Macon, Georgia
Macon | |
---|---|
Macon–Bibb County | |
Aerial photograph of Macon | |
![]() Location within Bibb County | |
Coordinates: 32°50′5″N 83°39′6″W / 32.83472°N 83.65167°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Georgia |
County | Bibb |
Settled around Fort Benjamin Hawkins | 1809 |
Government | |
• Mayor | Lester Miller |
Area | |
• Consolidated city-county | 254.90 sq mi (660.19 km2) |
• Land | 249.38 sq mi (645.89 km2) |
• Water | 5.52 sq mi (14.30 km2) |
Elevation | 381 ft (116 m) |
Population | |
• Consolidated city-county | 156,337 |
• Rank | |
• Density | 630.95/sq mi (243.61/km2) |
• Metro | 233,802 (197th) |
Time zone | UTC−5 (EST) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
ZIP Codes | 31200–31299 |
Area code | 478 |
FIPS code | 13-49000[4] |
GNIS feature ID | 0332301[5] |
Website | maconbibb.us |
Macon (/ˈmeɪkən/ MAY-kən), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in Georgia, United States. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is 85 miles (137 km) southeast of Atlanta and near the state's geographic center—hence its nickname "The Heart of Georgia".
Macon's population was 157,346 in the 2020 census.[2] It is the principal city of the Macon metropolitan statistical area, which had 234,802 people in 2020.[3] It also is the largest city in the Macon–Warner Robins Combined Statistical Area (CSA), which had approximately 420,693 residents in 2017 and abuts the Atlanta metropolitan area to the northwest.
Voters approved the consolidation of the City of Macon and Bibb County governments in a 2012 referendum. Macon became the state's fourth-largest city (after Augusta) when the merger became official on January 1, 2014.[6]
Macon is served by three interstate highways: I-16 (connecting to Savannah and coastal Georgia), I-75 (connecting to Atlanta to the north and Valdosta to the south), and I-475 (a city bypass highway). The area has two small general aviation airports, Middle Georgia Regional Airport and Herbert Smart Downtown Airport. Residents traveling to and from the area mainly use the large commercial airport in Atlanta, approximately 80 miles to the northwest.
The city has several institutions of higher education and numerous museums and tourism sites.
History
[edit]Macon was founded on the site of the Ocmulgee Old Fields, where the Creek Indians lived in the 18th century. Their predecessors, the Mississippian culture, built a powerful agriculture-based chiefdom (950–1100 AD). The Mississippian culture constructed earthwork mounds for ceremonial, religious, and burial purposes. Indigenous peoples inhabited the areas along the Southeast's rivers for 13,000 years before Europeans arrived.[7]
Macon was developed at the site of Fort Benjamin Hawkins, built in 1809 at President Thomas Jefferson's direction after he forced the Creek to cede their lands east of the Ocmulgee River. (Archeological excavations in the 21st century found evidence of two separate fortifications.)[8] The fort was named for Benjamin Hawkins, who served as Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Southeast territory south of the Ohio River for more than 20 years, had lived among the Creek, and was married to a Creek woman. Located at the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, the fort established a trading post with Native peoples at the river's most inland point navigable from the Low Country.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/Sholes%27_directory_of_the_city_of_Macon%2C_September_1st%2C_1888._Volume_III_-_DPLA_-_479e385385443ba8674ba7fafe08c6b4.pdf/page6-220px-Sholes%27_directory_of_the_city_of_Macon%2C_September_1st%2C_1888._Volume_III_-_DPLA_-_479e385385443ba8674ba7fafe08c6b4.pdf.jpg)
Fort Hawkins guarded the Lower Creek Pathway, an extensive and well-traveled American Indian network that the U.S. government later improved as the Federal Road, linking Washington, D.C., to the ports of Mobile, Alabama and New Orleans, Louisiana.[8] Used for trading with the Creek, the fort also was used by state militia and federal troops. It was a major military distribution point during the War of 1812 and the Creek War of 1813. After the wars, it was a trading post and garrisoned troops until 1821. Decommissioned around 1828, it later burned to the ground. A replica of the southeast blockhouse was built in 1938 and stands on an east Macon hill. Fort Hawkins Grammar School occupied part of the site. In the 21st century, archeological excavations have revealed more of the fort, increasing its historical significance, and led to further reconstruction planning for this major historical site.[8]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/Mill_Children_in_Macon_2.jpg/220px-Mill_Children_in_Macon_2.jpg)
![25-cent bill inscribed "THIS CERTIFIES THAT THERE HAS BEEN DEPOSITED IN THE MACON SAVINGS BANK IN CONFEDERATE TREASURY NOTES TWENTY FIVE CENTS. Payable to the Holder with FOUR PER CENT INTEREST. after thirty days notice in Confederate Treasury Notes when presented in sums of FIVE DOLLARS MACON, GA. March 16. 1863."](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Recto_Macon_Savings_Bank_%28Georgia%29_25_cents_1863_urn-3_HBS.Baker.AC_1104558.jpeg/220px-Recto_Macon_Savings_Bank_%28Georgia%29_25_cents_1863_urn-3_HBS.Baker.AC_1104558.jpeg)
With the arrival of more settlers, Fort Hawkins was renamed "Newtown". After Bibb County's organization in 1822, the city was chartered as the county seat in 1823 and officially named Macon, in honor of Nathaniel Macon,[9] a statesman from North Carolina, from where many early Georgia residents hailed. City planners envisioned "a city within a park" and created a city of spacious streets and landscapes. Over 250 acres (1.0 km2) were dedicated for Central City Park, and ordinances required residents to plant shade trees in their front yards.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/60/Wesleyan_College%2C_circa_1877_-_DPLA_-_6098fed0d90914d03c98118db843e638.jpg/220px-Wesleyan_College%2C_circa_1877_-_DPLA_-_6098fed0d90914d03c98118db843e638.jpg)
Because of the beneficial local Black Belt geology and the availability of slave labor, cotton became the mainstay of Macon's early economy.[10] The city's location on the Ocmulgee River aided initial economic expansion, providing shipping access to new markets. Cotton steamboats, stagecoaches, and the 1843 arrival of the railroad increased marketing opportunities and contributed to Macon's economic prosperity.
Macon's growth had other benefits. In 1836, the Georgia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church chose Macon as the location for Wesleyan College, the first U.S. college to grant women college degrees.[11] Nonetheless, Macon came in last in the 1855 referendum voting to be Georgia's capital city with 3,802 votes.[12]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/78/RG77_CWMF_N76_04.jpg/220px-RG77_CWMF_N76_04.jpg)
During the American Civil War, Macon served as the official arsenal of the Confederacy[10] manufacturing percussion caps, friction primers, and pressed bullets.[13] Camp Oglethorpe was established as a prison for captured Union officers and enlisted men. Later, it held only officers, at one time numbering 2,300. The camp was evacuated in 1864.[14]
Macon City Hall served as the temporary state capitol in 1864 and was converted to a hospital for wounded Confederate soldiers. The Union General William Tecumseh Sherman spared Macon on his march to the sea. His troops sacked the nearby state capital of Milledgeville, and Maconites prepared for an attack. Sherman, however, passed by without entering Macon.
The Macon Telegraph reported the city had furnished 23 companies of men for the Confederacy, but casualties were high. By war end, Maconite survivors fit for duty could fill only five companies.[15]
The city was taken by Union forces during Wilson's Raid on April 20, 1865.[16]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/Georgia_-_Macon_-_NARA_-_23937141_%28cropped%29.jpg/220px-Georgia_-_Macon_-_NARA_-_23937141_%28cropped%29.jpg)
Because of its central location, Macon developed as a state transportation hub. In 1895, the New York Times dubbed Macon "The Central City" because of is emergence as a railroad transportation and textile factory hub.[17] Terminal Station was built in 1916.[18] In the twentieth century, Macon grew into a prospering town in Middle Georgia.
Macon has been impacted by natural catastrophes. In 1994 Tropical Storm Alberto made landfall in Florida and flooded several Georgia cities. Macon, which received 24 inches (61 cm) of rain, suffered major flooding.[19]
On May 11, 2008, an EF2 tornado hit Macon. Touching down in nearby Lizella, the tornado moved northeast to the southern shore of Lake Tobesofkee, continued into Macon, and lifted near Dry Branch in Twiggs County. The storm's total path length was 18 miles (29 km), and its path width was 100 yards (91 m).[citation needed] The tornado produced sporadic areas of major damage, with widespread straight-line wind damage along its southern track. The most significant damage was along Eisenhower Parkway and Pio Nono Avenue in Macon, where two businesses were destroyed and several others were heavily damaged. The tornado also impacted Middle Georgia State College, where almost half of the campus's trees were snapped or uprooted and several buildings were damaged, with the gymnasium suffering the worst. The tornado's intensity varied from EF0 to EF2, with the EF2 damage and winds up to 130 miles per hour (210 km/h) occurring near the intersection of Eisenhower Parkway and Pio Nono Avenue.
Consolidation
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Bibb_County_Georgia_Incorporated_and_Unincorporated_areas_Macon_Highlighted.svg/220px-Bibb_County_Georgia_Incorporated_and_Unincorporated_areas_Macon_Highlighted.svg.png)
On July 31, 2012, voters in Macon (57.8 percent approval) and Bibb County (56.7 percent approval) passed a referendum to merge the governments of the city of Macon and most of unincorporated Bibb County. The vote came after the Georgia General Assembly passed House Bill 1171, authorizing the referendum earlier in the year;[6][20] Four previous consolidation attempts (in 1933, 1960, 1972, and 1976) failed.[21][22][23]
As a result of the referendum, (i) the Macon and Bibb County governments were replaced with a mayor and a nine-member county commission elected by districts and (ii) a portion of Macon extending into nearby Jones County was disincorporated. Robert Reichert was elected the first mayor of Macon-Bibb in the September 2013 election, which required a runoff with C. Jack Ellis in October.[24][25][26][27]
Timeline
[edit]- 1806 – U.S. Fort Hawkins built at the present-day site of Creek Indian Ocmulgee Old Fields (future site of Macon).[28]
- 1821 – Fort Hawkins settlement renamed "Newtown".[28]
- 1822 – Bibb County created.[29]
- 1823 – Town of Macon incorporated; named after North Carolina statesman Nathaniel Macon.[28]
- 1826
- Macon Telegraph newspaper begins publication.[30]
- First Presbyterian Church founded.[31]
- 1829 – Newtown becomes part of Macon.[28]
- 1833 – Steamboat in operation.[28]
- 1834 – City of Macon incorporated.[32]
- 1835 – Robert Augustus Beall elected mayor.
- 1836 – Monroe Railroad Bank built.[33]
- 1838 – Monroe Railroad (Forsyth-Macon) begins operating.[32]
- 1839 – Georgia Female College opens.[34]
- 1840
- Rose Hill Cemetery established.
- Population: 3,927.[35]
- 1843 – The Central of Georgia Railway connects Savannah and Macon.[33]
- 1846 – The Macon and Western Railroad connects Macon and Atlanta; the Small House (residence) built (approximate date).[33]
- 1848 – Telegraph begins operating.[36]
- 1851 – Georgia State Fair relocates to Macon.[32][37]
- 1860
- 1862 – "Arsenal of the Confederate Government moved to Macon" during the American Civil War.[36]
- 1864
- July 30: Macon besieged by Union forces.[32]
- "City Hall made temporary State Capitol of Georgia."[36]
- 1865 – April 20: Macon occupied by Union forces.[28]
- 1866 – October 29: Equal Rights and Educational Association of Georgia meeting held in Macon.[38]
- 1871
- Mercer University relocates to Macon from Penfield.[32]
- Bibb Manufacturing Company in business.[33]
- 1874 – Public Library (social library) established.[39]
- 1876 – Mount de Sales Academy active.
- 1880
- 1884
- Macon Daily News begins publication.[30]
- Academy of Music built.
- 1887
- April 6: Riverside Cemetery chartered[40]
- August 6: Woolfolk family murdered near Macon.[41]
- 1900 – Price Library (public library) opens.[42]
- 1906 – Ocmulgee River levee construction begins.[33]
- 1910 – Population: 40,665.
- 1917 – Cox Capitol Theatre in business.
- 1918
- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Columbus branch organized (approximate date).[43]
- Macon Art Association formed.[44]
- Outbreak of Spanish flu.[41]
- 1919
- Washington Memorial Library (public library) established.[33]
- Paul Jones was lynched on November 2, 1919, after being accused of attacking a fifty-year-old white woman. He was burned alive.
- 1921 – Douglass Theatre and Rialto Theatre in business.[45]
- 1922
- 1925 – Macon City Auditorium built.[33]
- 1929 – Luther Williams Field (stadium) opens.
- 1929 – Walker Business College, an African American business and vocational school opens a second campus in Macon[48]
- 1933 – Citizens & Southern National Bank building constructed.[33]
- 1936
- Ocmulgee National Monument established.
- Farmer's Market built.[33]
- 1938 – Bibb Theatre in business.[45]
- 1948 – WIBB radio begins broadcasting.
- 1949 – Middle Georgia Regional Library headquartered in Macon.
- 1950 – Population: 70,252.
- 1952 – Georgia Journal newspaper begins publication.[30]
- 1953 – WMAZ-TV begins broadcasting.[49]
- 1955 – "Singer James Brown records his first single 'Please Please Please' at the studio of WIBB" radio in Macon.[36]
- 1960 – "Stratford Academy founded"
- 1964 – Middle Georgia Historical Society formed.[50]
- 1965 – Macon Junior College established.[32]
- 1966 – U.S. Supreme Court decides Evans v. Newton desegregation-related lawsuit.[51]
- 1967
- December 18: Funeral of musician Otis Redding.[41]
- Ronnie Thompson becomes mayor.
- 1970 – Population: 122,423.
- 1978 – Middle Georgia Archives organized.[52]
- 1983
- 1993 – Sanford Bishop becomes U.S. representative for Georgia's 2nd congressional district.[54]
- 1994
- July: Flood.[36]
- Georgia Sports Hall of Fame relocates to Macon.[41]
- 1999 – C. Jack Ellis becomes mayor.[36]
- 2000 – Population: 97,255.
- 2001 – City website online (approximate date).[55][chronology citation needed]
- 2003 – Historic Macon Foundation formed.[56]
- 2007 – Robert Reichert becomes mayor.
- 2010 – Population: 91,351.[57]
- 2012 – Governments of Macon city and Bibb County consolidated.
- 2015 – Middle Georgia State University active.
Geography
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/Maconbibbcourthouse.jpg/220px-Maconbibbcourthouse.jpg)
The Ocmulgee River is a major river that runs through the city. Macon is one of Georgia's three major Fall Line Cities, along with Augusta and Columbus. The Fall Line is where the hilly lands of the Piedmont plateau meet the flat terrain of the coastal plain. As such, Macon has a varied landscape of rolling hills on the north side and flat plains on the south. The fall line, where the altitude drops noticeably, causes rivers and creeks in the area to flow rapidly toward the ocean. In the past, Macon and other Fall Line cities had many textile mills powered by the rivers.
Macon is located at 32°50′05″N 83°39′06″W / 32.834839°N 83.651672°W (32.834839, −83.651672).[58]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 56.3 square miles (146 km2), of which 55.8 square miles (145 km2) is land and 0.5 square miles (1.3 km2) (0.82%) is water.
Macon is approximately 330 feet (100 m) above sea level.[5]
Climate
[edit]Macon has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa). The normal monthly mean temperature ranges from 46.3 °F (7.9 °C) in January to 81.8 °F (27.7 °C) in July. On average, there are 4.8 days with 100 °F (38 °C)+ highs,[a] 83 days with 90 °F (32 °C)+ highs,[b] and 43 days with a low at or below freezing; the average window for freezing temperatures is November 7 thru March 22, allowing a growing season of 228 days.
The city has an average annual precipitation of 45.7 inches (1,160 mm). The wettest day on record was July 5, 1994, with 10.25 inches (260 mm) of rain, and the wettest month on record was July 1994, with 18.16 inches (461 mm) of rain. On the other hand, since 1892, when precipitation records for the city began, there have been two months, October 1961 and October 1963, which did not even record a trace of precipitation in the city, and two other months, October 1939 and May 2007, which only recorded a trace.[59] Snow is occasional, with about half of the winters receiving trace amounts or no snowfall, averaging 0.7 inches (1.8 cm); the snowiest winter was 1972−73 with 16.5 in (42 cm).[59][60][61]
Climate data for Macon, Georgia (Middle Georgia Regional Airport), 1991−2020 normals,[c] extremes 1892−present[d] | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °F (°C) | 84 (29) |
85 (29) |
92 (33) |
96 (36) |
100 (38) |
108 (42) |
108 (42) |
105 (41) |
105 (41) |
103 (39) |
88 (31) |
83 (28) |
108 (42) |
Mean maximum °F (°C) | 73.9 (23.3) |
76.8 (24.9) |
83.9 (28.8) |
88.0 (31.1) |
93.6 (34.2) |
97.5 (36.4) |
99.1 (37.3) |
98.7 (37.1) |
95.1 (35.1) |
88.9 (31.6) |
81.8 (27.7) |
75.9 (24.4) |
100.3 (37.9) |
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 59.3 (15.2) |
63.4 (17.4) |
70.6 (21.4) |
77.9 (25.5) |
85.8 (29.9) |
90.9 (32.7) |
93.5 (34.2) |
92.2 (33.4) |
87.6 (30.9) |
78.9 (26.1) |
69.1 (20.6) |
61.3 (16.3) |
77.5 (25.3) |
Daily mean °F (°C) | 47.6 (8.7) |
51.2 (10.7) |
57.7 (14.3) |
64.5 (18.1) |
72.9 (22.7) |
79.5 (26.4) |
82.5 (28.1) |
81.4 (27.4) |
76.2 (24.6) |
66.0 (18.9) |
55.8 (13.2) |
49.5 (9.7) |
65.4 (18.6) |
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 35.9 (2.2) |
39.1 (3.9) |
44.9 (7.2) |
51.0 (10.6) |
60.0 (15.6) |
68.1 (20.1) |
71.5 (21.9) |
70.7 (21.5) |
64.8 (18.2) |
53.2 (11.8) |
42.5 (5.8) |
37.8 (3.2) |
53.3 (11.8) |
Mean minimum °F (°C) | 19.0 (−7.2) |
22.4 (−5.3) |
27.2 (−2.7) |
34.8 (1.6) |
45.0 (7.2) |
58.3 (14.6) |
64.8 (18.2) |
62.1 (16.7) |
51.1 (10.6) |
35.6 (2.0) |
26.5 (−3.1) |
22.8 (−5.1) |
17.0 (−8.3) |
Record low °F (°C) | −6 (−21) |
8 (−13) |
14 (−10) |
28 (−2) |
40 (4) |
46 (8) |
54 (12) |
55 (13) |
35 (2) |
26 (−3) |
10 (−12) |
5 (−15) |
−6 (−21) |
Average precipitation inches (mm) | 4.32 (110) |
4.17 (106) |
4.31 (109) |
3.62 (92) |
2.65 (67) |
4.44 (113) |
4.79 (122) |
4.38 (111) |
3.66 (93) |
2.63 (67) |
3.37 (86) |
4.57 (116) |
46.91 (1,192) |
Average snowfall inches (cm) | 0.4 (1.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.2 (0.51) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.1 (0.25) |
0.7 (1.8) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 10.2 | 9.2 | 9.4 | 8.2 | 7.5 | 11.2 | 11.3 | 10.2 | 7.1 | 6.3 | 7.7 | 9.4 | 107.7 |
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.7 |
Average relative humidity (%) | 70.2 | 67.2 | 66.6 | 64.8 | 68.5 | 70.7 | 74.2 | 76.1 | 76.4 | 71.2 | 71.1 | 70.9 | 70.7 |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 179.5 | 192.2 | 250.8 | 283.2 | 315.3 | 300.0 | 293.9 | 288.0 | 247.4 | 253.7 | 200.2 | 182.2 | 2,986.4 |
Percent possible sunshine | 56 | 62 | 67 | 73 | 73 | 70 | 67 | 70 | 67 | 72 | 64 | 59 | 67 |
Source: NOAA (snow 1981–2010, relative humidity and sun 1961−1990)[59][62][63][64] |
Surrounding cities and towns
[edit]Demographics
[edit]Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1840 | 3,297 | — | |
1850 | 5,720 | 73.5% | |
1860 | 8,247 | 44.2% | |
1870 | 10,810 | 31.1% | |
1880 | 12,749 | 17.9% | |
1890 | 22,746 | 78.4% | |
1900 | 23,272 | 2.3% | |
1910 | 40,665 | 74.7% | |
1920 | 52,995 | 30.3% | |
1930 | 53,829 | 1.6% | |
1940 | 57,865 | 7.5% | |
1950 | 70,252 | 21.4% | |
1960 | 69,764 | −0.7% | |
1970 | 122,423 | 75.5% | |
1980 | 116,896 | −4.5% | |
1990 | 106,612 | −8.8% | |
2000 | 97,255 | −8.8% | |
2010 | 91,351 | −6.1% | |
2020 | 157,346 | 72.2% | |
U.S. Decennial Census[65] 1850-1870[66] 1870-1880[67] 1890-1910[68] 1920-1930[69] 1930-1940[70] 1940-1950[71] 1960-1980[72] 1980-2000[73] 2010[74] 2020[75] |
![Locator map of the Macon-Warner Robins-Fort Valley Combined Statistical Area in central Georgia.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Map_of_Georgia_highlighting_Macon-Warner_Robins-Fort_Valley_CSA.svg/299px-Map_of_Georgia_highlighting_Macon-Warner_Robins-Fort_Valley_CSA.svg.png)
Macon is the largest principal city in the Macon-Warner Robins-Fort Valley CSA, a combined statistical area that includes the Macon metropolitan area (Bibb, Crawford, Jones, Monroe, and Twiggs counties) and the Warner Robins metropolitan area (Houston, Peach, and Pulaski counties) with a combined population of 411,898 in the 2010 census.[4]
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2000[76] | Pop 2010[74] | Pop 2020[75] | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
White alone (NH) | 34,050 | 25,296 | 56,787 | 35.01% | 27.69% | 36.09% |
Black or African American alone (NH) | 60,503 | 61,768 | 85,234 | 62.21% | 67.62% | 54.17% |
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 177 | 146 | 281 | 0.18% | 0.16% | 0.18% |
Asian alone (NH) | 608 | 683 | 3,209 | 0.63% | 0.75% | 2.04% |
Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 27 | 28 | 42 | 0.03% | 0.03% | 0.03% |
Other race alone (NH) | 60 | 97 | 602 | 0.06% | 0.11% | 0.38% |
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 664 | 1,069 | 4,454 | 0.68% | 1.17% | 2.83% |
Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 1,166 | 2,264 | 6,737 | 1.20% | 2.48% | 4.28% |
Total | 97,255 | 91,351 | 157,346 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
As of the official 2010 U.S. census,[4] the population of Macon was 91,351. In the last official census, in 2000, there were 97,255 people, 38,444 households, and 24,219 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,742.8 inhabitants per square mile (672.9/km2). There were 44,341 housing units at an average density of 794.6 per square mile (306.8/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 67.94% African American, 28.56% White, 0.02% Native American, 0.65% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.46% from other races, and 0.77% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.48% of the population. By the 2020 census, its population increased to 157,346.
There were 38,444 households, out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.0% were married couples living together, 25.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.0% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.08.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.9% under the age of 18, 11.3% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 79.7 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 72.8 males.
Crime
[edit]Since 2020, crime has become a higher concern in the city. In 2022, Macon set a homicide record with 70 homicides.[77] In 2023, Macon had the highest crime rate in Georgia. Macon had a crime rate of 52.6 crimes per 1,000 residents.[78] Gang activity is a major reason for the crime problem in Macon.[79] The Georgia Bureau of Investigation expanded its Gang Task Force Office to Macon in 2023.[80] As of 2024, crime has reduced in Macon compared to 2022 and 2023.[81][82]
Economy
[edit]The aerospace, advanced manufacturing, food processing, healthcare, professional services, and warehouse and distribution industries drive the economy in Macon-Bibb County. Long-standing large private employers include Mercer University, GEICO's Southeast Corporate Headquarters, YKK USA, and Norfolk Southern Railway's Brosnan Yard.
The decline of the textile industry in the South, along with the shuttering of other large manufacturing operations, such as the closing of the Brown and Williamson plant in 2006, caused a decline in the city's economy in the 2000s. In recent years, the city has successfully landed numerous new employers to diversify the economy, such as Irving Consumer Products and Kuhmo Tire manufacturing plants, as well as multiple aerospace employers at the Middle Georgia Regional Airport, including an Embraer aircraft maintenance facility.[83]
The health care and social assistance sector is the largest industry in Macon by number of employees,[84] with the Atrium Health Navicent and Piedmont Healthcare Macon hospital systems, two of the city's largest employers, making Macon the healthcare hub for the Middle and South Georgia regions.
Personal income
[edit]The 2010 Census listed Macon's median household income as $28,366, below the state average of $49,347. The median family income was $37,268. Full-time working males had a median income of $34,163, higher than the $28,082 for females. The city's per capita income was $17,010. About 24.1% of families and 30.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 43.6% of those under age 18 and 18.4% of those over 65.[85]
Retail
[edit]Malls include The Shoppes at River Crossing, Macon Mall, and Eisenhower Crossing. Traditional[clarification needed] shopping centers are in the downtown area and Ingleside Village.[86]
Military
[edit]Macon is the headquarters of the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Georgia Army National Guard.
The largest single-site industrial complex in Georgia,[87] Robins Air Force Base, is 10 miles south of Macon on Highway 247, just east of Warner Robins.
Arts and culture
[edit]![]() | This section contains content that is written like an advertisement. (July 2010) |
Musical heritage
[edit]Macon has been home for numerous musicians and composers, including Emmett Miller, The Allman Brothers Band, Randy Crawford, Mark Heard, Lucille Hegamin, Ben Johnston, Otis Redding, Little Richard, Mike Mills,[88] and Bill Berry of R.E.M., as well as more recent artists like violinist Robert McDuffie and country artist Jason Aldean.[clarification needed] Capricorn Records, run by Macon natives Phil Walden and briefly Alan Walden, made the city a Southern rock music production center in the late 1960s and 1970s.[89]
The Macon Symphony Orchestra,[90] a youth symphony, and the Middle Georgia Concert Band perform at the Grand Opera House in downtown Macon.[91]
The Georgia Music Hall of Fame was located in Macon from 1996 to 2011.[92]
Festivals
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/2004-03121sunset.jpg/220px-2004-03121sunset.jpg)
- International Cherry Blossom Festival - a 10-day celebration held every mid-March in Macon.
- The Mulberry Street Festival[93] - an arts and crafts festival held downtown the last weekend of March.
- The Juneteenth Freedom Festival - An annual June performing arts and educational celebration of the end of American slavery in 1865, celebrating black freedom and heritage both ancient and contemporary.[94]
- Pan African Festival - An annual celebration of the African diaspora and culture, held in April
- Ocmulgee Indigenous Celebration - A celebration of the original residents of the land where Macon now sits, this festival is held every third weekend in September[95] at Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park.[96] Representatives from the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole, and other nations come to share stories, exhibit Native art, and perform traditional songs and dance.
- Skydog[97] is a music festival celebrating the birthday, life, and music of Skydog (Duane Allman) held in November.
- The Georgia Music Hall of Fame hosts Georgia Music Week in September.
- Macon's annual Bragg Jam festival features an Art and Kids' Festival along the Ocmulgee Heritage Trail and a nighttime Pub Crawl.
- Macon Film Festival[98] - an annual celebration of independent films, held the third weekend in July
Points of interest
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/Fort_Hawkins_Macon%2C_Georgia.jpg/220px-Fort_Hawkins_Macon%2C_Georgia.jpg)
Historical sites
[edit]- Terminal Station, a railroad station built in 1916,[18] is located on 5th St. at the end of Cherry St. Its architect was Alfred Fellheimer, prominent for his 1903 design of Grand Central Terminal in New York City.
- Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park is located near downtown Macon. It preserves some of Georgia's largest ancient earthwork mounds built by the Mississippian culture a millennium ago, c. 950–1150. It was sacred to the historic Muscogee (Creek Nation) as well. Archeological artifacts reveal 13,000 years of human habitation at the site.[7] The park features a spiral mound, funeral mound, temple mounds, burial mounds, and a reconstructed earth lodge. It is the first Traditional Cultural Property designated by the National Park Service east of the Mississippi River.
- Fort Benjamin Hawkins, a major military outpost (1806-1821), was a command headquarters for the U.S. Army and Georgia militia on the boundary between U.S.-held and Native land, as well as a trading post or factory for the Creek Nation. It was a supply depot during U.S. campaigns of the War of 1812 and the Creek and Seminole Wars.
- Cannonball House, a historic home on the National Register of Historic Places.[99]
- Luther Williams Field
- Old City Cemetery, one of Macon's oldest cemeteries
- Rose Hill Cemetery, a cemetery listed on the National Register of Historic Places
- Sidney Lanier Cottage, the poet's historic home.[100]
- Temple Beth Israel, a domed Neoclassical built in 1902 to house Macon's Jewish congregation, founded in 1859.[101]
- Wesleyan College, the first chartered women's college in the world
Museums
[edit]- The Allman Brothers Band Museum - the "Big House" used by the Allman Brothers Band in the early 1970s, now a museum of Allman Brothers history and artifacts
- The Georgia Children's Museum[102] - interactive education, located in the downtown Museum District
- Georgia Sports Hall of Fame
- The Little Richard House and Museum - a museum of Little Richard's history and artifacts
- Museum of Arts and Sciences and Planetarium
- Tubman Museum of African American Art, History, and Culture - the largest African American museum in the Southeast
Community
[edit]- City Hall, Georgia's capital for part of the Civil War
- Douglass Theatre, named for its founder Charles Henry Douglass. An entrepreneur from a prominent black family, he was an established theatre developer well versed in the vaudeville and entertainment business. The theatre has undergone modern renovations and hosts numerous theatrical events.
- The Grand Opera House, where the Macon Symphony Orchestra performs
- Hay House - also known as the "Johnston-Felton-Hay House," it has been referred to as the "Palace of the South"[103]
- City Auditorium, the world's largest true copper dome[104]
- Macon Coliseum
- Macon Little Theatre, established in 1934, is the area's oldest community theatre, producing seven plays/musicals per season
- Waddell Barnes Botanical Gardens
- Theatre Macon, in the old Ritz Theatre; they perform around nine shows a year
Sports
[edit]Macon is home to the Mercer Bears, with NCAA Division I teams in soccer (men's and women's), football, baseball, basketball (men's and women's), tennis, and lacrosse. Central Georgia Technical College competes in men's and women's basketball. Wesleyan College, a women's school, has basketball, soccer, cross country, tennis, softball, and volleyball teams.
Club | Sport | League | Venue |
---|---|---|---|
Macon Bacon[105] | Baseball | Coastal Plain League | Luther Williams Field |
Macon Mayhem | Ice hockey | SPHL | Macon Coliseum |
Former teams
[edit]Club | Sport | League | Venue | Active |
---|---|---|---|---|
Macon State College Blue Storm | Various | NCCAA | Various | 2009–2013 |
Macon Central City/Hornets | Baseball | Southern League | Central City Park | 1892–1894 |
Macon Highlanders/Brigands/Peaches/Tigers | Baseball | South Atlantic League | Central City Park and Luther Williams Field | 1904–1917, 1923–1930 |
Macon Peaches/Dodgers/Redbirds/Pirates | Baseball | Southeastern League (1932), South Atlantic League (1936–42, 1946–60, 1962–63, 1980–87), Southern Association (1961), Southern League (1964, 1966–67) | Luther Williams Field | 1932, 1936–1942, 1946–1960, 1961–1964, 1966–1967, 1980–1982 |
Macon Braves | Baseball | South Atlantic League | Luther Williams Field | 1991–2002 |
Macon Peaches | Baseball | Southeastern League | Luther Williams Field | 2003 |
Macon Music | Baseball | South Coast League | Luther Williams Field | 2007 |
Macon Pinetoppers | Baseball | Peach State League | Luther Williams Field | 2010 |
Macon Blaze | Basketball | World Basketball Association | Macon Coliseum | 2005 |
Macon Whoopees | Ice hockey | Southern Hockey League | Macon Coliseum | 1974 |
Macon Whoopee | Ice hockey | Central Hockey League (1996-2001), ECHL (2001-02) | Macon Coliseum | 1996–2002 |
Macon Trax | Ice hockey | Atlantic Coast Hockey League (2002–03), World Hockey Association 2 (2003-04), Southern Professional Hockey League (2004–05) | Macon Coliseum | 2002–2005 |
Macon Knights | Arena football | af2 | Macon Coliseum | 2001–2006 |
Macon Steel | Indoor football | American Indoor Football | Macon Coliseum | 2012 |
Georgia Doom | Indoor football | American Arena League | Macon Coliseum | 2018–2019 |
Middle Georgia United | Soccer | UPSL | Cavalier Fields | 2021-2021 |
Parks and recreation
[edit]The city maintains several parks and community centers.[106]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8a/OcmulgeeRiverWalk.jpg/220px-OcmulgeeRiverWalk.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Macon_Skatepark_Bowl.jpg/220px-Macon_Skatepark_Bowl.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/97/Central_City_Park%2C_circa_1877_-_DPLA_-_98e6a4d7a40d9c7f6b21a448aed97c08.jpeg/220px-Central_City_Park%2C_circa_1877_-_DPLA_-_98e6a4d7a40d9c7f6b21a448aed97c08.jpeg)
- Ocmulgee Heritage Trail - a green way of parks, plazas, and landmarks along the Ocmulgee River in downtown Macon
- Bloomfield Park
- East Macon Park
- Frank Johnson Recreation Center
- Freedom Park
- L.H. Williams Community School Center
- Memorial Park
- North Macon Park
- Rosa Jackson
- Senior Center
- John Drew Smith Tennis Center
- Tattnall Square Tennis Center
- Charles H. Jones Gateway Park[107]
- Carolyn Crayton Park (formerly Central City Park)[108]
- Central City Skatepark
Baconsfield Park
[edit]U.S. Senator Augustus Bacon, of Georgia, in his 1911 will, devised land in Macon in trust, to be used as a public park for the exclusive benefit of white people. The park, known as Baconsfield, was operated in that manner for many years.[109] In Evans v. Newton,[110] the Supreme Court of the United States held that the park could not continue to be operated on a racially discriminatory basis. The Supreme Court of Georgia thereupon declared "that the sole purpose for which the trust was created has become impossible of accomplishment" and remanded the case to the trial court, which held cy-près doctrine to be inapplicable, since the park's segregated character was an essential and inseparable part of Bacon's plan. The trial court ruled that the trust failed and that the property reverted to Bacon's heirs. The Supreme Court of Georgia[111] and the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed.[112] The 50-acre (20 ha) park was lost and commercially developed.[113]
Government
[edit]Prior to 2013, the city government consisted of a mayor and city council. Robert Reichert was elected the first mayor of the consolidated Macon-Bibb County in October 2013.[27] There are also 9 County Commissioners elected from districts within the county.[24]
On March 15, 2019, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged the former County Manager, Dale M. Walker, with fraud.[114]
Education
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Mercer_University_Administration_Building.jpg/220px-Mercer_University_Administration_Building.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a8/Georgia_Academy_for_the_Blind_on_Vineville%2C_Macon_Georgia_USA%2C_September_2021_-_02.jpg/220px-Georgia_Academy_for_the_Blind_on_Vineville%2C_Macon_Georgia_USA%2C_September_2021_-_02.jpg)
Public schools
[edit]Bibb County Public School District operates district public schools.
Public high schools include:
- Central High School
- Howard High School[115]
- Northeast Health Science Magnet High School[116]
- Rutland High School[117]
- Southwest Magnet High School and Law Academy[118]
- Westside High School[119]
Georgia Academy for the Blind, operated by the state of Georgia, is a statewide school for blind students.[120]
Also operated by Bibb County Public Schools:
Private high schools
[edit]Macon is home to several private high schools, many of which were established as segregation academies for parents wishing to avoid the desegration of private schools.[123]
- Covenant Academy[124]
- First Presbyterian Day School
- Mount de Sales Academy
- Stratford Academy
- Tattnall Square Academy
- Windsor Academy
State public charter schools
[edit]Colleges and universities
[edit]Approximately 30,000 college students live in the greater Macon area.[128]
- Central Georgia Technical College
- Mercer University
- Middle Georgia State University
- Miller-Motte Technical College - satellite campus
- Wesleyan College
Media
[edit]Macon has a substantial number of local television and radio stations. It is also served by two local papers.
Newspapers and magazines
[edit]- The 11th Hour
- Gateway Macon (web portal), The Local's Guide for Things To Do in Macon
- Macon Business Journal, a journal chronicling the business community in the Middle Georgia region
- Macon Community News, a monthly positive news print newspaper
- The Mercer Cluster
- The Telegraph, a daily newspaper published in Macon
References in popular culture
[edit]The Simpsons
[edit]In "Bart on the Road", the Season 7 episode of The Simpsons, character Nelson Muntz suggests the boys take a road trip to Macon. Later he reminds the group that none of their trouble would have happened had they chosen Macon over Knoxville, Tennessee.
Gone with the Wind
[edit]In Margaret Mitchell's novel Gone with the Wind, Aunt Pittypat's coachman, Uncle Peter, protected her when she fled to Macon during Sherman's assault on Atlanta.
Telltale's The Walking Dead
[edit]The city of Macon is visited in The Walking Dead episodic adventure game by Telltale Games and its standalone DLC 400 Days.
In Season One, the city is portrayed as a small rural town and is visited by the main characters as they temporarily set up camp in the city. The city is the hometown of the game's main protagonist and the playable character throughout the game, Lee Everett. He and the other survivors barricade themselves inside his family's pharmacy as they are besieged by zombies. After one of the survivors dies, the group heads to a motel on the outskirts of Macon where they set up camp for two more episodes, before eventually deciding to leave the city for Savannah.
In 400 Days, the city is briefly shown in the episode "Vince's Story" as a flashback to when the episode's main character, Vince, fatally shoots an unseen and unnamed resident of the city before fleeing into the night before the apocalypse began. This murder would ultimately lead to Vince's arrest and the events that occurred at the beginning of the zombie apocalypse.
Infrastructure
[edit]Hospitals
[edit]- The Medical Center, Navicent Health (a part of Atrium Health)[129]
- Atrium Health Navicent Beverly Knight Olson Children's Hospital (formerly The Children's Hospital Of Central Georgia)
- Piedmont Health Macon (formerly Coliseum Medical Centers)[130]
- Piedmont Macon Medical Center [131]
- Piedmont Macon North Hospital[132]
- The American Red Cross of Central Georgia
- Central Georgia Rehabilitation Hospital
Transportation
[edit]
Airports
[edit]- Macon Downtown Airport is located near downtown. It has a large number of corporate and private aviation aircraft.
- Middle Georgia Regional Airport provides public air service to Macon as well as cargo flights. The airport is situated 9 mi (14 km) south of downtown.
Highways
[edit]Interstates:
Interstate 16
Interstate 75
Interstate 475
Interstate 14 (proposed)
U.S. Routes:
State Routes:
State Route 11
State Route 19
State Route 22
State Route 49
State Route 74
State Route 87
State Route 87 Connector
State Route 247
State Route 401 (unsigned designation for I-75)
State Route 404 (unsigned designation for I-16)
State Route 408 (unsigned designation for I-475)
State Route 540 (Fall Line Freeway)
Mass transit
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/Macon_Transit_Authority_MAC_City_Bus.jpg/220px-Macon_Transit_Authority_MAC_City_Bus.jpg)
The Macon Transit Authority (MTA) is Macon's public-transit system, operating the Public Transit City Bus System throughout Macon-Bibb County. As of 2022, the MTA has a total of 10 city bus routes, operating out of the Terminal Station hub.[133]
Intercity bus and rail
[edit]Greyhound Lines provides intercity bus service. In 2019, they moved from a stand-alone bus station to the Terminal Station to be in the same hub as the local mass transit busses.[134]
Macon grew as a center of rail transport after the 1846 opening of the Macon and Western Railroad.[135] Two of the most note-worthy train companies operating through the city were the Central of Georgia Railway and the Southern Railway. The city continued to be served by passenger trains at Terminal Station until 1971. The Frisco Railroad's Kansas City–Florida Special served the city until 1964.[136] The Southern's Royal Palm ran from Cincinnati, through Macon, to Miami, Florida until 1966. (A truncated route served to Valdosta, Georgia until 1970.) The Central of Georgia's Nancy Hanks ran through Macon, from Atlanta to Savannah until 1971. Since at least 2006 Macon has been included in the proposed Georgia Rail Passenger Program to restore inter-city rail service but as of 2020, Georgia lacks any inter-city passenger rail service other than the federally funded inter-state Amtrak services. In 2022, Amtrak announced a new fifteen year plan to expand its services, which Macon was included in.[137]
Pedestrians and cycling
[edit]- Heritage Trail
- Ocmulgee Heritage Trail
Notable people
[edit]Sister cities
[edit]Macon has six sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):[138]
See also
[edit]- Central Georgia
- Downtown Macon, Georgia
- Macon, Georgia metropolitan area
- List of mayors of Macon, Georgia
- List of U.S. cities with large Black populations
- USS Macon, 3 ships (including 1 airship)
Notes
[edit]- ^ The record number of triple-digit (Fahrenheit) readings is 24 in 1954.[59]
- ^ The historical range is 31 in 1994 to 116 in 2011.[59]
- ^ Mean monthly maxima and minima (i.e. the highest and lowest temperature readings during an entire month or year) calculated based on data at said location from 1991 to 2020.
- ^ Official records for Macon were kept at downtown from October 1892 to 7 April 1899, the Weather Bureau from 8 April 1899 to November 1948, and at Middle Georgia Regional Airport since December 1948. For more information, see ThreadEx.
References
[edit]- ^ "2021 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
- ^ a b "QuickFacts: Macon-Bibb County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau. May 2024. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
- ^ a b "2020 Population and Housing State Data". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
- ^ a b c "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ a b "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ a b "Macon-Bibb County consolidation wins with strong majorities". The Macon Telegraph. July 31, 2012. Archived from the original on July 19, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
- ^ a b "Georgia Encyclopedia". Georgia Encyclopedia. May 20, 2009. Archived from the original on September 6, 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
- ^ a b c "Fort Hawkins". cityofmacon.net. Archived from the original on September 19, 2010. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 195.
- ^ a b Davis, Robert Scott (2007). "A Cotton Kingdom Retooled for War: The Macon Arsenal and the Confederate Ordnance Establishment". Georgia Historical Quarterly. 91 (3): 266–291. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
- ^ "Colleges and Universities". Dlg.galileo.usg.edu. January 1, 1970. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
- ^ "Macon, Georgia". Roadsidegeorgia.com. March 19, 1990. Archived from the original on December 19, 2007. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
- ^ Miller, Francis Trevelyan (1957). The Photographic History of The Civil War. Vol. 5: Forts and Artillery. New York: Castle Books. p. 162.
- ^ "Macon (Camp Oglethorpe) Prisoner of War Camp". Mycivilwar.com. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
- ^ Davis, Robert Scott (1998). Cotton, Fire and Dreams. Mercer University Press. p. 123. ISBN 9780865545984. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
macon arsenal.
- ^ "The Last Battle of the Civil War". Digital Gallery, University of South Georgia.
- ^ "College Hill Corridor / Mercer Village Master Plan" (PDF). Mercer University City of Macon. January 2009. Retrieved August 7, 2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b "Macon Terminal Station". Railga.com. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
- ^ "Record Rain Pelts Georgia; 4 Die in Flood". The New York Times. July 31, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
- ^ "HB 1171 – Macon-Bibb County; create and incorporate new political body corporate". Archived from the original on June 9, 2012. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
- ^ City-County Consolidation Proposals, 1921 - Present (PDF). National Association of Counties (Report). 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 19, 2012. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
- ^ Staley, Samuel R.; Faulk, Dagney; Leland, Suzanne M.; Schansberg, D. Eric (November 16, 2005). The Effects of City-County Consolidation: A Review of the Recent Academic Literature (PDF) (Report). Fort Wayne, IN: Indiana Policy Review Foundation. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 21, 2014. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
- ^ Consolidation pass for Macon and Bibb county in the 2012 vote. "Consolidation of City and County Governments: Attempts in Five Cities". Archived January 20, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
- ^ a b Lee, Maggie (February 28, 2012). "Macon-Bibb merger proposes smaller, redesigned local government". The Telegraph. Macon, Georgia. Retrieved January 17, 2022.(subscription required)
- ^ Mike Stucka (July 31, 2012). "Macon-Bibb County consolidation wins with strong majorities". The Telegraph. Macon, Georgia. Archived from the original on July 19, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
- ^ Lockwood, Erica (July 13, 2012). "Consolidation: 3 Areas of Macon and Bibb Affected Differently". 13 WMAZ. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013.
- ^ a b Gaines, Jim (October 15, 2013). "Reichert wins Macon-Bibb mayor's office by wide margin over Ellis". The Telegraph. Macon, Georgia. Retrieved January 17, 2022.(subscription required)
- ^ a b c d e f Candler & Evans 1906.
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- ^ a b c Waring 1887.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Historic Moments in Macon". City of Macon. Archived from the original on April 7, 2001. (Timeline)
- ^ "Macon Loses Historic Georgia State Fair to New City". Georgia Public Broadcasting. October 23, 2013. Archived from the original on August 26, 2017. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
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- ^ "History of Riverside Cemetery". Riverside Cemetery. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
- ^ a b c d "Today in Georgia History". Georgia Historical Society; Georgia Public Broadcasting. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
- ^ "Library History". Middle Georgia Regional Library. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
- ^ "Membership: Georgia", Report...1917 and 1918, NAACP annual report (1948), New York: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, 1919, pp. 10 v, hdl:2027/uiug.30112051986880
- ^ American Art Annual, vol. 17, NY: American Federation of Arts, 1920
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- ^ "Macon, Georgia". Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities. Jackson, Mississippi: Goldring / Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
- ^ "Walker's Commercial & Vocational College". The Crisis. 49 (1). The Crisis Publishing Company: 12, 17–18, 27. January 16, 1942. ISSN 0011-1422 – via Google Books.
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- ^ McKay, John J. Jr. (1979). "Story of the Middle Georgia Historical Society, Inc". Georgia Historical Quarterly. 63 (1): 156–160. JSTOR 40580094.
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- ^ "City of Macon, Georgia". Archived from the original on April 4, 2001 – via Internet Archive, Wayback Machine.
- ^ "About". Historic Macon Foundation. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
- ^ "Macon-Bibb County, Georgia". State & County QuickFacts. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e "NOWData - NOAA Online Weather Data". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
- ^ "Average Total Snowfall (inches) for Selected Cities in the Southeast". Sercc.com. Archived from the original on April 17, 2013. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
- ^ "Macon Weather". US Travel and Weather. July 2011. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved October 3, 2007.
- ^ "Station: Macon Middle GA RGNL AP, GA". U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991-2020). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
- ^ "Station: Macon Middle GA Regional Airport, GA". U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991-2020). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
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- ^ a b "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Macon city, Georgia". United States Census Bureau.
- ^ a b "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Macon- Bibb County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau.
- ^ "P004 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Macon city, Georgia". United States Census Bureau.
- ^ "Bibb Co. Coroner reacts to 2022 record breaking homicide numbers". January 2, 2023.
- ^ "Study: Bibb County revealed as Georgia's crime capital". December 13, 2023.
- ^ "13Investigates: Former Macon gang member talks how gangs operate and how he got out". February 16, 2023.
- ^ "GBI Expands Gang Task Force to Middle Georgia | Georgia Bureau of Investigation".
- ^ "Yes, so far this year, crime is down in Macon-Bibb County | VERIFY". WMAZ. April 18, 2024. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
- ^ Fabian, Liz (January 3, 2024). "AskMayorMiller: New jail, downtown development, reduced crime rates". The Macon Newsroom. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
- ^ "Leading Industries".
- ^ https://explorer.gdol.ga.gov/vosnet/mis/Profiles/msa/macon.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "U.S. Census website". March 9, 2011. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
- ^ Georgia Department of Economic Development (August 26, 2014). "Ingleside Village Shopping & Arts District | Macon, Georgia". Exploregeorgia.org. Archived from the original on February 2, 2018. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
- ^ "Robins Air Force Base". Military.com. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
- ^ Jason Ankeny (December 17, 1958). "Mike Mills | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
- ^ Georgia Music Hall of Fame. "Alan Walden - Georgia Music Hall of Fame 2003 Inductee" Archived May 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Georgiamusicstore.com. Retrieved August 27, 2008.
- ^ "Macon Symphony Orchestra Website". Maconsymphony.com. May 5, 2012. Archived from the original on November 5, 2006. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
- ^ "Middle Georgia Concert Band website". Middlegeorgiaconcertband.org. January 9, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
- ^ Williams, Dave (February 23, 2012). "Closed Georgia Music Hall site 'surplus property'".
- ^ "Home - Middle Georgia Art Association". Middlegeorgiaart.org. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
- ^ "Macon Makes Juneteenth Bigger Than Ever - Macon Magazine". Macon Magazine. June 17, 2023. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
- ^ "Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park". Official Georgia Tourism & Travel Website | Explore Georgia.org. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
- ^ "Ocmulgee Indigenous Celebration - Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)". U.S. National Park Service. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
- ^ "Skydog 73". wdawebs.com.
- ^ "Macon Film Festival". Macon Film Festival. February 19, 2012. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
- ^ ""Cannonball House" Website". Cannonballhouse.org. February 6, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
- ^ "coming soon...Historic Macon Foundation". Archived from the original on August 28, 2004. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
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- ^ "Georgia Children's Museum in Macon, GA". Georgiachildrensmuseum.com. Archived from the original on February 24, 2008. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
- ^ "History of the Hay House". The Georgia Trust. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved July 2, 2012.
- ^ "Rutland Architectural Blog - Roof Domes". Rutlandguttersupply.com. September 8, 2010. Archived from the original on September 13, 2010. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
- ^ "info". March 13, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
- ^ "Recreation Centers | cityofmacon.net". Archived from the original on July 23, 2010. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
- ^ "Otis Redding Statue at Ocmulgee Heritage Trail Gateway Park | Macon, Georgia". Exploregeorgia.org. August 26, 2014. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
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- ^ "The Case over Baconsfield Park". Mercer University. Archived from the original on November 4, 2014. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
- ^ 382 U.S. 296 (1966),
- ^ 224 Ga. 826, 165 S.E.2d 160 (1968)
- ^ Evans v. Abney, 396 U.S. 435 (1970).
- ^ "Baconsfield: Macon's Missing Park". May 3, 2019.
- ^ "SEC Charges Former Municipal Officer with Fraud in Connection with Public Pension Funds". U.S.Securities and Exchange Commission. March 15, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
- ^ "School Listing". Bibb County Board of Education. Retrieved July 2, 2012.
- ^ "School Listing". Bibb County Board of Education. Retrieved July 2, 2012.
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- ^ "School Listing". Bibb County Board of Education. Retrieved July 2, 2012.
- ^ "School Listing". Bibb County Board of Education. Retrieved July 2, 2012.
- ^ "Welcome to Georgia Academy for the Blind". Georgia Academy for the Blind. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. Retrieved July 2, 2012.
- ^ "Elam Alexander Academy / Overview". Schools.bibb.k12.ga.us. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
- ^ http://schools.bibb.k12.ga.us/butler [dead link]
- ^ Manis, Andrew Michael (2004). Macon Black and White: An Unutterable Separation in the American Century. Mercer University Press. p. 312. ISBN 9780865549586.
- ^ "Covenant Academy". Archived from the original on December 3, 2001. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
- ^ "Academy for Classical Education". Acemacon.org. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
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- ^ Madison Cavalchire (August 1, 2016). "New charter school opens in Macon; 13 WMAZ". 13wmaz.com. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
- ^ "Great South League | Macon Giants". Greatsouthleague.pointstreaksites.com. January 2, 2011. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
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Bibliography
[edit]Published in 19th century
- John P. Campbell, ed. (1854). "Georgia: Bibb County". Southern Business Directory. Charleston, SC: Press of Walker & James.
- Adiel Sherwood (1860), "Bibb County: Macon", Gazetteer of Georgia (4th ed.), Macon: S. Boykin
- John C. Butler (1879). Historical Record of Macon and Central Georgia. J. W. Burke & Company.
- George E. Waring, Jr.; U.S. Department of the Interior, Census Office (1887), "Georgia: Macon", Report on the Social Statistics of Cities: Southern and the Western States, Washington DC: Government Printing Office, pp. 169–172
- "Macon", Rand, McNally & Co.'s Handy Guide to the Southeastern States, Chicago: Rand, McNally & Co., 1899 – via Internet Archive
Published in 20th century
- Allen D. Candler; Clement A. Evans, eds. (1906). "Macon". Georgia: Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons Arranged in Cyclopedic Form. Vol. 2. Atlanta: State Historical Association. pp. 511+. hdl:2027/mdp.39015027784332.
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 267.
- Federal Writers' Project (1940), "Macon", Georgia: a Guide to Its Towns and Countryside, American Guide Series, Athens: University of Georgia Press, p. 102+
- Ida Young, Julius Gholson, and Clara Nell Hargrove. History of Macon, Georgia (Macon, Ga.: Lyon, Marshall & Brooks, 1950).
- John A. Eisterhold. "Commercial, Financial, and Industrial Macon, Georgia, During the 1840s", The Georgia Historical Quarterly, Winter 1969, Vol. 53 Issue 4, pp 424–441
- James H. Stone. "Economic Conditions in Macon, Georgia in the 1830s", The Georgia Historical Quarterly, Summer 1970, Vol. 54 Issue 2, pp 209–225
- Bowling C. Yates. "Macon, Georgia, Inland Trading Center 1826–1836", The Georgia Historical Quarterly, Fall 1971, Vol. 55 Issue 3, pp 365–377
- McInvale, Morton Ray "Macon, Georgia: The War Years, 1861–1865" (Ph.D. dissertation, Florida State University, 1973)
- Roger K. Hux. "The Ku Klux Klan in Macon 1919–1925", The Georgia Historical Quarterly, Summer 1978, Vol. 62 Issue 2, pp 155–168
- Nancy Anderson, Macon: A Pictorial History (Virginia Beach, Va.: Donning, 1979).
- Donnie D. Bellamy. "Macon, Georgia, 1823–1860: A Study in Urban Slavery", Phylon 45 (December 1984): 300–304, 308–309
- Kristina Simms. Macon, Georgia's Central City: An Illustrated History (Chatsworth, Calif.: Windsor, 1989).
- Titus Brown. "Origins of African American Education in Macon, Georgia 1865–1866", Journal of South Georgia History, Oct 1996, Vol. 11, pp 43–59
- Macon: An Architectural Historical Guide (Macon, Ga.: Middle Georgia Historical Society, 1996).
- Macon's Black Heritage: The Untold Story (Macon, Ga.: Tubman African American Museum, 1997).
- Matthew W. Norman. "James H. Burton and the Confederate States Armory at Macon", The Georgia Historical Quarterly, Winter 1997, Vol. 81 Issue 4, pp 974–987
- Titus Brown. "A New England Missionary and African-American Education in Macon: Raymond G. Von Tobel at the Ballard Normal School, 1908–1935", The Georgia Historical Quarterly, Summer 1998, Vol. 82 Issue 2, pp 283–304
- Robert S. Davis. Cotton, Fire, & Dreams: The Robert Findlay Iron Works and Heavy Industry in Macon, Georgia, 1839–1912 (Macon, Ga., 1998)
- Richard W. Iobst (2009) [1999]. Civil War Macon: The History of a Confederate City. Mercer University Press. ISBN 978-0-88146-172-5.
- Jeanne Herring (2000). Macon, Georgia. Black America. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia.
Published in 21st century
- Tracy Maurer (2001). Macon Celebrates the Millennium. Montgomery, Ala.: Community Communications. ISBN 1581920342.
- Andrew Michael Manis (2004). Macon Black and White: An Unutterable Separation in the American Century. Mercer University Press. ISBN 978-0-86554-958-6.
- Paul T. Hellmann (2006). "Georgia: Macon". Historical Gazetteer of the United States. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 1-135-94859-3.
- Robert Scott Davis. "A Cotton Kingdom Retooled for War: The Macon Arsenal and the Confederate Ordnance Establishment", The Georgia Historical Quarterly, Fall 2007, Vol. 91 Issue 3, pp 266–291
- Candace Dyer, Street Singers, Soul Shakers, Rebels with a Cause: Music from Macon (Macon, Ga.: Indigo Publishing Group, 2008).
- Mara L. Keire. For Business and Pleasure: Red-Light Districts and the Regulation of Vice in the United States, 1890–1933 (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010); 248 pages; History and popular culture of districts in Macon, Ga., and other cities
- Macon. Images of America. Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia. 2013. ISBN 9781467111157.
- Wynne, Ben, Something in the Water: A History of Music in Macon, Georgia, 1823-1980 (Mercer University Press, 2021)
External links
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Official website
- Macon-Bibb County Convention and Visitors Bureau
- Macon Archived April 6, 2013, at the Wayback Machine (the New Georgia Encyclopedia)
Macon (Georgia) travel guide from Wikivoyage
- "Macon", New Georgia Encyclopedia, Georgia Humanities Council
- "Genealogical & Historical Room". Macon: Middle Georgia Regional Library.
- Items related to Macon, various dates (via Digital Public Library of America)
- "Subject Guides: Macon". Middle Georgia State University Libraries.
- Rees stereograph collection from the Digital Library of Georgia
- Landmarks in Macon, Georgia
- Macon, Georgia
- Cities in Bibb County, Georgia
- Cities in Georgia (U.S. state)
- County seats in Georgia (U.S. state)
- Former state capitals in the United States
- Cities in Jones County, Georgia
- Macon metropolitan area, Georgia
- Populated places established in 1823
- Consolidated city-counties