Jonesboro Historic District

Jonesboro's historic district preserves the core of a Georgia railroad town about 20 miles south of Atlanta. Colonel Samuel Goode Jones laid out the streets in 1843-1845 after the Monroe Railroad arrived, with the tracks running through the center of town. The district includes the brick business blocks of Main and McDonough Streets, most built before 1900, and residential streets with Greek Revival cottages and two-story houses. In August 1864 Union cavalry burned much of the town, and the Battle of Jonesboro, fought on August 31 and September 1, led directly to the fall of Atlanta. Rebuilding began in the late 1860s, producing Victorian brick buildings such as the 1869 Court House and Jail, the 1867 stone train station, and the 1898 clock-tower courthouse. Several antebellum houses served as hospitals during the battle. The district also contains a Confederate cemetery holding several hundred soldiers and the original town cemetery.