Clayton County, Georgia

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History/Timeline

Historical Jonesboro Stately Oaks

1600's, 1700'sLong before the county was formed by Georgia legislature, the Native Americans lived in the Clayton County region near the Flint River and larger creeks that flowed eastward to the South River.. ^[1]

Post 1783 -Revolutionary War (1775-83) veterans were awarded land bounties in Georgia. ^[2]

Early 1800's Some small low mounds were seen, but no large mounds. Tilling of the lands in the1900's have erased the mounds visibility. Except the southern tip nearest the Flint River, In the southern tip of the county, along the Flint River, still appears to be some low mounds, but these have not been confirmed by professional archaeologists. ^[1]

1821 During the Treaty of Indian Springs the Creeks ceded their land to Georgia. Settlers began to move into Georgia from the southern coastal states.^[2]

1823 Leaksville was a stop on the railway line running between Macon and Terminus (later named Atlanta).. This connected Southeast Georgia to the port city of Savannah. It was renamed Jonesboro^[3]

1830's - 1840's Railroads contributed in Georgia's development and economy. After the railways arrived farmers could ship their goods to Atlanta or further for marketing. ^[2]

Rex Mill (NHHRP)

1845 -Leakesville was renamed to Jonesboro for Colonel Samuel Goode Jones (civil engineer with the Macon and Western Railroad Company. Col Jones laid out the street plan for Jonesboro .^[2]

1846 - The Railroad connected Jonesboro with railway stops in Morrow Station, Quick Station Forest Park and Rough and ReadyMountain View^[2]

Nov 30, 1858 Clayton County was formed by the state legislature from Fayette and Henry counties as #125 county. It is named for Augustin Smith Clayton of Virginia, who graduated from University of Georgia, served 3 terms as Western Circuit court judge, and U.S. Congress (1831-1835) . The county is south of Atlanta, and one of the smallest Georgia counties. Clayton county called their county Seat, Leaksville originally.^[4][2]

Clayton county, YELLOW

Aug 31, 1864 - Civil War - The Battle of Jonesboro began on this date which was the climax of the Atlanta campaign. Union troops took control of the railroad, so that the Confederate supplies for the Atlanta home front did not arrive in Atlanta. Many Confederate soldiers who had been killed in the Battle of Jonesboro are buried in the Patrick R Cleburne Memorial Cemetery ^[2]

Early Sept. 1864 - The last part of the Atlanta Campaign was fought here in Jonesboro, south of Atlanta. This cut off the city of Atlanta and the mayor surrendered at Marietta, cutting off the city and forcing the mayor of Atlanta to surrender at Marietta. Fall of Atlanta in the Battle of Jonesboro was a turning point, which ensured President Lincoln's re-election. The war continued until the Confederacy surrendered in 1865. ^[5]

Jonesboro.

1870 The Patrick R. Cleburne Confederate Memorial Cemetery was named for the general whose remains were moved from St. John's Cemetery, Ashwood, Tennessee. 1891, a marble column was dedicated to the General in his honor.^[2]

1892 The granite (marble column) was dedicated to the Confederate dead.^[2]

• Tara Tara is the name of a fictional plantation in the state of Georgia, in the historical novel Gone with the Wind (1936) by Margaret Mitchell. In the story, Tara is located 5 miles (8 km) from Jonesboro (originally spelled Jonesborough), in Clayton County, on the east side of the Flint River about 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta.

Inspiration fo Twelve Oaks (Tara).

Margaret Mitchell modeled Tara after local plantations and antebellum establishments, particularly the Clayton County plantation where her maternal grandmother, Annie Fitzgerald Stephens (1844–1934), daughter of Irish immigrant Philip Fitzgerald (1798–1880) and his American wife, Eleanor Avaline "Ellen" McGhan (1818–1893), was born and raised. The original plantation house of the Fitzgeralds, "Rural Home," a two-story wooden structure, was not as palatial and glamorous as the one from the novel description or the 1939 movie, "Gone with the Wind".^[6]

Stately Oaks

Twelve Oaks, neighboring plantation in the novel, is now the name of businesses and a high school stadium in nearby Lovejoy, Georgia.^[7]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tara_(plantation)

Twelve Oaks "Tara"

1900 -Forest Park depot was a stop along the railroad to Jonesboro, Clayton Co. ^[2]

Clayton County is home to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world's busiest passenger airport and the state's largest employer (workforce of > 56,000). The commuter bus system is called C-Tran. ^[2]

1969 Clayton State University, founded as Clayton Junior College, and later became Clayton State University is in Morrow, Georgia. The Clayton State University has a music degree, as Spivey Hall is on the University grounds. Spivey Hall has the Albert Schweitzer Memorial Pipe Organ, by Fratelli Ruffati of Padua Italy.. Spivey Hall is a premier recital hall. ^[2]

Spivey Hall, Albert Schweitzer Memorial Pipe Organ

1996 - Olympic Games, Jonesboro hosted the beach volleyball competition at Atlanta Beach inClayton County International Park. ^[2]

2003 The Georgia Archives also moved to Morrow, Georgia from Atlanta, Georgia ^[2]

Things to see in Clayton County, Georgia: The Battle of Jonesboro is reenacted annually during the Fall Festival. The Battle of Jonesboro reenactment at Stately Oaks Plantation takes place every second weekend in October.^[2]

Two plantation houses, Stately Oaks and Ashley Oaks, are available for tours and hold special holiday events. Clayton County is also the site of the "Road to Tara Museum", which houses the world's largest permanent Gone With the Wind exhibition. Jonesboro's survival from the devastation of the Civil War and the period of Reconstruction provided much of the background for Margaret Mitchell's novel.^[2]

Road to Tara Museum

Other incorporated cities in the county are Forest Park, Lake City, Lovejoy, and Riverdale.

The Clayton County Water Authority also attracts visitors from all over the world who come to see the county's natural land application process for the treatment of wastewater. The system purifies the wastewater and, at the same time, fertilizes the land; it also produces palletized fertilizer for the marketplace.^[2]

Government Offices

1st Clayton county courthouse, 1898 - a beauty, underwent a facelift.

1898 Courthouse

The result was what is now called the HR Banke Justice Center Clayton County courthouse,1999-2000 and designed by Hellmuth, Obata, and Kassabaum, Inc., is located in the county seat of Jonesboro. The courthouse is officially known as the Harold R. Banke Justice Center.

HR Banke Justice Center

Geography

Location - north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia.

Location 2 - located just south of Atlanta

County seat is Jonesboro

Size - total area of 144 square miles (370 km2), of which 142 square miles (370 km2) is land and 2.8 square miles (7.3 km2) (1.9%) is water.

Size Comparison - Clayton county is the third smaller (in area) county

Sub-basins

Upper Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin -Eastern portion of Clayton County, between Forest Park and Lovejoy

Upper Flint River sub-basin of then ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin) - Western portion of the county

Dranage -- 2/3 of Clayton County drains into the Flint River and the Gulf of Mexico.

Eastern 1/3 of the county is drained by streams into the South River, tributary of the Ocmulgee River, eventually reaching the Atlantic Ocean, after the Ocmulgee joins the Oconee to form the Altamaha River.

Region -Clayton County is in the Piedmont geological region, having underlying rock strata of igneous and metamorphicized igneous rock.

Terrain -rolling hills, stream valleys and some relatively level plateaus along the eastern Continental Divide that runs north-south from Forest Park to Jonesboro..

Wetlands permanent wetlands parallel many of its streams and the Flint River. (narrow bands of soggy terrain that provide ecological diversity for animal and plant life.

Soils -top soils are thin over most hills and steep slopes, but deeper near streams.

Cultivation of the 1800's and 1900's caused erosion of the best top soil, exposing red clay sub-soil.Sandy loam can still be found near streams and there are some deposits of blue pipe clay (alluvial kaolin.)

Rivers flow- Most of Clayton County’s streams, except for the Flint River, flow from west to east or east to west.

Flooding only around Lake Peachtree, 2009 due to high rainfall.

Many creeks are ideal for water power for early settlers.

Grist Mills were important in the 1800's

River--largest is Flint river

Spring - near edge of Atlanta-Jackson International Airport (north edge) is navigable for canoes and row boats. :Spring has shoals, ideal for the Native American dugout canoes.

Creeks/streams include Morning, Sullivan, Black Dog, Hurricane, Caliber Cliffs, Brown Rock Bottom, Botanical Bend and Little Rum Creeks.

Adjacent counties

• DeKalb County (northeast)
• Henry County (east)
• Spalding County (south)
• Fayette County (southwest)
• Fulton County (northwest)

Protected areas

• Patrick R Cleburne Condederate Cemetery
• Clayton International Park

• Reynolds Nature Preserve

Demographics

In 2000 there were 236,517 people in the county with a population density of 1,658 people/sq. mi. The racial makeup of the county was 37.94% White, 51.55% Black or African American, 0.32% Native American, 4.49% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 3.55% from other races, and 2.08% from two or more races. 7.50% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. In 2010 there were 259,424 people in the county with a population density of 1,832.6 people/sq. mi. (Increase) The racial makeup of the county was 66.1% black or African American, 18.9% white, 5.0% Asian, 0.4% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 7.1% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 13.7% of the population.[14] In terms of ancestry, and 4.9% were American.^[8]

• Economy
  

Unemployment rate in Clayton County, GA, is 5.8% as of April 2017, with job growth of 0.70%. Future job growth over the next ten years is expected to be 29.90%. Clayton County's sales tax rate is 8.00%. The income tax is 6.00%. Clayton County's income and salaries per capita is $18,735, which includes all adults and children.

• ValuJet Airlines was headquartered in northern, unincorporated Clayton County, near William B. Hartsfield International Airport, in the 1990s.
• Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
• MARTA and Xpress GA / RTA commuter buses serve the County.

• Commuter rail service in the planning stages along the Norfolk Southern line, with proposed stations in Forest Park, Morrow, Jonesboro, and initially ending at Lovejoy. This line is projected to run to Macon eventually. However, it has been repeatedly stalled by the Georgia General Assembly, despite having federal funding already available for it.

• The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority's Airport station is located in Clayton.

• Clayton State University is located in Morrow.

• • Tara Boulevard was named for the Tara plantation, and is the main north/south road through the county, carrying U.S. 41 and lesser-known State Route 3.

Highways:

Cities

• Bonanza

• College Park

• Forest Park

• Jonesboro County Seat

• Lake City

• Lovejoy

• Morrow

• Mountain View

• Riverdale

Towns

• Conley
• Rex
• Irondale

Communities

County Resources

• Reynolds Nature Preserve quiet and undisturbed haven for wildlife is 146-acre.
• 1969 Clayton State University, founded as Clayton Junior College, and later became Clayton State University is in Morrow, Georgia. The Clayton State University has a music degree, as Spivey Hall is on the University grounds.
• Spivey Hall has the Albert Schweitzer Memorial Pipe Organ, by Fratelli Ruffati of Padua Italy.. Spivey Hall is a premier recital hall.
• 2003 The Georgia Archives also moved to Morrow, Georgia from Atlanta, Georgia
• The Battle of Jonesboro is reenacted annually during the Fall Festival.
• The Battle of Jonesboro reenactment at Stately Oaks Plantation takes place every second weekend in October.
• Two plantation houses, Stately Oaks and Ashley Oaks, are available for tours and hold special holiday events.

Stately Oaks

• "Road to Tara Museum", which houses the world's largest permanent Gone With the Wind exhibition. Jonesboro's survival from the devastation of the Civil War and the period of Reconstruction provided much of the background for Margaret Mitchell's novel.

Road to Tara Museum

• Clayton County International Park.

• The Clayton County Water Authority also attracts visitors from all over the world who come to see the county's natural land application process for the treatment of wastewater. The system purifies the wastewater and, at the same time, fertilizes the land; it also produces palletized fertilizer for the marketplace.

Education

• Clayton County Public Schools is the 5th largest school system in Georgia.

• On August 28, 2008, the district lost its accreditation, citing a 'dysfunctional' school board.

The district currently has 51,237 students enrolled in its 63 schools. Clayton County has 22 elementary and5 middle schools that have been deemed by the Georgia Department of Education as Distinguished Schools.In 2013 Clayton County is fully accredited

• Lovejoy High 2 charter schools. Unidos Dual Language, Georgia's first public dual language school is a model of excellence in language education. Unidos serves students in Pre-kindergarten through expand to the12th grade by 2014. The school operates on a year-round calendar. Any student in t\he district may apply to enroll.

• Clayton County also has a Math and Science Magnet and two fine arts magnet programs at Jackson Elementary and Mount Zion High Schools.

2008 de-accreditation

• Since 1969 Southern Association of Colleges and Schools revoked the school district's accreditation Aug 28, 2008. (the 50,000-student school system was the1st in the nation to lose accreditation since 1969) and only 2nd one in the nation since 1960. A grand jury investigated and considered possible criminal indictments against the Clayton County School Board. At issue was whether the school board committed malfeasance in ignoring the shortcomings of the school system and violating its own rules for contracts.

The School Board Chairwoman Ericka Davis resigned on April 2, 2008. The Clayton County Commission Chairman Eldrin Bell called for the resignations of all Clayton County School Board Members. Amid controversy and orders for the police to quiet citizens, the Clayton County School Board hired a new temporary superintendent on April 26, 2008.

• The Clayton County Public School System was re-accredited by SACS on May 1, 2009

Notables and Entertainment

• "Gone with the Wind" Parts of Margaret Mitchell's epic 1936 novel and the famous 1939 motion picture Gone with the Wind were set in Clayton County, including the location of the fictional plantation, "Tara".
• Rhett Butler's the novels Rhett Butler's "People and Scarlett" and the "Scarlett TV Mini-Series" also took place in Clayton County. Rhett Butler's "People" was a prequel, sequel, and companion to Gone with the Wind. "Scarlett" is a sequel to Gone with the Wind, also and also takes place briefly in Clayton County. In the above-mentioned novels,
• the fictional "Twelve Oaks Plantation" and others mentioned in the novels above, are located in and around Clayton County.

The 2012 film Flight features Clayton County throughout the film, with Hall's Flying Ranch in Hampton, Georgia, doubling as Denzel Washington's character's childhood home.

• "Smokey and the Bandit" (with Burt Reynolds) -parts of the film were shot in and around Clayton County, namely in Jonesboro, as evidenced by a sign in the background of one of the scenes. Even though this particular scene was supposed to be set in Arkansas, a "Willow Bend" sign advertising brick homes in Clayton County can be spotted behind Sheriff George Branford. Many back roads and the movie town of Texarkana are actually the roads and the town of Jonesboro.
• Lionsgate" will be filmed in Clayton County, Georgia ( a sequel to the Hunger Games

• Trinidad James filmed his music video for the song "All Gold Everything" in Clayton County

• Rap artist Waka Flocka Flame is also from Clayton County as he resides in Riverdale, Georgia.

Census

1860 --- 4,466 —

1870 --- 5,477 22.6%

1880 --- 8,027 46.6%

1890 --- 8,295 3.3%

1900 --- 9,598 15.7%

1910 --- 10,453 8.9%

1920 --- 11,159 6.8%

1930 --- 10,260 −8.1%

1940 --- 11,655 13.6%

1950 --- 22,872 96.2%

1960 --- 46,365 102.7%

1970 --- 98,043 111.5%

1980 --- 150,357 53.4%

1990 --- 182,052 21.1%

2000 --- 236,517 29.9%

2010 --- 259,467 9.7%

Est. 2016 --- 279,462

Cemeteries

Patrick R Cleburne Confederate memorial

• Talmadge Family Cemetery

• Jonesboro City Cemetery

• Mount Zion Cemetery

• Confederate Cemetery

• Sherwood Memorial Park and Mausoleum

• Carver Memorial Gardens

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} https://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/native-american-history-of-clayton-county-georgia.htm
2. ↑ ^{2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16} https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/counties-cities-neighborhoods/clayton-county
3. ↑ https://www.claytoncountyga.gov/about/history.aspx
4. ↑
5. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonesboro,_Georgia
6. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tara_(plantation)
7. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tara_(plantation)
8. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clayton_County,_Georgia

• A History of Georgia: From Its First Discovery by Europeans to the Adoption of the Present Constitution in MDCCXCVIII, Vol 1, by William Bacon Stevens January 1, 1847 New York : D. Appleton

• http://www.claytoncountyga.gov
• https://georgia.gov/cities-counties/clayton-county
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_Park%2C_Georgia
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonanza%2C_Georgia
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conley%2C_Georgia
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_Park%2C_Georgia
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonesboro%2C_Georgia
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovejoy%2C_Georgia
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morrow%2C_Georgia
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_View%2C_Georgia
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rex%2C_Georgia
• https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Category:Riverdale%2C_Georgia