Macon, Georgia
Macon (pronounced /ˈmeɪkən/) is a city located in central Georgia, US. It is part of the Macon metropolitan area, and the county seat of Bibb County. A small portion of the city extends into Jones County. It lies near the geographic center of Georgia, approximately 85 miles (136 km) south of Atlanta, hence the city's nickname as the Heart of Georgia. As of 2009, Macon had an estimated population of 92,582; In terms of population, Macon is the sixth-largest city in Georgia (just after Athens).The city has several institutions of higher education, as well as numerous museums and tourism sites. The area is served by the Middle Georgia Regional Airport and the Herbert Smart Downtown Airport. The current mayor of Macon is Robert Reichert, a former Democratic member of the Georgia House of Representatives. Perhaps its most colorful mayor[citation needed] with national recognition was Ronnie Thompson, who served from 1967–1975 and was the first of thus far two Republicans to have held the position, the other being George Israel (1979–1987).
History
Macon lies on the site of the Ocmulgee Old Fields, where the Creek Indians lived in the 18th. Century. Their prehistoric predecessors, the Mississippian Culture, built a powerful chiefdom agricultural village. Prior to its establishment as a city, Macon was the site of Fort Benjamin Hawkins. After the Creeks ceded their lands east of the Ocmulgee River, President Thomas Jefferson ordered the fort built in 1806 on the fall line of the Ocmulgee River to protect the new frontier, as it was a major military distribution point during the War of 1812 and the Creek War of 1813. Afterward, the fort became a trading post for a few more years before it fell to disuse and burned to the ground. A replica of the fort, however, stands today on a hill in east Macon by the old bank. By this time, many settlers had already begun to move into the area and later renamed Fort Hawkins “Newtown.” After the establishment of Bibb County in 1822, the city was chartered as the county seat in 1823 and officially named Macon, in honor of North Carolina statesman Nathaniel Macon because many of the city's early settlers hailed from North Carolina. The city planners of Macon envisioned 'a city within a park' and went about creating a city of spacious streets and parks. They also designated 250 acres (1 km2) for Central City Park and citizens were required by ordinances to plant shade trees in their front yards.The city thrived due to its location on the Ocmulgee River and cotton became the mainstay of Macon's early economy. Cotton boats, stage coaches, and later, in 1843, a railroad all brought economic prosperity to Macon. In 1836, Wesleyan College, the first college America chartered to grant degrees to women, was founded in Macon by the Georgia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1855 a referendum was held to determine a capital city for Georgia. Macon came in last with 3,802 votes.During the American Civil War, Macon served as the official arsenal of the Confederacy. Camp Oglethorpe, in Macon, was used first as a prison for captured officers and enlisted, then for officers only, up to 2,300 at one time. The camp was evacuated in 1864.Macon City Hall, which would serve as the temporary state capitol in 1864, was converted to use as a hospital for the wounded. However, Macon was spared by General William Tecumseh Sherman on his march to the sea. The nearby state capital of Milledgeville had been sacked and Maconites prepared for an attack. But General Sherman feared that Confederate forces were preparing a unified attack of their own and therefore bypassed Macon.[citation needed]The Macon Telegraph claimed that out of the 23 companies the city had furnished the Confederacy, only enough for five were alive and medically fit for duty by the end of the war.Throughout the era of Reconstruction and into the twentieth century, Macon grew into a prospering town in Middle Georgia, and began to serve as a transportation hub for the entire state..In 1994 Tropical Storm Alberto made landfall in Florida dumping 24 inches (61 cm) inches of rain resulting in major flooding in Georgia. Macon was one of the worst flooded cities.On May 11, 2008, an EF2 tornado struck (The 'Mother's Day Tornado'). Bibb county and surrounding counties were declared disaster areas by the state and federal governments.Murderess Anjette Lyles lived here, as well as alleged axe murderer Thomas Woolfolk.
Geography
Macon is one of Georgia's three 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 causes rivers in the area to decline rapidly towards sea level, making it an ideal location for textile mills in the past. The Ocmulgee River is the major river that runs through Macon.Macon is located at 32°50′05″N 83°39′06″W / 32.834839°N 83.651672°W / 32.834839; -83.651672 (32.834839, -83.651672).According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 56.3 square miles (145.7 km2), of which, 55.8 square miles (144.5 km2) of it is land and 0.5 square miles (1.2 km2) of it (0.82%) is water.Macon is approximately 901 feet (275 m) above sea level.
Climate
Macon has a humid, subtropical climate. Summer temperatures generally peak in the mid-90 °F (32 °C)s, and the winters have lows in the mid-30 °F (−1 °C)s. The city has an average annual precipitation of 45 inches (1,100 mm).
Demographics
Macon is the largest principal city of the Macon-Warner Robins-Fort Valley CSA, a Combined Statistical Area that includes the Macon metropolitan area (Bibb, Crawford, Jones, Monroe, and Twiggs counties), the Warner Robins metropolitan area (Houston County), and the Fort Valley micropolitan area (Peach County), which had a combined population of 346,801 at the 2000 census.As of the official census of 2000, there were 100,005 people, 38,444 households, and 24,219 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,742.8 people per square mile (672.9/km2). There were 44,341 housing units at an average density of 794.6/sq mi (306.8/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 62.45% African American, 35.46% White, 0.19% 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 of any race were 1.20% of the population.There were 38,444 households out of which 30.1% had children under the 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 , 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 age 18 and over, there were 72.8 males.
Personal income
The median income for a household in the city was $27,405, and the median income for a family was $33,699. Males had a median income of $29,950 versus $22,865 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,082. About 21.6% of families and 25.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.7% of those under age 18 and 16.0% of those age 65 or over.
Retail
Malls include: The Shoppes at River Crossing and Macon Mall and Eisenhower Crossing.
Military
Robins Air Force Base, the largest single-site industrial complex in the state of Georgia, is just south of Macon, next to the city of Warner Robins.The headquarters of the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Georgia Army National Guard is located here.
Musical heritage
Macon has been the birthplace or hometown to such musicians as The Allman Brothers Band, Randy Crawford, Mark Heard, Lucille Hegamin, Otis Redding, Little Richard, Mike Mills and Bill Berry of R.E.M. as well as more recent names like violinist Robert McDuffie and country artist Jason Aldean. Rapper Jody Breeze (1/4 of the hip-hop group Boyz N Da Hood along with fellow Maconite Young Jeezy, currently signed to P. Diddy's Bad Boy Entertainment) was discovered in Macon at a car show. September Hase, an alternative rock band formerly managed by Macon's Alan Walden, was discovered in Macon at the 550 Blues Club. Capricorn Records, run by Macon natives Phil Walden and briefly Alan Walden, made the city a hub for Southern rock music in the late 1960s and 1970s.The Georgia Music Hall of Fame was built here.The Macon Symphony Orchestra, performs at the Grand Opera House in downtown Macon, as well as a youth symphony, the Middle Georgia Concert Band, and other groups, some associated with local universities.[citation needed]
Festivals
International Cherry Blossom Festival- During mid-March of every year, the height of the cherry trees' bloom, Macon holds a 10-day celebration of concerts, food festivals, arts and crafts shows, parades, street markets, picnics, dances, and exhibitions of artists from around the world. The city is decorated in pink, the symbolic color of this event, reflecting the color of the blossoms.
The Mulberry Street Festival,is an arts and crafts festival held the last weekend of March in downtown Macon.
Pan African Festival - Macon celebrates itsAfrican Americancultural heritage. In April, Macon holds the Pan-African Festival featuring parades,AfricanandCaribbeanmusical performances, African dancing, films, food festival, cultural shows, and exhibitions.
Ocmulgee Indian Celebration - A celebration of Macon's original Native American Heritage, this festival is held in September atOcmulgee National Monument. Representatives from backgrounds ofCherokee,Chickasaw,Choctaw,Creek,Seminole, and other nations come to share stories, exhibit native art, perform dances, and play live music.
The Georgia State Fair - The Fair is held in Central City Park every year starting in late September.
The Georgia Music Hall of Fame hosts Georgia Music Week in September. During the museum's free Brown Bag Boogie concert series, artists from across the state perform outdoors at noon. Festivities have also included the annual Georgia Music Hall of Fame Awards held in Atlanta.
Macon's annual Bragg Jam festival features an Art and Kids' Festival along the Ocmulgee Heritage Trail and a nighttime Pub Crawl featuring local and national musical acts. The event pays tribute to the lives of musicians Brax and Taylor Bragg, brothers who were killed in an automobile accident. Proceeds benefit the Ocmulgee Heritage Trail.
Macon Film Festival (MaGa)- An annual film festival held the third weekend in February, celebrating the art and craft of the moving image, and giving light to independent films that rarely have the opportunity to appear in the Central Georgia region. The festival is open to filmmakers from every level, working in any medium and genre.
Points of interest
Ocmulgee National Monumentis located near downtown Macon. It preserves some of the largest mounds in Georgia built by theNative Americansof theMississippian culturea millennium ago. The park features a spiral mound, funeral mound, temple mounds, burial mounds, anearth lodge, as well as other smaller sites used for ceremonial purposes.
Rose Hill Cemeteryis one of Macon's oldestcemeteries. It is a popular attraction with many fans of theAllman Brothers Band, as two members of the band,Duane AllmanandBerry Oakley, are interred there, as are manyCivil Warsoldiers.
Tubman African American Museum- the largest African American museum in Georgia.
Waddell Barnes Botanical Gardens
Hay House- also known as the 'Johnston-Felton-Hay House', it has been referred to as the 'Palace of the South'
Sidney LanierCottage - historical home to poet Sidney Lanier
Neel Reid Federated Garden Club Center
Woodruff House
TheGrand Opera House, where the Macon Symphony Orchestra performs.
Museum of Arts and Sciences (Macon)and Planetarium
Georgia Sports Hall of Fame
Mercer University
Fort Hawkins, military outpost used as a buffer between the citizens of Macon and the various Indian tribes that lined the Ocmulgee River.
City Hall, Georgia's capitol for part of the Civil War
City Auditorium, the world's largest copper dome
Macon Little Theatre, established in 1934, the area's oldest community theatre producing seven plays/musicals per season
The Macon Terminal Station
Wesleyan College- First Chartered Women's College in the world.
The Georgia Children's Museum- Five Stories of interactive education located in the downtown Museum District
Ocmulgee Heritage Trail - a green way of parks, plazas, and landmarks along theOcmulgee Riverin downtown Macon
Cannonball House- Historic site
Georgia Music Hall of Fame
Temple Beth Israel- thisJewishcongregation was founded in 1859, and currently occupies an impressive domedNeoclassicalbuilding built in 1902.
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
H&H Restaurant- a restaurant frequented by the Allman Brothers
Nu-Way Weiners- Famous for their Red hotdogs. featured on the Today Show , and a Hot Dog program among other national programs.
Newspapers and magazines
TheTelegraph, a daily newspaper, is published in Macon.
The 11th Hour
Television stations
03WBMN-CW(Cable Only)
13WMAZ-TV-CBS
24WGXA-Fox/ABC(On DT2)
31WDMA-CA-Daystar
38WRWR-LD-America One/Universal Sports(On DT2)
41WMGT-TV-NBC/MyNetworkTV(On DT2)
45WGNM-Christian Television Network
50WPGA-LP-RTV
58WPGA-TV-Ind./This TV(On DT2)
Radio stations
FMWBKG88.9 - Macon (Religious)
WMUM-FM89.7 - Macon (Georgia Public Broadcasting/National Public Radio)
WLZN92.3 - Macon (Urban Hip-Hop - 'Blazin' 92.3')
WPEZ93.7 - Macon (Z93.7)
WMGB95.1 ('B95.1') - Macon
WPCH (FM)96.5 - Macon (Oldies/Adult Contemporary - 'The New Peach' - Simulcast)
WDEN99.1 - Macon (Country)
WMGZ97.7 FM - Macon
WIBB-FM97.9 - Macon (Urban - Hip Hop '97.9 WIBB')
WPGA-FM100.9 - Macon (Mix '100.9')
WRBV101.7 - Macon (Urban AC - 'V101.7')
WROK-FM105.5 - Macon (Adult Album Alternative - 'Rock 105.5')
WQBZ106.3 - Macon ( The Rock Station 'Q106')
WFXM107.1 - Macon (Hip-Hop & R&B 'Power 107')
AMWMVGAM - Macon
WBML900 AM - Macon (Religious)
WMAC940 AM - Macon (Talk)
WPGA980 AM - Macon (Talk)
WDDO1240 AM - Macon (Gospel)
WIBB1280 AM - Macon (Talk)
WNEX1400 AM - Macon (News Talk)
WAYS1500 AM - Macon (Sports - 'The Fan')
WFSM1670 AM - Macon (Sports Talk - 'Fox Sports Radio')
Notable venues
Luther Williams Field
Macon Coliseum
Macon City Auditorium
Douglass Theatre
Grand Opera House
Mercer's University Center
Colleges and universities
Macon has approximately 30,000 college students, the third highest number in Georgia.[citation needed] Mercer, Macon State, and Wesleyan College have the largest populations of 'traditional' college students. Georgia College & State University has a 'Center for Graduate and Professional Learning' in Macon.Mercer University
Macon State College
Wesleyan College
Central Georgia Technical College
Fort Valley State University- satellite campus
Georgia College & State University- satellite campus
Troy University- satellite campus
Public high schools
Central High School
Howard High School
Hutchings High School
Northeast Magnet High School
Rutland High School
Southwest Magnet High School
Westside High School
Southeast High School, (closed)
Private high schools
Central Fellowship Christian Academy
First Presbyterian Day School
Mount de Sales Academy
Stratford Academy
Tattnall Square Academy
Windsor Academy
Covenant Academy
Speciality schoolsSpeciality schools<sup class='noprint Inline-Template' title='The text in the vicinity of this tag needs clarification or removal of jargon from October 2009' style='white-space:nowrap;'>[Speciality schools<sup class='noprint Inline-Template' title='The text in the vicinity of this tag needs clarification or removal of jargon from October 2009' style='white-space:nowrap;'>[<i>Speciality schools<sup class='noprint Inline-Template' title='The text in the vicinity of this tag needs clarification or removal of jargon from October 2009' style='white-space:nowrap;'>[<i><a href='/wiki/Wikipedia:Please_clarify' title='Wikipedia:Please clarify'>clarification neededSpeciality schools<sup class='noprint Inline-Template' title='The text in the vicinity of this tag needs clarification or removal of jargon from October 2009' style='white-space:nowrap;'>[<i><a href='/wiki/Wikipedia:Please_clarify' title='Wikipedia:Please clarify'>clarification needed</a>Speciality schools<sup class='noprint Inline-Template' title='The text in the vicinity of this tag needs clarification or removal of jargon from October 2009' style='white-space:nowrap;'>[<i><a href='/wiki/Wikipedia:Please_clarify' title='Wikipedia:Please clarify'>clarification needed</a></i>]Speciality schools<sup class='noprint Inline-Template' title='The text in the vicinity of this tag needs clarification or removal of jargon from October 2009' style='white-space:nowrap;'>[<i><a href='/wiki/Wikipedia:Please_clarify' title='Wikipedia:Please clarify'>clarification needed</a></i>]</sup>
Butler
Elam Alexander
Georgia Academy for the Blind
Neel
Renaissance
Hospitals
Central Georgia Rehabilitation Hospital
Coliseum Medical Centers
Coliseum Northside Hospital
Medical Center of Central Georgia
Air travel
Middle Georgia Regional Airport, provides public air service to Macon as well as cargo flights. The airport is situated 9 miles (14 km) south of downtown. Herbert Smart Downtown Airport also provides air service to Macon.
Interstate highways
Interstate 16
Interstate 75
Interstate 475
State highways
U.S. Route 23
U.S. Route 41
U.S. Route 80
U.S. Route 129
Other roads
State Route 11
State Route 19
State Route 22
State Route 74
Bus service
The Macon Transit Authority (MTA) is Macon's public-transit system, operating the bus system within Bibb County. However, many commuters in Macon and the surrounding suburbs use private automobiles as their primary transportation. This results in heavy traffic during rush hour and contributes to Macon's air pollution.[citation needed]Macon Transit Authority has a tourist trolley system. The trolleys offer tours in the downtown Macon area since 1999. The tours consist of all of the major historical sites such as the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, the Hay House, and the Tubman Museum. There are three trolleys; MITSI, Miss Molly, and Sweet Melissa and each holds up to 39 passengers. Greyhound Lines provides intercity bus service between Macon and many locations throughout the United States and Canada. The Greyhound terminal is situated at 65 Spring Street, on the eastern edge of the downtown area.
Rail transport
Macon grew as a center of rail transport after the 1846 opening of the Macon and Western Railroad. 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 be served by passenger trains until the 1970s. Macon is included in proposals (Georgia Rail Passenger Program) to restore inter-city rail service in Georgia.
Sister cities
Macon has six sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):
Notable Maconites
A number of notable people involved in politics, sports, music, and other activities were either born or resided in Macon.
