Jonesboro, LA

Jonesboro is Jackson Parish's town and parish seat, with 4,106 people at the 2020 census, in the pine country of northern Louisiana. Joseph and Sarah Pankey Jones established a home here in 1860 beside two log cabins, and the community was first called Macedonia. The name changed to Jonesboro in 1901; ten years later, parish voters moved the seat of government here. U.S. 167 runs along the town's north and east sides, connecting it with Ruston and Winnfield.

The courthouse, railroad history, agriculture, and industry still overlap in the town center. Louisiana Delta Community College's Jonesboro campus opened in 2016 with courses including welding and business administration, adding a technical-education layer to the parish seat. December brings Christmas Wonderland in the Pines, when downtown fills with lights after Thanksgiving and turns the town's holiday calendar into a regional draw. Jonesboro also carries the musical legacy of Jimmie Davis, the Louisiana governor and songwriter associated with "You Are My Sunshine." This is a courthouse town with pine-country roots and a surprisingly big December glow.