Jonesboro, Arkansas
Encyclopedia : J : JO : JON : Jonesboro, Arkansas
History
Jonesboro was named after State Senator William A. Jones in recognition of his support in the legislature for the formation of Craighead County.The city was selected as the county seat in 1859 at the time of the formation of Craighead County.
On September 10th, 1931 Governor Harvey Parnell authorized the Arkansas National Guard to be deployed in Jonesboro to quell the Church War, a clash between the followers of Joe Jeffers and Dow H. Heard, the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Jonesboro. Jeffer's adherents also attacked the Mayor and Police Chief resulting in front page coverage of the incident in the The New York Times.
The Cotton Belt Railroad established a line that reached Jonesboro in 1881.
The Jonesboro massacre occurred on March 24, 1998 in a nearby unincorporated area of Craighead County. Two young boys (aged 11 and 13 years) fired upon students at Westside Middle School while hidden in woodlands near the school. Four students and one teacher were killed and ten injured.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 207.2 km² (80.0 mi²). 206.3 km² (79.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.9 km² (0.4 mi²) of it (0.45%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 55,515 people, 22,219 households, and 14,353 families residing in the city. The population density was 269.1/km² (697.1/mi²). There were 24,263 housing units at an average density of 117.6/km² (304.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 85.37% White, 11.27% African American, 0.32% Native American, 0.83% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.05% from other races, and 1.13% from two or more races. 2.34% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.There were 22,219 households out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.4% were non-families. There are 878 unmarried partner households: 776 heterosexual, 50 same-sex male, and 52 same-sex female households. 27.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.93.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.9% under the age of 18, 16.6% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 92.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $32,196, and the median income for a family was $42,082. Males had a median income of $31,668 versus $21,633 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,884. About 12.9% of families and 17.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.4% of those under age 18 and 12.3% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Jonesboro is served by the following school districts:
- Jonesboro School District
- Bay School District
- Nettleton School District
- Westside School District
- Valley View School District
- Brookland School District
Higher education
Other facts
- Jonesboro is the birthplace of bestselling novelist John Grisham, and was home to the first woman to serve in the United States Senate, Hattie Caraway.
- Jonesboro is the birthplace of John W. Snyder, appointed as U.S. Secretary of the Treasury in 1946 by President Harry S. Trumann.
- Rodger Bumpass, the voice of Squidward Tentacles on Spongebob Squarepants was born in and grew up in Jonesboro.
- Debbye Turner, Miss America 1990, graduated from Jonesboro High School in 1983 and Arkansas State University in 1986.
- Damien Echols and Jason Baldwin of the West Memphis 3 were tried and found guilty at Jonesboro's Craighead County courthouse in 1994 on a change of venue from Crittenden County.
- The Jonesboro Public Schools is currently at the center of attention for allowing prayers to be let by students at Graduation services. The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas is currently seeking a plaintiff to file suit against Jonesboro Public Schools for permanent injunction.
- The Mall at Turtle Creek, Jonesboro's new mall, developed by David Hocker & Associates, is a $100 million project. Completed in March of 2006, the mall is the largest in northeast Arkansas, and is expected to bring in $225 million in revenues yearly. In turn, $6 million of that revenue will be contributed to the city in tax money.
- In May of 2006, Jonesboro began a major public transportation system known as the Jonesboro Economical Transportation System, or JETS. The system began running routes in May of 2006 to various places in Jonesboro. The system is made up of 5 buses that travel all over Craighead County, Arkansas.
External links
- [The Jonesboro Sun], the local daily newspaper serving Northeast Arkansas
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