Jonesboro, Louisiana

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name                    = Jonesboro, Louisiana
| official_name           = Town of Jonesboro
| native_name             = 
| native_name_lang        = <!-- ISO 639-2 code e.g. "fr" for French. If more than one, use {{lang}} instead -->
| settlement_type         = [[Town]] & [[County seat#Louisiana|Parish seat]]
| image_skyline           = Jonesboro, LA, City Hall MVI_2685.jpg
| image_alt               = 
| image_size              = 250px
| image_caption           = Jonesboro City Hall
| image_flag              = 
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| shield_alt              = 
| etymology               = 
| nickname                = 
| motto                   = 
| image_map               = File:Jackson Parish Louisiana Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Jonesboro Highlighted.svg
| map_alt                 = 
| map_caption             = Location of Jonesboro in Jackson Parish, Louisiana
| pushpin_map             = Louisiana#USA
| pushpin_label           = Jonesboro
| pushpin_label_position  = 
| pushpin_map_alt         = 
| pushpin_map_caption     = 
| coordinates             = {{Coord|32|14|28|N|92|42|57|W}}
| coor_pinpoint           = 
| coordinates_type        = 
| coordinates_footnotes   = 
| coordinates_region      = 
| subdivision_type        = Country
| subdivision_name        = {{flag|United States}}
| subdivision_type1       = State
| subdivision_name1       = {{flag|Louisiana}}
| subdivision_type2       = Parish
| subdivision_name2       = [[Jackson Parish, Louisiana|Jackson]]
| subdivision_type3       = 
| subdivision_name3       = 
| established_title       = 
| established_date        = 
| founder                 = 
| seat_type               = 
| seat                    = 
| government_footnotes    = 
| leader_party            = 
| leader_title            = Mayor
| leader_name             = Mayor-James "Spike" Harris ([[Independent Party (United States)|D]])
<br />
(unseated Democrat Leslie C. Thompson December 8, 2022)
| unit_pref               = Imperial
<!-- ALL fields with measurements have automatic unit conversion -->
<!-- for references: use <ref> tags -->
| area_footnotes          = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020">{{cite web|title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_22.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=March 20, 2022}}</ref>
| area_urban_footnotes    = <!-- <ref> </ref> -->
| area_rural_footnotes    = <!-- <ref> </ref> -->
| area_metro_footnotes    = <!-- <ref> </ref> -->
| area_magnitude          = <!-- <ref> </ref> -->
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<!-- square kilometers -->
| area_total_km2          = 12.70
| area_land_km2           = 12.55
| area_water_km2          = 0.15
| area_urban_km2          = 
| area_rural_km2          = 
| area_metro_km2          = 
| area_blank1_km2         = 
| area_blank2_km2         = 
| elevation_footnotes     = 
| elevation_m             = 
| population_as_of        = [[2020 United States Census|2020]]
| population_footnotes    = 
| population_total        = 4106
| population_density_km2  = 327.09
| population_note         = 
| population_demonym      = 
| timezone1               = [[North American Central Time Zone|CST]]
| utc_offset1             = -6
| timezone1_DST           = [[North American Central Time Zone|CDT]]
| utc_offset1_DST         = -5
| postal_code_type        = [[ZIP Code]]
| postal_code             = 71251
| area_code_type          = Area code
| area_code               = [[Area code 318|318]]
| iso_code                = 
| website                 = {{URL|https://www.jonesborola.net}}
| footnotes               = 
|pop_est_as_of = 
|pop_est_footnotes = 
|population_est = 
|population_density_sq_mi = 847.12
|blank_name = [[Federal Information Processing Standards|FIPS code]]
|blank_info = 22-38670
|area_total_sq_mi = 4.90
|area_land_sq_mi = 4.85
|area_water_sq_mi = 0.06
}}

[[Image:Downtown Jonesboro, LA,  along the Jimmie Davis Blvd MVI 2684.jpg|200px|thumb|[[Jimmie Davis]] Boulevard extends through downtown.]]
[[File:Jonesboro State Bank.jpg|thumb|200x200px|Jonesboro State Bank is located downtown.]]
[[Image:First Baptist Church of Jonesboro, LA MVI 2693.jpg|200px|right|thumb|The First [[Baptist]] Church of Jonesboro is located at the intersection of Jimmie Davis Boulevard and South Cooper Avenue.]]
[[Image:MVI 2682 Another street scene in Jonesboro.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Another view of downtown Jonesboro on the Jimmie Davis Boulevard facing east]]
[[Image:MVI 2697 Garden of Memories in Jonesboro, LA.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Garden of Memories is located on the Castor Highway outside Jonesboro.]]

'''Jonesboro''' is a town in, and the [[parish seat]] of, [[Jackson Parish, Louisiana|Jackson Parish]] in the northern portion of the [[U.S. state]] of [[Louisiana]].<ref name="GR6">{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |access-date=2011-06-07 |title=Find a County |publisher=National Association of Counties |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110531210815/http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |archive-date=2011-05-31 }}</ref> The population was 4,106 in 2020.<ref name=":0" />

==History==
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, Louisiana|Jackson Parish]] on March 15, 1911, following a parish-wide referendum.<ref>https://jonesborola.org/about-us</ref> Jonesboro remains the parish's agricultural, industrial, economic, and governmental center.

During the [[Civil Rights Movement]] of the 1960s, whites violently resisted African-American efforts to gain their constitutional rights as citizens, even after the passage of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]]. The [[Ku Klux Klan]], which was active in the area, conducted what was called a "reign of terror" in 1964, including harassment of activists, "the burning of crosses on the lawns of African-American voters," murder, and destroying five black churches by fire, as well as their Masonic hall, and a Baptist center.<ref name="MenkartMurray2004">{{cite book | editor-first1 = Deborah | editor-last2 = Murray | editor-first2 = Alana D. | editor-last3 = View | edition = 1st | publisher = Teaching for Change and the Poverty & Race Research Action Council | isbn = 9781878554185 | last = James-Wilson | first = Sonia | title = Putting the ''Movement'' Back Into Civil Rights Teaching: A Resource Guide for K-12 Classrooms | chapter = Understanding Self-Defense in the Civil Rights Movement Through Visual Arts | location = Washington, D.C | date = 2004 | chapter-url = http://www.civilrightsteaching.org/Handouts/UnderstandingSelf-Defense.pdf | editor-last = Menkart | access-date = 2017-05-18 | archive-date = 2012-02-22 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120222193021/http://www.civilrightsteaching.org/Handouts/UnderstandingSelf-Defense.pdf | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref name="Hill">{{Cite book | publisher = University of North Carolina Press | isbn = 9780807828472 | last = Hill | first = Lance E. | edition = 1 | title = The Deacons for Defense: Armed Resistance and the Civil Rights Movement | location = Chapel Hill | date = 2004 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/deaconsfordefens00hill_0 }}{{page needed|date=May 2013}}</ref>

In November 1964, Earnest "Chilly Willy" Thomas and [[Frederick Douglass Kirkpatrick]] (the latter ordained that year as a minister of the [[Church of God in Christ]]), founded the [[Deacons for Defense and Justice]] in Jonesboro. It was an armed self-defense group, largely made up of men who were World War II and Korean War veterans. At night, they conducted regular patrols of the city's black community which occupied an area known as "the Quarters".<ref name="Hill"/><ref name="MenkartMurray2004"/> They protected civil rights activists and their families during and outside demonstrations. At the request of activists in [[Bogalusa, Louisiana|Bogalusa]], another mill town where blacks were under pressure from violent whites, Thomas and Kirkpatrick helped found an affiliated chapter in that city.<ref name="Hill"/> Ultimately there were 21 chapters in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, operating through 1968. In Jonesboro, the Deacons achieved some changes, such as integrating parks and a swimming pool. Activists achieved more after congressional passage of the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]] and their entry into politics.

==Geography==
Jonesboro is in southwestern Jackson Parish.<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2011-04-23|date=2011-02-12|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref> [[U.S. Route 167#North Louisiana|U.S. Route 167]] passes through the town's northern and eastern sides, leading north {{convert|22|mi}} to [[Ruston, Louisiana|Ruston]] and south {{convert|23|mi}} to [[Winnfield, Louisiana|Winnfield]]. [[Louisiana Highway 4]] passes through the center of Jonesboro, leading east {{convert|17|mi}} to [[Chatham, Louisiana|Chatham]] and west {{convert|19|mi}} to [[Lucky, Louisiana|Lucky]].

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], Jonesboro has an area of {{convert|12.7|km2|order=flip}}, of which {{convert|12.5|km2|order=flip}} are land and {{convert|0.1|km2|order=flip|2}}, or 1.17%, are water.<ref name="Census 2010">{{Cite web |title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Census Summary File 1 (G001): Jonesboro town, Louisiana |url=https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/1600000US2238670 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213113102/https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/1600000US2238670 |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |access-date=June 26, 2018 |work=American Factfinder |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau}}</ref> Jonesboro water bodies drain north to the Little Dugdemona River, which turns southwest and forms the southward-flowing [[Dugdemona River]].

=== Climate ===
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the [[Köppen Climate Classification]] system, Jonesboro has a [[humid subtropical climate]], abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=237461&cityname=Jonesboro,+Louisiana,+United+States+of+America&units=|title=Jonesboro, Louisiana Köppen Climate Classification (Weatherbase)|website=Weatherbase}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1910= 1134
|1920= 837
|1930= 1949
|1940= 2639
|1950= 3097
|1960= 3848
|1970= 5072
|1980= 5061
|1990= 4305
|2000= 3914
|2010= 4704
|2020= 4106
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"
|+Jonesboro racial composition as of 2020<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Explore Census Data|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=1600000US2238670&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|access-date=2021-12-29|website=data.census.gov}}</ref>
!scope="col"| Race
!scope="col"| Number
!scope="col"| Percentage
|-
!scope="row"| [[White (U.S. Census)|White]] (non-Hispanic)
| 1,531
| 37.29%
|-
!scope="row"| [[African American (U.S. Census)|Black or African American]] (non-Hispanic)
| 2,066
| 50.32%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]]
| 3
| 0.07%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]]
| 102
| 2.48%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]]
| 2
| 0.05%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Race (United States Census)|Other/Mixed]]
| 135
| 3.29%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]]
| 268
| 6.5%
|}
As of the [[2020 United States census]], there were 4,106 people, 1,374 households, and 754 families residing in the town.

==Government==
The city has a [[mayor-council]] form of government; all persons are elected.  [[Independent Dr. James Spoke Harris was inaugurated on December 31, 2022]][[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] James E. Bradford was inaugurated on December 29, 2014.<ref>https://jonesborola.org/mayor-james-bradford</ref>

The previous mayor, Leslie Cornell Thompson, was suspended from office in September 2013 after being convicted of [[malfeasance]] in office. As of 2013, Jonesboro had not had a budget since 2008. His wife, Yoshi Chambers Thompson, was initially appointed by the city council to succeed him as interim mayor. Her legitimacy was questioned by Kenneth David Folden, the fiscal administrator appointed by the state the day after Thompson's conviction to bring city finances back into order. Tammy Sheridan Lee, the [[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]] city judge who administered the oath to Yoshi Thompson, has withdrawn the authorization. [[Attorney General of Louisiana|Louisiana Attorney General]] [[Buddy Caldwell]] is reviewing the legality of the situation.<ref name=mns/>

Meanwhile, Judge James Cecil "Jimmy" Teat of the Louisiana 2nd Judicial District Court in Jonesboro ruled that Thompson had violated the conditions of his bond through continued interference in municipal business. Judge Teat ordered Thompson to be incarcerated in the Jackson Parish Correctional Center until his sentencing on the malfeasance charges.<ref name=mns>{{cite news|url=http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20130924/NEWS01/309240038/Suspended-Jonesboro-mayor-s-bond-revoked|title=Suspended Jonesboro mayor's bond revoked|author=Cole Avery|date=24 September 2013|newspaper=Monroe News-Star|access-date=September 25, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928022540/http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20130924/NEWS01/309240038/Suspended-Jonesboro-mayor-s-bond-revoked|archive-date=28 September 2013}}</ref>

A Democrat, Thompson had been elected mayor on October 2, 2010, with 82votes 4 (57.6 percent) to the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] candidate, Freddie Brown's, 607 (42.4 percent).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/10022010/10022010_25.html|title=Louisiana primary el3ection returns, October 2, 2010|publisher=staticresults.sos.la.gov|access-date=September 25, 2013}}</ref>

On October 17, 2013, based on the conviction of malfeasance, Judge Teat sentenced Mayor Thompson to six years of [[hard labor]], large fines, $51,000 in [[restitution]] to the city of Jonesboro, five years' suspended sentence, and five years of supervised [[probation]]. Thompson will remain incarcerated pending appeal.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thetowntalk.com/viewart/20131018/NEWS01/131018009/Suspended-Jonesboro-mayor-sentenced-6-years|title=Suspended Jonesboro mayor sentenced to 6 years|work=[[The Town Talk (Alexandria)|Alexandria Daily Town Talk]]|date=18 October 2013|access-date=October 18, 2013}}{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

In the runoff election for mayor held on December 8, 2018, Thompson unseated Bradford.

==Arts and culture==
Jonesboro is the home of "Christmas Wonderland in the Pines", a local [[festival]] held annually. It begins the  Saturday after [[Thanksgiving Day]] and continues through December.{{Citation needed|date=August 2008}}

Jonesboro also has a "Sunshine Festival" in the summer, featuring antique cars and tractors, food, and games.

==Infrastructure==

===Transportation===
[[U.S. Highway 167]] passes by Jackson, which is located twenty-four miles south of [[Ruston, Louisiana|Ruston]]. SR 4 joins Highway 167 at Jonesboro, which is in the southwestern portion of Jackson Parish.

<big>'''Immigration Detention'''</big>

The Jackson Parish Correctional Center is an [[U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement|ICE]] detention facility located in Jonesboro. It is a medium security detention center with a capacity of 1,252.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Locations Jackson Parish Correctional Center |url=https://lasallecorrections.com/locations-jackson-parish-correctional-center/ |access-date=2023-04-18 |website=LaSalle Corrections |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Education==
The [[Jackson Parish School Board]] oversees the public school system within Jonesboro from a [[parish]]-level.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jpsb.us/|title=Jackson Parish School District|first=Jackson Parish School|last=District|website=www.jpsb.us}}</ref>

Zoned schools include:
* Jonesboro-Hodge Elementary School <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://jhes.jpsb.us/|title=Jonesboro-Hodge Elementary School|first=Jonesboro-Hodge Elementary|last=School|date=January 31, 2024|website=jhes.jpsb.us}}</ref>
* Jonesboro-Hodge Middle School <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://jhms.jpsb.us/|title=Jonesboro-Hodge Middle School|first=Jonesboro-Hodge Middle|last=School|website=jhms.jpsb.us}}</ref>
* [[Jonesboro-Hodge High School]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://jhhs.jpsb.us/|title=Jonesboro-Hodge High School|first=Jonesboro-Hodge High|last=School|website=jhhs.jpsb.us}}</ref>

The town is also home to the [[Louisiana Delta Community College]] Jonesboro campus, which offers courses in welding, business administration, and various general requirement courses.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ladelta.edu/campuses/jonesboro/|title = Campuses: Jonesboro}}</ref>

==Notable people==
{{More citations needed section|date=April 2014}}
* [[Rodney Alexander]], [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] former [[U.S. Representative]] and secretary of the [[Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs]] in [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana|Baton Rouge]]
* [[Marty Booker]], NFL wide receiver
* [[Marvin T. Culpepper]], member of the [[Louisiana House of Representatives]] from Jackson Parish from 1964 to 1968
* [[Jimmie Davis|James Houston "Jimmie" Davis]], who is buried here, was a Louisiana [[governor of Louisiana|governor]], actors in the 1940s and 1950s, and writer of the song "[[You Are My Sunshine]]".
* [[John Garlington]], [[American football]] [[linebacker]] in the [[National Football League]], played with the [[Cleveland Browns]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=GARLIJOH01|title=John Garlington|publisher=databaseFootball.com|access-date=November 26, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011151824/http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=GARLIJOH01|archive-date=October 11, 2012}}</ref>
* [[Frederick Douglass Kirkpatrick]], singer-songwriter, ordained minister, civil rights activist and co-founder of [[Deacons for Defense and Justice]] here in November 1964; he recorded three albums for Smithsonian Folkway Recordings (1968-1978)
* [[Randy Moffett]], president of the [[University of Louisiana System]] from 2008 to 2012, was born in Jonesboro in 1947.
* [[James P. Pope]], former [[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]] from [[Idaho]] and former mayor of [[Boise, Idaho|Boise]].
* [[Jerry Robinson (kick returner)|Jerry Robinson]], NFL kick returner, born in Jonesboro, played professional football for the [[Jerry Robinson (kick returner)|San Diego Chargers/NYJets]], 1962-1965

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.jonesborola.org Town of Jonesboro official website]

==Further reading==
*[https://books.google.com/books/about/Race_Democracy.html?id=7idHI9KdCfwC Adam Fairclough, ''Race and Democracy: The Civil Rights Struggle in Louisiana, 1915-1972''], University of Georgia Press: 1995/reprint 1999 
*{{Cite book | publisher = University of North Carolina Press | isbn = 9780807828472 | last = Hill | first = Lance E. | edition = 1 | title = The Deacons for Defense: Armed Resistance and the Civil Rights Movement | location = Chapel Hill | date = 2004 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/deaconsfordefens00hill_0 }}

{{Jackson Parish, Louisiana}}
{{Louisiana parish seats}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Jonesboro, Louisiana|*]]
[[Category:Towns in Jackson Parish, Louisiana]]
[[Category:Towns in Louisiana]]
[[Category:Parish seats in Louisiana]]
[[Category:Towns in Ruston, Louisiana micropolitan area]]