Gray is a city in Jones County, Georgia, and the county seat, located in the central part of the state just north of Macon. With a population of about 3,400, it is the largest community in Jones County and serves as the area's governmental and commercial center. The city sits within Middle Georgia's Piedmont landscape, an area of rolling hills, pine forest, and farmland that lies between the Atlanta region and the state's coastal plain. Gray's rise as the county's center is tied to the railroad. In the late 19th century, the Central of Georgia Railway's Macon & Northern line was built through Jones County, bypassing the earlier county seat of Clinton by about a mile after local citizens opposed the route passing through their town. As a result, population and commerce gradually shifted northeast toward the new rail community, and Gray emerged as the county's principal town. The city's name honors James Madison Gray, a 19th-century figure who outfitted a Confederate infantry company during the Civil War. Today Gray functions as a small city that combines its role as a governmental hub with a largely residential character. The Jones County courthouse anchors the community, and the Jones County School System's high school is located within the city. The area's history is preserved at sites such as the Jarrell Plantation State Historic Site, a well-preserved antebellum plantation located elsewhere in Jones County. For residents, Gray offers the advantages of a small Middle Georgia town with direct access to Macon, whose employment, healthcare, shopping, and cultural institutions lie just to the south. That proximity gives Gray a practical suburban relationship to Macon while keeping its own civic identity intact.