The City
Jonesboro - A Brief History
When looking at the landscape of a particular university, one must also look at the surrounding area to obtain a more complete picture. In the case of Arkansas State University, this means looking at the town in which it is situated – Jonesboro, Arkansas.The Jonesboro and Craighead County area was inhabited by Native Americans when European traders, voyagers, trappers, and adventurers first arrived around 1800. These Europeans bartered with Native Americans for furs and pelts, but there was no attempt to permanently settle prior to 1815. Jonesboro was founded as the county seat in 1859 on land donated by Fergus Snoddy. It was named for state Senator William A. Jones [1]. On February 15, 1883 it was incorporated as a city [2]. Jonesboro was a saw-milling town – partially due to the 1881 establishment of the Cotton Belt Railroad line to Jonesboro - until the local timber was exhausted around 1910. By this time, it had also become an agricultural market and processing center with a focus on rice and cotton. In 1909, the Arkansas legislature established a regional agricultural training school in Jonesboro. That institution flourished and expanded over the years.
As the largest city in the Northeast Arkansas area, Jonesboro boasted a population of 155 in 1870. This growth has continued with the 2010 census count being 67,263 [3]. Currently, Jonesboro makes up almost 70% of the population of Craighead County. The growth of Jonesboro is unlikely to have increased at the rate it did without the aid of having a university directly adjacent. Likewise, the growth of A-State would not have been possible without an already established town to help support the university.
According to the US Census data, Jonesboro is a growing city with an increase in population every Census except one, while Craighead County has increased every Census. In 1950, Jonesboro made up 32.2% of the total population of Craighead County. Currently, Jonesboro accounts for 69.7% of the county's population.
The ethnic breakdown of Jonesboro according to the last two census might also be of interest. The information is as follows: [4]
| 2000 count | percentages | 2010 count | percentages | |
| American Indian/Alaska native | 175 | 0.32% | 242 | 0.36% |
| Asian | 462 | 0.83% | 1017 | 1.51% |
| Black/African American | 6259 | 11.27% | 12384 | 18.41% |
| Native Hawaiian/Pacific Native | 16 | 0.03% | 29 | 0.04% |
| Some other race | 590 | 1.06% | 1989 | 2.96% |
| Two or more races | 626 | 1.13% | 1351 | 2.01% |
| White | 47425 | 85.37% | 50251 | 74.71% |
| Hispanic/Latino origin | 1304 | 2.35% | 3503 | 5.21% |
| Totals | 56857 | 70766 |
[1] "Jonesboro History," ArkansasStateRedWolves.com, accessed May 03, 2018, http://www.astateredwolves.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=7200&ATCLID=204328.
[2] The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Jonesboro," Encyclopædia Britannica, November 28, 2014, accessed May 03, 2018, https://www.britannica.com/place/Jonesboro-Arkansas.
[3] Nancy Hendricks, "Jonesboro (Craighead County)," Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture, October 3, 2017, accessed May 03, 2018, http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=862.
[4] "Jonesboro, Arkansas Population:Census 2010 and 2000 Interactive Map, Demographics, Statistics, Quick Facts," Provo, UT Population - Census 2010 and 2000 Interactive Map, Demographics, Statistics, Quick Facts - CensusViewer, accessed May 03, 2018, http://censusviewer.com/city/AR/Jonesboro.
