CLAYTON COUNTY HISTORY On November 30, 1858, the State Legislature created Clayton from parts of Fayette and Henry counties, making it the 125th county in the state.  Clayton, named for the Honorable Augustin Smith Clayton, a native Virginian who moved to Georgia as a child, attended the Univ. of Georgia and graduated in 1804.  He served three terms as a judge of the Western Circuit and was a member of the Electoral College.  Additionally, he served in the U.S. Congress from 1831 to 1835.  Jonesboro is the county seat and was originally named Leaksville (see our Fulton County site for more information on Atlanta/Leaksville in the History of Atlanta book online (or see the library site - http://www.gagenweb.org).  There are differing opinions on how places got their names, in this instance one story is Jonesboro was named for Colonel Samuel Goode Jones, a civil engineer with the Macon & Western RR Company, who was the person responsible for laying out the street plan for the city.  Records show that as early as 1823, the State of Georgia granted a charter for the Leaksville Academy, in what was then Fayette County. Many veterans were given land bounties in Georgia after the Revolutionary War (1775-1783).  The Creeks ceded their land to the state and settlers moved into the area after the Treaty of Indian Springs in 1821.  In 1846 a railroad connected Jonesboro with stops in Morrow Station (later called Morrow), Quick Station (later called Forest Park), and Rough and Ready (later called Mountain View).  There are many confederate soldiers buried at the Patrick R. Cleburne Cemetery that fought in the Battle of Jonesboro during the Civil War.  This battle was emitted to be the climax of the Atlanta Campaign.  Visit the City of Jonesboro online to read more of their exciting history.