In 1869, W. M. "Billy" Street came here to locate, climbed Scarbrough Hill west of the present site of Jewell City, and saw moving buffalo as far as the eye could reach to the north, west, and south, with the main herd on the move. Early newspaper editor W. C. Palmer described Jewell as one of the best in the bully west and the heart of the Buffalo Valley. In 2020, events during Jewell's sesquicentennial honored the town's 150-year history.