Pioneers came to the Jonesboro area, originally known as Leaksville, following the Treaty of Indian Springs with the Creek Indians. In 1845, the Macon and Western Railroad was completed, and the town was renamed in honor of engineer Samuel Jones. It was designated the county seat when Clayton County was formed in 1859 and was soon a commercial center for the surrounding area. Jonesboro was developed around the railroad, and these rails brought the Yankees here for the last and decisive battle of the Atlanta Campaign during the Civil War, which destroyed much of the town. Turmoil followed with Reconstruction, but by the 1880s, the economy had been revitalized. When a journalist visited her grandparents, local residents shared their memories of war experiences with her. Their stories and Margaret Mitchell's imagination produced the masterpiece Gone with the Wind. Tourists from around the world still come looking for Tara and the old South. They may not find Tara, but Jonesboro still offers true Southern charm. Catch a glimpse of Jonesboro from the early days through its centennial celebration.

When Union soldiers returned North after the Civil War, they brought home stories of a sparsely populated area with bountiful timber and potential for homes and farms. Over the next 50 years, first by wagon train and then by railroads, settlers came to build not only homes and farms but also thriving communities in the Clay, Greene, and Craighead counties of northeastern Arkansas. Today, visitors and residents of the area see the bustle of Jonesboro and the thriving Arkansas State University. Readers of Jonesboro and Arkansas' Historic Northeast Corner will discover Jonesboro as it lived a century ago, a promising town of 7,000 citizens. As the 20th Century opened, modern and attractive towns such as Corning, Piggott, Rector, and Paragould began to thrive. The evolution of these historic areas-from slow-paced villages with dirt roads and horse-drawn wagons to the bustling towns of the late 20th century-is chronicled in this Images of America edition.

By all outward appearances, Jonesboro is a thriving northeast Arkansas community built on a proud past and a successful university. Yet something dark and chilling lurks beneath the surface of this historic city. Join ghost expert and Jonesboro native Edward L. Underwood as he recounts the city's haunted history and ghostly activity. From the spirits that drift through Keller's Chapel graveyard to the story of Augustus Ellison, the Civil War soldier who still wanders Union Street, Haunted Jonesboro explores the eerie remnants of history that refuse to stay in the past. With stories from throughout Jonesboro and across Craighead County, this is a collection of tales that no Arkansan will want to miss.