Located in the northeastern part of the state of Arkansas and a city in Craighead County, the city sits on Crowley’s Ridge and is bordered by the Mississippi River valley, and in the northwest of Memphis. It was founded as the county seat in 1859. When it was incorporated as a city and soon after the arrival of the railroads, Jonesboro had already prospered as a sawmilling town up until a local timber was exhausted then it became an agricultural market and a processing center. The city’s growth was attributed and fostered by the establishment of an agricultural school which later became the Arkansas State University.