Jonesboro’s post office opened in 1901, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 20% of U.S. towns · #110 of 161 in Louisiana. What drives it
Most of Jonesboro was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1966. Its Register listing is the Palace Theatre. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1949 on, and the census since 1910.
The Jonesboro post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Macedonia (1886), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 1,134 in 19102020 census: 4,106125 years
How historic is Jonesboro?
C−
More historic than 20% 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 20% of U.S. towns, #110 of 161 in Louisiana. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Jonesboro’s overall grade.
Louisiana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Louisiana town has 3.8 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Jonesboro’s 2.5 sits near the middle of its state (49% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.1 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.
Founded on January 10, 1860, by Joseph Jones and his wife, Sarah Pankey Jones, as a small family farm, Jonesboro is now a small industrial mill town. Originally founded as "Macedonia," the small town's name changed to Jonesboro on January 16, 1901, after the United States Post Office Department approved the change and became the seat of government for Jackson Parish on March 15, 1911, following a parish-wide referendum. Jonesboro remains the parish's agricultural, industrial, economic, and governmental center.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Jonesboro, census by census
Between 837 and 5,072 people in every census since 1910.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Jonesboro’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds
Jonesboro’s post office has been open since 1901. Another post office, Macedonia, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Macedonia
1886–1901
Jonesboro
1901–today
18801950today
Gone or out of use
Jonesboro Gas Fieldoilfield
1cemetery inside Jonesboro
Jonesboro
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Jonesboro’s history
What year was Jonesboro founded?
The Jonesboro post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Jonesboro rank for history?
Jonesboro is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #110 of 161 in Louisiana. 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 Palace Theatre (listed 2008).
How old are the homes in Jonesboro?
4% of Jonesboro’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.1 points), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1966.
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 (4), 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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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