# Jonesboro, Georgia

Jonesboro (/ˈdʒoʊnzbʌrə/) is a city in and the county seat of Clayton County, Georgia, United States. The population was 4,235 in 2020.
The city's name was originally spelled Jonesborough. 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, 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 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°31′28″N 84°21′15″W﻿ / ﻿33.52444°N 84.35417°W﻿ / 33.52444; -84.35417 (33.524512, -84.354290).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.6 square miles (6.7 km$^2$), of which 2.6 square miles (6.7 km$^2$) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km$^2$) (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

Climate data for Jonesboro, Georgia, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1994–present :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 77 (25) | 81 (27) | 89 (32) | 92 (33) | 95 (35) | 103 (39) | 104 (40) | 104 (40) | 99 (37) | 98 (37) | 86 (30) | 78 (26) | 104 (40) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 69.7 (20.9) | 73.6 (23.1) | 80.7 (27.1) | 85.3 (29.6) | 90.4 (32.4) | 95.9 (35.5) | 96.1 (35.6) | 95.9 (35.5) | 92.5 (33.6) | 82.8 (28.2) | 76.8 (24.9) | 72.6 (22.6) | 97.7 (36.5) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 52.7 (11.5) | 56.5 (13.6) | 64.7 (18.2) | 73.0 (22.8) | 80.5 (26.9) | 86.7 (30.4) | 89.6 (32.0) | 88.6 (31.4) | 83.2 (28.4) | 73.4 (23.0) | 62.4 (16.9) | 54.7 (12.6) | 72.2 (22.3) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 42.5 (5.8) | 45.9 (7.7) | 53.3 (11.8) | 61.0 (16.1) | 69.7 (20.9) | 76.6 (24.8) | 79.8 (26.6) | 78.8 (26.0) | 73.3 (22.9) | 62.5 (16.9) | 51.7 (10.9) | 45.1 (7.3) | 61.7 (16.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 32.3 (0.2) | 35.3 (1.8) | 41.8 (5.4) | 49.1 (9.5) | 58.8 (14.9) | 66.5 (19.2) | 70.0 (21.1) | 69.0 (20.6) | 63.3 (17.4) | 51.6 (10.9) | 40.9 (4.9) | 35.4 (1.9) | 51.2 (10.7) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | 17.1 (−8.3) | 22.3 (−5.4) | 28.6 (−1.9) | 36.3 (2.4) | 45.9 (7.7) | 58.2 (14.6) | 63.4 (17.4) | 63.5 (17.5) | 53.1 (11.7) | 37.1 (2.8) | 27.7 (−2.4) | 24.0 (−4.4) | 15.9 (−8.9) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 5 (−15) | 6 (−14) | 14 (−10) | 29 (−2) | 37 (3) | 50 (10) | 52 (11) | 57 (14) | 42 (6) | 29 (−2) | 19 (−7) | 7 (−14) | 5 (−15) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 5.02 (128) | 4.86 (123) | 4.95 (126) | 4.19 (106) | 3.47 (88) | 4.59 (117) | 5.09 (129) | 4.42 (112) | 3.56 (90) | 3.62 (92) | 4.19 (106) | 4.96 (126) | 52.92 (1,343) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 0.5 (1.3) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.1 (0.25) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.2 (0.51) | 0.8 (2.06) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 10.5 | 10.6 | 9.7 | 8.5 | 8.3 | 10.8 | 11.2 | 10.2 | 7.9 | 6.8 | 8.2 | 10.4 | 113.1 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.4 |
| Source 1: NOAA ||||||||||||||
| Source 2: National Weather Service (mean maxima/minima 2006–2020) ||||||||||||||

## Demographics

Jonesboro racial composition as of 2020 :
| 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.

## 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 Hapoel Eilat of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
* 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