About Us
A Brief History of Jonesboro
Joseph Jones and his wife, Sarah Pankey Jones, migrated to North Louisiana in 1850. On January 10, 1860, the Jones family purchased land and established a home in the vicinity where Jonesboro is now situated. There were only two log cabins in the area: one where the courthouse now sits and the edge of a present-day cemetery. The latter log cabin was made into the first "meeting house" known as Macedonia Baptist Church (present-day First Baptist Church of Jonesboro). This community was soon named Macedonia.
On January 16, 1901, the Post Office Department approved and confirmed the name Jonesboro, Louisiana to be changed from Macedonia. On March 14, 1911, Jackson Parish residents voted on where to move the seat of government. The following day, it was declared that Jonesboro would be the new parish seat of Jackson Parish.
From the day the courthouse was built in Jonesboro, the town has been the railroad, agricultural, industrial and governmental center of Jackson Parish, a role which it still enjoys today thanks to the foresightedness of its ancestors and leadership of its citizens during the past century. Its people have seen the economy change before their eyes from that of a solely agricultural one to that of a bustling industrial one. Jonesboro has seen harder times and does not look back upon her difficult years with any self-pity. Rather, she considers these years as part of a strengthening process, which will enable her to endure any hardship of the future.
Taken and adapted from "Jackson Parish, Louisiana," copyright © 1982 Jackson Parish Chamber of Commerce. Republished with permission.