1867 Train Depot -
(104 N.Main Street) This Georgia granite building replaced the original
wooden depot which stood near the Confederate Cemetery and was burned
in 1864. At the peak of railroad travel, passenger and freight trains
passed through day and night, and the Jonesboro-to-Atlanta commuter
train, the Dummy, made five round trips a day. Today it serves as the
Jonesboro Welcome Center. The Phone Number is 770-478-4800.
Old Downtown Jonesboro (from
Mill Street to Church Street). Many of these old buildings appear as
they did before the Civil War, as the brick exteriors withstood fire
while the interiors burned. In the late 1800's this rowdy downtown
street housed 13 different saloons! A prominent citizen of the time
complained that he had to move out of town to keep his adolescent sons
out of the bad environment on Main Street. Now business and government
offices alternate with several antique and gift shops along North and
South Main Street.
Clayton News Daily (138
Church Street) Once a cotton bagging house, part of Claud Hutchenson's
bagging and tie business established here in 1901, which produced the
burlap and metal packaging used to get cotton to the market. Private.
Gayden-Sims-Webb House (158
Church Street) Built by Francis T.Gayden in the 1850's, it was the only
brick house in Jonesboro before the civil war. Dr.Gayden was also a
trustee at the First Baptist Church and a captain in General
Joseph Wheeler's Confederate Calvary.
Methodist Superannuate Home (176
Church Street) Built in the early 1800's as a home for retired
Methodist ministers, it appears almost exactly as it did originally.
Private.
Mundy-Crowell-Burrell House (172
Church Street) Dating from the early 1900's, this house was built in a
very popular style (there are at least three similar houses on McDonough
Street). A central hall joins three rooms on the left and two on the
right, and dormer windows indicate small rooms on the second story.
Private.
Ashely Oaks Mansion (144
College Street) This most elegant home in Jonesboro was built in 1879
by Leander Hutchenson, Sheriff of Clayton County, of over 1 million hand
made bricks. Each exterior home wall is 12 inches thick. Each of the
four large rooms downstairs stands on its own independent foundation.
Fully restored and open for tours with lunch included Tues-Fri at 11,12,
and 1. Admission charged. Group tours and other functions by
appointment.
Looney-Hanes-Smith House G.C.Looney
was president of the middle Georgia College, which was built in 1880
across the street on the site of the 1960's First Baptist Church. This
10-room house was built to house his family and border students. The
Middle Georgia College later became the Jonesboro Public School.
The home is now known as The Jonesboro Greenhouse.
Arnold-Lyle-Oakes House (192
Cloud Street) Probably the least changed of all historic houses in
Jonesboro. Unlike most 19th century houses, the stairs rise from the
back hall. Private.
Key-Carnes-Brown House (201
S.Main Street) The house was built in the early 1850's or 1860's, and
underwent extensive renovation in 1990 to replace the first and second
story porches which were removed in the 1920's. Private.
Burnside-Lyle House (166
S.Main Street) Erected in 1870, this is the third home built at this
location by the Burnside family. The previous two were destroyed by
fire. Five Burnsides are buried in the family plot behind the house. On
Kilpatrick's raid in 1864 a citizen was killed here by a cannon ball
fired from the north end of Main Street near the Warren House. Private.
Hynds-Blalock-Henry House (162
S.Main Street) The main structure of this house appears as it did in
1880, although the second story, sun rooms, and porches are additions.
Private.
Waldrop-Brown-Edwards House (158 S.Main Street) Narrow boards indicate the newer half of this
house, rebuilt after the Battle of Jonesboro. The older portion was
built prior to 1864. Private.
Crockett-Blalock House (Wells
Fargo Bank 154 S.Main Street) This restored house has a new life in the
community. The original portion, built before 1879, is the two ring
wing to the left of the rear entrance. The larger front porch of the
house was added in 1879 by Mr.John Crockett. Mr.George Blalock added the
screen porch on the north side and the sun porch on the south (now the
drive-through bank)
Stately Oaks (100
Carriage Lane at Jodeco Road) Built in 1839 by Whitmell Allen, the
house originally stood four miles north of Jonesboro on 404 acres.
During the civil war it was a landmark for both Northern and
Southern troops, and Yankee soldiers camped in the fields around the
house during the Battle of Jonesboro. The Greek Revival style house is
surrounded by outbuildings, including its original log kitchen, Juddy's
Country Store and the Bethel School House. Open daily for tours and
special events. Call for information and brochures.(770)-473-0197.
1898 Courthouse (121
S.McDonough Street) This building, barely visible above the 1962
additions, houses the old town clock. Margaret Mitchell visited this
courthouse to research local records during the writing of Gone
With the Wind.The monuments at the front door of the 1962 addition
commemorate Military Chaplains and specifically Father Emiel Bliemel of
the Confederate Army, who was killed during the Battle of Jonesboro
while giving last rites to Col.Grace of Alabama.
1869 Courthouse/Masonic Lodge From
1858 until the first County Courthouse was completed on this site in
1861, Clayton County Court met in the Masonic Hall, which stood near #1
at Main and Mill Streets. The Masons sold half this lot to the county
for the 1861 Courthouse, and after it was burned by Kilpatrick's Raid in
1864, County Court again met in the Masonic Hall until the "new"
courthouse was built on the old stone foundations. In use until 1898,
when #31 was built, this structure serves today as the hall of the
Jonesboro Lodge No.87, Free and Accepted Masons.
1869 Jail (125
King Street) Constructed of locally-kilned bricks by Mansfield &
Chapman, masterbuilders. Living quarters for the jailer were on the
lower floor and cells were on the upper. In 1898, when the county
functions were moved, this building was sold as a residence. Now owned
by Historical Jonesboro, Inc., it is open for tours as the Clayton
County Historical Museum. For information call (770) 473-0197.
Stephen Carnes House (154
N.McDonough Street) Built in the 1850's by Stephen Carnes who operated a
wagon and carriage shop behind the house. The beautiful gingerbread
trim was made in Mr.Carnes' wood shop. Mr.Carnes made caskets for the
Confederate Army, and after the war he was hired by the state of Georgia
to re-interned the Confederate soldiers that were buried around the
city of Jonesboro after the battle. He re-interned these soldiers in the
Confederate Cemetery on the north end of town. Private
Pope Dickson & Son Funeral Home (168
N.McDonough Street) The core of this house dates from the mid-19th
century, and survived the Battle of Jonesboro. At the rear end of the
building is the hearse, which carried Alexander H.Stephens, Vice
President of the Confederacy and later Governor of Georgia, from the
Governor's Mansion to his final resting place at his Crawfordsville home
Manson-Purdy-Segner House (180
N.McDonough Street) Built in 1890 by Zachary Manson, who moved here
from three miles north of the Atlanta Road (Tara Blvd.) when he was
elected Ordinary (now probate judge). The architecture of the house is
identical to that of the Mundy-Crowell-Burrel House. It now house Past
Tense Antiques. They can be reached at(770)-210-0606.
Hightower-Swint House (186
N.McDonough Street) Owned by the Swint family, owners of one of the
oldest continually operating businesses in Clayton County, Swint's Feed
& Garden Supply. This house is believed to be from the antebellum
period, and most of the millwork is original. Private.Ä
Confederate Cemetery (Johnson
& McDonough Streets) This cemetery holds the remains of 600 to 1000
unidentified Confederate soldiers who died during the Battle of
Jonesboro. Originally buried where they fell, the remains were moved in
1872 after this memorial was formed by a grant by the State Legislature.
Named for Confederate General Patrick R.Cleburne, the cemetery is
maintained by the United Daughter's of the Confederacy. The unmarked
headstones are laid out in the shape of the Confederate Battle Flag.
Warren House (102
West Mimosa Drive) Built in 1860 by Guy L.Warren, an agent of the Macon
& Western Railroad, and one of Jonesboro's first town
commissioners. Used as a field hospital and headquarters by the
Confederate troops until the 52nd Illinois Infantry took possession of
the house on September 2nd, 1864 for the same uses. Signatures of
convalescing Union soldiers still appear on the walls of the downstairs
parlor. Available for tours and special events by appointments.
Johnson-Blalock House (155
N.Main Street) Built in 1859 by J.F.Johnson, a member of the Georgia
Legislature and a signer of the Georgia Secession Ordinance. It has been
owned by the Blalock family for five generations. This home was used
during the civil war as a Confederate field hospital. In the 1890's an
itinerant artist painted a beautiful mural on the parlor ceiling in
exchange for room and board. Private.
Hutcheson-T.L.Burnham-Roberts House (180
Church St) This home was purchased in 1937 by Mr. & Mrs. J.C.
Burnham, who were the owners of the Tara Theatre on Main Street in
Jonesboro. The home was moved on logs from the top of the hill on Church
St. next to the Webb home to its present location at the turn of the
century.
Carmack-Mathews-Wise House (208 Lee Street) In 1907, Ira McDavid started construction on this
house, but left the county before it's completion. Then Clayton County
Sheriff Lamar Anderson bought the home and finished the construction. In
1937 the Carmack family bought the home and in 1943 sold it to the
Mathews family who lived in the home until 1997 when the Wise family
purchased the home and are the current residents.
Historical Jonesboro
The Historical Jonesboro publication is
available at bookstores, Stately Oaks Plantation, Clayton County
Visitors Bureau and other locations in Clayton County.
www.historicaljonesboro.org