Jenkins Township was separated from Pittston Township on June 24, 1852. The earliest inhabitants were Native American tribes. The earliest recorded European settlers were Joseph Gardner and Isaac Gould in the early 1790s. They built a Grist Mill along Gardner Creek, using water to power it. Jenkins Township is noted for its many villages each with their own character, which is composed of Port Griffith, which was named after one of the original stockholders of the Pennsylvania Coal Company. The building of railroad and canal lines in the early and mid 1800s made the Township a busy place. There was a connection between the Pennsylvania Coal Company and the North Branch Canal. Port Blanchard was named after Jon Blanchard an early resident and coal operator. The first resident was Captain Jeremiah Blanchard, a Revolutionary War soldier. The Cooper Cemetery contains the remains of Port Blanchard’s earliest residents dating back to the 1790s. A river ferry operated before the construction of the Eighth Street Bridge and a hotel. Inkerman and Sebastopol may have gained their names from the Crimean War of 1854-1856. In the war made famous by the Charge of the Light Brigade, Great Britain supported Turkey against Russia and both villages were also battles in the Black Sea. Immigrants may have chosen the names to honor the battles. Both were active mining villages along the old "back road" to Wilkes-Barre. While the above villages developed along existing roads, Westminster and Old/New Boston area grew from mining operations in what was wilderness during the latter part of the 19th century. At first, they consisted of little more than a collection of shacks around the mine workings. The Bostons were named after a small coal company. Lumber was plentiful in the Boston area along with the mining areas. The residents were a mix of Irish, Welsh, and later Europeans who settled in the various Villages of Jenkins Township.

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