Jonesboro is a small incorporated community in northwestern Coryell County, Texas, situated on the Hamilton-Coryell county line at the intersection of State Highway 36 and Farm to Market Road 1602. It sits about 19 miles northwest of Gatesville, the Coryell County seat, 13 miles southeast of Hamilton, and 57 miles west of Waco, placing it squarely in the rural heart of Central Texas. The community began as Jones Mill, established by brothers William L. and David Jones, who built a steam sawmill on the site. The name was changed to Jonesboro in 1877, and by the mid-1880s the town supported two steam gristmills, cotton gins, a sawmill, three churches, and a district school with about 350 residents. The population climbed toward 700 by the early 1890s, but the Stephenville, North and South Texas Railway's decision to bypass Jonesboro in 1911 drew away part of the population and set the community on a smaller, quieter path. Through the twentieth century, Jonesboro remained a small agricultural town. Its population held around 378 from the 1930s to the mid-1960s and later settled near 200, a level it has maintained since the mid-1970s. The town's identity is tied to farming and ranching, with cropland and pasture shaping the surrounding countryside. Jonesboro operates its own independent school district, Jonesboro ISD, which serves students across the southeastern corner of Hamilton County and northwestern Coryell County — a reflection of the town's role as a local hub despite its modest size. Residents value the town for its small-school community, open land, and unhurried pace, while Gatesville, Hamilton, and Waco provide access to larger-town services within driving distance.