Jonesboro’s post office opened in 1844, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 68% of U.S. towns · #66 of 263 in Georgia. What drives it
Most of Jonesboro was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1972. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 13 buildings. Below: maps from 1890 on and the census since 1870.
The Jonesboro post office opened in 1844, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Singleton (1842), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 531 in 18702020 census: 4,235182 years
How historic is Jonesboro?
B+
More historic than 68% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Jonesboro post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Jonesboro’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Jonesboro is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #66 of 263 in Georgia. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Jonesboro’s overall grade.
Georgia towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Georgia town has 10.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Jonesboro’s 21.2 sits near the middle of its state (60% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 13 historic buildings outnumber those of 77% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Jonesboro’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1890Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Jonesboro’s post office has been open since 1844. Another post office, Singleton, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Singleton
1842–1844
Jonesboro
1844–today
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Charlotte WoodsJarrardLake Tara
Gone or out of use
Clayton High SchoolschoolFlint River Baptist ChurchchurchMiddle Georgia CollegeschoolSouth Expressway Airportairport
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Jonesboro
ConfederateJonesboro City
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
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.
The Jonesboro post office opened in 1844, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Jonesboro rank for history?
Jonesboro is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #66 of 263 in Georgia. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Jonesboro?
One place: the Jonesboro Historic District (listed 1972).
How old are the homes in Jonesboro?
7% of Jonesboro’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.4 points), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1972.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (8), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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