Editing Jonesboro, Arkansas (section)

==History==
The Jonesboro area was first inhabited for thousands of years by indigenous peoples. At the time of the European encounter, historic tribes included the [[Osage Nation|Osage]], the [[Caddo]], and the [[Quapaw]].<ref name=jbhistory>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jonesboro.org/History/History.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071228124933/http://www.jonesboro.org/History/History.htm|title=History of Jonesboro|archive-date=December 28, 2007}}</ref> The name for the state of Arkansas comes from the Quapaw language.<ref name=jbhistory/> The French and Spanish traders and trappers had relations with those groups.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}

After the United States acquired this territory in the [[Louisiana Purchase]] of 1803, American settlers eventually made their way to an area near Jonesboro. They began exploring, hunting, trapping, and trading with local Indian tribes. The permanent settlement of Jonesboro was established shortly after 1859, when Craighead County was established.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}

In 1859, land was taken from nearby [[Greene County, Arkansas|Greene]], [[Mississippi County, Arkansas|Mississippi]], and [[Poinsett County, Arkansas|Poinsett]] counties and was used to form Craighead County. Jonesboro was designated as the original county seat. As the population increased to the west of the county, [[Lake City, Arkansas|Lake City]] was named as the second seat.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://genealogytrails.com/ark/craig/ |title=Craighead County Arkansas Genealogy Trails |publisher=Genealogytrails.com |date=March 3, 2006 |access-date=August 13, 2012}}</ref> Jonesboro had 150 residents in 1859. It was named after State Senator William A. Jones<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ |title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States |publisher=Govt. Print. Off. |author=Gannett, Henry |year=1905 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n169 170]}}</ref> in recognition of his support for the formation of Craighead County. Originally spelled ''Jonesborough'', the city name was later shortened to its present-day spelling.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}

In 1881, a young woman was brutally murdered in an apparent robbery. Her father had left their farm for a short while and returned to find her in a pool of her own blood. Four black men were arrested in conjunction with the crime, and after their trial, The Jonesboro Lynching of 1881 took place at midnight on March 12. The ''Decatur Daily Republican'' reported that the four men, called Green Harris (sometimes referred to as Hawes), Giles Peck, John Woods (sometimes referred to as Jud Woods), and Burt Hoskins (sometimes referred to as Haskins)—had been arrested and tried before magistrates Jackson and Akers at New Haven Church, eight miles north of Jonesboro. The hearing, which found that the men were guilty, was attended by several hundred people. According to this and several other reports, the accused made a complete confession. The magistrates bound them over to the grand jury, and they were ordered taken to the jail in Jonesboro. The hour being late, however, it was decided to hold them overnight in the church under a strong guard. The large crowd gradually dispersed, "muttering threats of vengeance." Around midnight, between 200 and 300 masked men surrounded the church, overpowered the guards, and broke in the doors and windows. They seized the accused, dragged them to a tree about 200 yards away, and hanged them. Once again, the crowd dispersed, "leaving the bodies of their victims dangling in the air and presenting a horrible spectacle in the moonlight." According to the ''Republican'', "The crime and punishment form one of the blackest pages in the annals of the state."<ref>"[http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=7673 "Jonesboro Lynching of 1881"]. Encyclopedia of Arkansas</ref>

[[File:Jonesboro AR historic Bell House 303 Cherry St.JPG|thumb|left|The [[Bell House (Jonesboro, Arkansas)|Bell House]] is one of twelve Jonesboro sites listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Craighead County, Arkansas|National Register of Historic Places]].]]
During the late 19th century, the city tried to develop its court system and downtown infrastructure. Shortly after the city was named county seat, the highest point in Jonesboro was identified and a courthouse was planned for construction. This was delayed for several years, for the locals did not want to ruin their deer hunting. The first courthouse was finally completed but was destroyed by a fire in 1869. A store across from this site was rented and used as a courthouse. It was destroyed in an 1876 fire. Another building was constructed on the same site, but it fell to a fire in 1878, a major one that destroyed most of downtown Jonesboro. Soon afterward, another courthouse was constructed; it was replaced by [[Craighead County Courthouse (Jonesboro, Arkansas)|the present courthouse]] in 1934.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}

The [[St. Louis Southwestern Railway]], known as the Cotton Belt Railroad was constructed through Jonesboro, with its tracks passing just north of the center of the city. During the first train's journey, it became stuck and supplies had to be carried into town.<ref name=jbhistory/> It connected St. Louis to points in Arkansas and Texas. Other major railways began to construct tracks to and from Jonesboro, including the [[St. Louis–San Francisco Railway]] and [[Missouri Pacific Railroad]]. Some of the rail companies still own and use the tracks that run through Jonesboro.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}

The city set up the [[Jonesboro School District]] in 1899.<ref name=jpss>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jps.k12.ar.us/|title=Jonesboro Public School System|access-date=December 12, 2007|archive-date=August 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190828133649/http://www.jps.k12.ar.us/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1900, St. Bernard's Regional Medical Center was established by the Olivetan Benedictine Sisters.<ref name=sbrmc>{{Cite web|url=http://www.stbernards.info/html_history_facts/|title=St. Bernard's Medical Center: History & Facts|access-date=December 12, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171114041250/http://www.stbernards.info/html_history_facts/|archive-date=November 14, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Grand Leader Department Store, the first department store in the city, was opened in 1900. Woodland College and two schools within the Jonesboro School District were opened in 1904. Arkansas State College (now Arkansas State University) was established in 1909,<ref name=asu>{{Cite web|url=http://asunews.astate.edu/about.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080112030259/http://asunews.astate.edu/about.htm|title=About Arkansas State University|archive-date=January 12, 2008|website=asunews.astate.edu}}</ref> a year in which the first [[horseless carriage]]s were driven in the city. There is a recording on a Sanborn Fire Insurance Map dating back to March 1897 of a Presbyterian Church existing at the corner of Church St. and Monroe, and a Christian church located at the corner of Union and Huntington Ave. Other early churches of the city were started in the 1910s. First Baptist Church was founded in 1911, and First Methodist Church in 1916.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}

[[Lynching of Wade Thomas|Wade Thomas was lynched]] on December 26, 1920, in downtown Jonesboro. A large white mob seized Thomas after he allegedly shot local Patrolman Elmer Ragland during a Christmas Day raid on a local dice game. He was paraded through the town and then hanged and his body riddled with bullets.<ref>{{cite web |last=Lancaster |first=Guy |date=February 1, 2019 |url=https://arktimes.com/history/2019/02/01/the-unbearable-whiteness-of-being |title=The unbearable whiteness of being - What's lost when we consider the history of racial violence from a white perspective |publisher=Arkansas Times |access-date=December 28, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=1920 |title=Arkansas Mob Hangs Slayer of Policeman |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1920-12-27/ed-1/seq-3/# |newspaper=New-York Tribune |location=New York City |issn=1941-0646 |oclc=9405688 |page=3 |access-date=December 28, 2020}}</ref>

On September 10, 1931, Governor [[Harvey Parnell]] authorized the [[Arkansas National Guard]] to be deployed in Jonesboro to quell the [[Church War of Jonesboro|Church War]], a clash between the followers of Joe Jeffers and Dow H. Heard, the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Jonesboro. Jeffers' supporters also attacked the mayor and police chief, resulting in front-page coverage of the incident in ''[[The New York Times]]''.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}

On [[Tornado outbreak of May 1968|May 15, 1968]] an F4 tornado struck Jonesboro, destroying 164 homes.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Grazulis |first1=Thomas P. |title=Significant tornadoes, 1680-1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events |date=1993 |publisher=Environmental Films |location=St. Johnsbury, Vermont |isbn=1-879362-03-1 |page=1099}}</ref> At least 34 people died and more than 350 people were injured as a result of the tornado which struck the town without warning at 10:00pm that night.

On May 27, 1973, shortly after midnight, an F4 tornado struck Jonesboro, killing 3 and injuring 289.<ref name="1973data">{{cite web|title=Storm Prediction Center WCM Page: Severe Weather Database Files (1950-2014)|url=http://www.spc.noaa.gov/wcm/#data|website=Storm Prediction Center|publisher=Storm Prediction Center|access-date=February 26, 2016|date=March 17, 2015}}</ref>  Damage was estimated at 60 million in 1973 dollars.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://memphismagazine.com/ask-vance/remembering-the-1973-jonesboro-arkansas-tornado/ | title=Remembering the 1973 Jonesboro, Arkansas, Tornado | date=May 26, 2013 }}</ref>

The [[1998 Westside Middle School shooting]] occurred on March 24. Two young boys (aged 11 and 13 years) fired upon students at Westside Middle School while hidden in woodlands near the school. They killed four students and one teacher, and injured 10 persons.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2018/03/23/596103091/20-years-later-jonesboro-shooting-survivors-conflicted-over-parkland |title=20 Years Later, Jonesboro Shooting Survivors Conflicted Over Parkland|website=NPR|date=March 23, 2018|access-date=January 1, 2019|last1=Goodwyn|first1=Wade}}</ref>

In the 2007–2008 school year the Jonesboro Public School District elementary schools were reclassified as [[magnet school]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.kait8.com/Global/story.asp?S=6815261|title=KAIT - Jonesboro, AR: Teachers get Ready for Magnet Schools<!-- Bot generated title -->|access-date=June 6, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171114093232/http://www.kait8.com/Global/story.asp?S=6815261|archive-date=November 14, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===2020 tornado===
{{Main|2020 Jonesboro tornado}}
A "large, destructive"<ref name=":1" /> EF3 tornado struck Jonesboro on March 28, 2020, causing severe damage to [[The Mall at Turtle Creek]] and at least twenty minor injuries, and two severe injuries.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/03/28/jonesboro-arkansas-tornado/ |title = Large, destructive tornado strikes Jonesboro, Ark., leaving behind 'severe' damage|newspaper = [[The Washington Post]]}}</ref>