Clayton County, Georgia

Clayton County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Jonesboro
Year Organized: 1858
Square Miles: 143

Court House:

9151 Tara Boulevard
Harold R. Banke Justice Center
Jonesboro, GA 30236-4912

Etymology - Origin of County Name

named for Judge Augustin S. Clayton, who held the county's first sessions of the superior court and later served in both the Georgia House of Representatives and Senate.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Clayton County was formed in 1858 from parts of Fayette and Henry counties. Georgia's 125th county was named for Judge Augustin S. Clayton, who held the county's first sessions of the superior court and later served in both the Georgia House of Representatives and Senate.

Jonesboro, the county seat, was originally called Leaksville. When the Central Railroad line reached the town, the name was changed to honor Captain Samuel G. Jones, one of the line's surveying engineers.

The Battle of Jonesboro marked the end of the Atlanta Campaign during the Civil War. When Federal troops seized control of the railroad in Jonesboro, all supplies to Atlanta were cut off.

Points of Interest

Hartsfield International Airport, ranked as the world's fourth busiest, is in Clayton County. It is now home to the largest International Concourse in the country. With a job base of 38,000, the airport is the largest employment center in the state.

The Clayton County Water Authority maintains one of the most innovative and successful wastewater treatment systems in the world. Visitors from all over the world come to tour the Clayton County water facilities to learn more about the county's Land Application System. The county uses a natural land application process to purify wastewater while fertilizing acres of forest and producing a marketable pelletized fertilizer.

Higher Education

Clayton College and State University

Neighboring Counties:

Northeast: DeKalb County
Southeast: Henry County
South: Spalding County
Southwest: Fayette County
Northwest: Fulton County

Cities and Towns:

- Forest Park	city	Incorporated Area
- Jonesboro (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Lake City	city	Incorporated Area
- Lovejoy	city	Incorporated Area
- Morrow	city	Incorporated Area
- Riverdale	city	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

County http://www.co.clayton.ga.us

Additional County Info http://www.georgiaplanning.com/CountyPortal/countyportal.asp?FIPS=13063

County Resource Guide

Counties: US Map

The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."

Penn Foster High School

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