Clayton County is a densley populated suburban and industrial county. The county is south of Atlanta, Georgia¹. The county was formed in 1858 out of parts of Henry and Fayette Counties.

The county seat is Jonesboro. It was orginally a small settlement called Leaksville founded on the Flint River in 1823. In the 1840s it became more important when the railroad from Terminus² to Macon was built through the town. In 1859, the community was incorporated as Joneboro.

The area suffered from heavy fighting during the Civil War. The Battle of Jonesboro was the a crucial engagement in the General Sherman's March to the Sea. The Confedrate loss led to the fall of Atlanta. The city was burned, and some of the basement walls on Main Street still have char marks.

"Gone with the Wind" was set at a fictional plantation in Clayton County.