What did Jonesboro look like in 1987 and 1998?

Jonesboro, AR – (Contributed) – May 20, 2024 – Jonesboro’s Craig Miller is no stranger to a video camera. He can often be found with a camera in his hand, documenting local events, and spends his days teaching young minds as Nettleton Schools’ NTV Teacher.

Miller posted a video to his YouTube channel featuring a “drive-thru” of then-Stadium Boulevard (now Red Wolf Boulevard) on July 31, 1998. The driving tour features narration from Miller including removal of the median near the college, the Big Star grocery store, and the old fairgrounds in the middle of town.

He even says “wide open field there, no telling what it’s going to be one of these days. Maybe a shopping mall,” of the exact field where the Mall at Turtle Creek was built just 8 years later at Red Wolf and Highland.

YouTube videographer Wesley Smith’s channel features hundreds of similar videos. His bio @wesleystuartsmith says “My channel is an online Archive of Home Videos of my Family for myself and the whole world to see.”

One video features the inside of the Indian Mall on July 3, 1987. Smith’s family appears to visit several stores inside the mall, including several shots of common areas and storefronts.