch office in Williamsport, located first on Pine Street, next to WILQ, and then down on the Golden Strip.
From the beginning, Jackson Real Estate offered a full array of services to clients—listings, sales, appraisals, and property management. Because of the increased cost of insurance associated with property management, that aspect of the business was discontinued in the 1980’s. In the early 1990’s, as her husband was experiencing health problems, Evelyn Jackson retired from the business. Her husband, Hugh, passed away in 1996; Evelyn Jackson passed away in 2001. In the meantime, Melanie McLane continued to grow the real estate business, and added a side business of her own, McLane Solutions, which is her real estate education business. Jim McLane got a real estate license in the late 1980’s and serves as broker of record. Josie Mason McLane, daughter-in-law of Jim and Melanie, joined the business in 2013, making the third generation in the business.
At over 50 years in the business, Jackson Real Estate is the oldest real estate company in Jersey Shore, and one of the oldest in the area. Our commitment to honesty, integrity and the very highest standards of customer service have been our hallmark for the first fifty years—and will be our hallmark for the next 50 years!