Jonesboro, Georgia

History

Jonesboro was inhabited by settlers as early as 1821, as a result of the Treaty of Indian Springs, and it was founded as Leaksville in 1823. In 1825, the Flint River Baptist Church was erected on a hill in Leaksville. After the Macon and Western Railroad arrived into the area in 1846, the town was renamed to Jonesboro, in order to honor railroad official Samuel Goode Jones (son of Thomas G. Jones), who was also honored by its citizens. Jonesboro was incorporated over three decades later, in 1859.

Jonesboro hosted the beach volleyball at the 1996 Summer Olympics with the artificial beach created at Clayton County International Park. Jonesboro elected its first Black Mayor, Dr. Sonya Sartor, in March 2023.

In 2024, an investigation by the "FOX 5 I-Team" in Atlanta discovered that hundreds of traffic tickets had been issued improperly by robotic traffic control cameras in school zones. The city was compelled to issue refunds and an apology.

Geography

Jonesboro is located at (33.524512, -84.354290).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.6 sqmi, of which 2.6 sqmi is land and 0.1 sqmi (1.89%) is water.

The railroad through Jonesboro is built on the Eastern Continental Divide and there are no bridges for the tracks for many miles in either direction.

Climate

| Jan record high F = 77 | Feb record high F = 81 | Mar record high F = 89 | Apr record high F = 92 | May record high F = 95 | Jun record high F = 103 | Jul record high F = 104 | Aug record high F = 104 | Sep record high F = 99 | Oct record high F = 98 | Nov record high F = 86 | Dec record high F = 78 | Jan avg record high F = 69.7 | Feb avg record high F = 73.6 | Mar avg record high F = 80.7 | Apr avg record high F = 85.3 | May avg record high F = 90.4 | Jun avg record high F = 95.9 | Jul avg record high F = 96.1 | Aug avg record high F = 95.9 | Sep avg record high F = 92.5 | Oct avg record high F = 82.8 | Nov avg record high F = 76.8 | Dec avg record high F = 72.6 | year avg record high F = 97.7

| Jan avg record low F = 17.1 | Feb avg record low F = 22.3 | Mar avg record low F = 28.6 | Apr avg record low F = 36.3 | May avg record low F = 45.9 | Jun avg record low F = 58.2 | Jul avg record low F = 63.4 | Aug avg record low F = 63.5 | Sep avg record low F = 53.1 | Oct avg record low F = 37.1 | Nov avg record low F = 27.7 | Dec avg record low F = 24.0 | year avg record low F = 15.9 | Jan record low F = 5 | Feb record low F = 6 | Mar record low F = 14 | Apr record low F = 29 | May record low F = 37 | Jun record low F = 50 | Jul record low F = 52 | Aug record low F = 57 | Sep record low F = 42 | Oct record low F = 29 | Nov record low F = 19 | Dec record low F = 7

|access-date = February 27, 2023 |access-date = February 27, 2023

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 4,235 people, 1,195 households, and 771 families residing in the city.

Infrastructure

Transit systems

MARTA and Xpress GA/Georgia RTA buses serve the city.

Movies and literature

Many of the scenes from the 1977 film Smokey and the Bandit were filmed in Jonesboro. Another 1977 movie, the obscure 'In Hot Pursuit (aka The Polk County Pot Plane), was filmed in and around Jonesboro.

Tara, the fictional plantation in Margaret Mitchell's novel Gone with the Wind was supposed to be located approximately five miles outside of Jonesboro, the closest town.

"We Are Marshall" was briefly filmed at Tara Stadium in Jonesboro. The stadium was changed from green to light blue and light yellow for the scene.

Lynyrd Skynyrd's (pronounced 'lĕh-'nérd 'skin-'nérd) album cover was photographed near the corner of Mill and Main streets.

Landmarks

• Rural Home (now demolished)
• Stately Oaks

Education

Clayton County Public Schools operates public schools.

Notable people

• Dan T. Cathy (born 1953), CEO of Chick-fil-A
• Chidi "Chi Chi" Osondu, Nigerian-American record producer and songwriter
• Tashard Choice, former running back in National Football League
• Harry Douglas, former NFL wide receiver
• Toney Douglas (born 1986), basketball player for FC Porto of the Liga Portuguesa de Basquetebol
• Jesse Fuller, Afro-American blues musician
• Sister Mary Melanie Holliday, Catholic nun
• Garrett Liberty, racing driver
• Steve Lundquist, two-time gold medal swimmer in 1984 Olympics
• Johnny Nave, racing driver
• Thomas Milton Rivers, bacteriologist and virologist with the Rockefeller Institute, Rear Admiral of the U.S. Navy
• Adam Smith (born 1992), basketball player for Hapoel Holon in the Israel Basketball Premier League
• Annie Fitzgerald Stephens, landowner and businesswoman, grandmother of Margaret Mitchell
• Cameron Sutton, cornerback for the Detroit Lions
• M. J. Walker, shooting guard for Florida State

References

References

1. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
2. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
3. (2007-10-25). "US Board on Geographic Names". [[United States Geological Survey]].
4. "Find a County". National Association of Counties.
5. "Jonesboro, GA - City History".
6. Hellmann, Paul T.. (May 13, 2013). "Historical Gazetteer of the United States". Routledge.
7. "[http://jonesboroga.com/site/VisitingJonesboro/CityHistory/tabid/90/Default.aspx City History]." ([https://web.archive.org/web/20120824001535/http://jonesboroga.com/site/VisitingJonesboro/CityHistory/tabid/90/Default.aspx Archive]) City of Jonesboro. Retrieved on September 21, 2012.
8. Georgia Department of Economic Development. "Clayton County International Park". Explore Georgia.
9. (March 24, 2023). "Jonesboro voters elect Dr. Donya Sartor as their first-ever Black mayor".
10. "More speed camera trouble: FOX 5 I-Team investigation finds another 6K erroneous tickets".
11. (2011-02-12). "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". [[United States Census Bureau]].
12. "2022 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Georgia". United States Census Bureau.
13. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov.
14. "HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE (2020)". U.S. Census Bureau.
15. "HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE (2010)". U.S. Census Bureau.
16. "Georgia: 2000". U.S. Census Bureau.