Macon, GA City Guide and Yellow Pages

More About Macon, Georgia

n the east side of Georgia's Ocmulgee River, Fort Benjamin Hawkins was built. In 1821, the fort was rebuilt and renamed "Newtown." A few years later, Macon, Ga., was incorporated on the west side of the river. The town was named after Sen. Nathaniel Macon.

The city stands on the land of the Ocmulgee Old Fields, once home to the Creek Indians in the 18th century. Early Macon was “envisioned as a city within a park.” James Webb is credited with designing the city. About 250 acres were assigned for Macon’s Central City Park. “Maconites” were expected to plant shade trees in their front yards or face disobeying a city ordinance.

The city progressed because of its strategic location on the river. Cotton became the cornerstone of Macon’s economy. Cotton boats, stagecoaches and railroads brought wealth to Macon.

The town’s city hall was occupied as a temporary state capital under the Confederacy from 1864 until 1865. Macon also served as the Confederate States’ official arsenal during the Civil War.

Macon is the county seat of Bibb County; a small portion of Macon reaches into Jones County. Known as the ”Heart of Georgia” because of its central location, Macon is about 85 miles southeast of Atlanta. The city is 56.3 square-miles, with a population of about 93,700. Macon is on Eastern Standard Time. It is considered a Fall Line terrain of rolling hills to the north, with flat land to the south. Macon has a humid subtropical climate.

Chemicals, wood and metal products currently are manufactured in Macon. It is an industrial, processing, and shipping center.

Macon has more locations listed in the National Register of Historic Places than any other city in Georgia. Macon’s city auditorium boasts the largest copper dome in the world. The city has several antebellum mansions, a rebuilt Fort Hawkins, a planetarium, and a museum of arts and science. In addition, the Ocmulgee National monument is nearby, along with Robins U.S. Air Force Base.

Macon is the birthplace or hometown to many celebrated musicians. The Allman Brothers Band adopted the town in the late-'60s and Capricorn Records made Macon a music center for Southern Rock in the late–’60s and early ’70s. Little Richard, Otis Redding, REM’s Mike Mills and Bill Berry, violinist Robert McDiffie, and country singer Jason Aldean all hail from Macon. Macon also is the birthplace of poet Sidney Lanier and 1953’s Miss America, Neva Jane Langley.

Macon hosts a number of attractions: the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, the historic museum of the Hay House, and the Macon Symphony Orchestra at the Grand Opera House.

Additional points of interest include the Harriet Tubman African-American Museum of art, history and culture, and the indie film festival MAGA. The Georgia State Fair -- where in 1852 the kazoo was introduced to the world -– is held annually there. Developed around the principles of “love, beauty, and international friendship,” the “pinkest party on earth,” the annual Cherry Blossom Festival, also calls Macon home.

Written by Kathleen Cooney

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Newspapers are The Telegraph, Georgia Informer
Macon Sports teams are Knights
Local Schools are Macon State College, Central Georgia Technical College