Jonesboro, Georgia

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Jonesboro (Template:IPAc-en) is a city in and the county seat of Clayton County, Georgia, United States.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> The population was 4,235 in 2020.

The city's name was originally spelled Jonesborough.Template:Citation needed During the American Civil War, the final skirmish in the Atlanta Campaign was fought here south of Atlanta, cutting off the city and forcing the mayor of Atlanta to surrender at Marietta in early September 1864. The final fall of Atlanta in the Battle of Jonesborough ended up being a decisive point in the nation's history, propelling Abraham Lincoln to re-election two months later, and continuing the war until the Confederacy finally surrendered the following year.

History

Jonesboro was inhabited by settlers as early as 1821, as a result of the Treaty of Indian Springs,<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> and it was founded as Leaksville in 1823.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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 G. Jones who was also honored by its citizens.<ref name=":0" /> Jonesboro was incorporated over three decades later, in 1859.<ref>"City History." (Archive) City of Jonesboro. Retrieved on September 21, 2012.</ref>

Jonesboro hosted the beach volleyball at the 1996 Summer Olympics with the artificial beach created at Clayton County International Park.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Jonesboro elected its first Black Mayor, Dr. Sonya Sartor, in March 2023.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Geography

Jonesboro is located at Template:Coord (33.524512, -84.354290).<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref>

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert (1.89%) is water.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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

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Demographics

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Jonesboro racial composition as of 2020<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Race	Num.	Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)	1,126	26.59%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	2,247	53.06%
Native American	6	0.24%
Asian	124	2.93%
Pacific Islander	3	0.07%
Other/Mixed	146	3.45%
Hispanic or Latino	583	13.77%

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.