Macon, Georgia

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For other places called Macon, see Macon

Macon is a city located in Bibb County, Georgia, USA. It lies near the geographic center of Georgia, approximately 80 miles (129 km) south of Atlanta, hence the city's nickname as the Heart of Georgia. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 97,255. The city is the county seat of Bibb County Template:GR.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 History
4 Macon music
5 Tourism
6 Sister Cities
7 Education
8 External links

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Geography

Image:GAMap-doton-Macon.PNG Macon is located at 32°50'5" North, 83°39'6" West (32.834839, -83.651672)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 145.7 km² (56.3 mi²). 144.5 km² (55.8 mi²) of it is land and 1.2 km² (0.5 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.82% water.

Macon is approximately 381 feet (116 meters) above sea levelTemplate:GR.

Macon is one of Georgia's three Fall Line Cities, along with Augusta and Columbus. This is because the cities are located where the Piedmont plateau descends into the coastal plain. At the fall line, rivers are marked by rapidly falling water and thus became ideal locations for textile mills. The fall line also marked the head of navigation for rivers, making cities like Macon into major hubs of inland trade and shipping.

The Ocmulgee River is a major river that runs through Macon.

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Demographics

As of the census Template:GR of 2000, there were 97,255 people, 38,444 households, and 24,219 families residing in the city. The population density was 672.9/km² (1,742.8/mi²). There were 44,341 housing units at an average density of 306.8/km² (794.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 35.46% White, 62.45% African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.65% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.46% from other races, and 0.77% from two or more races. 1.20% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

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 age 18 and over, there were 72.8 males.

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. 25.5% of the population and 21.6% of families were below the poverty line. 37.7% of those under the age of 18 and 16.0% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

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History

Macon lies on the site of the Ocmulgee Old Fields, which were home to Creek Indians and their predecessors for as long as 12,000 years before Europeans arrived. The fields and forests around Macon and what is now the Ocmulgee National Monument were cultivated by the Creeks, who built temple and funeral mounds that survive today.

Image:Macon.JPG

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. Afterwards, the fort became a trading post for a few more years before it fell to disuse, however, a replica of the fort stands today on a hill in East Macon. By this time, many settlers have already started moving 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 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 oldest women's college in the world, was founded in Macon. During the Civil War, Macon served as the official arsenal of the Confederacy and 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. In 1855 a referendum was held to determine a capital city for Georgia. Macon came in last with 3,802 votes[1]. 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.

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Macon music

Macon natives have had a great influence upon music of the United States. The kazoo was invented in the city during the 1840s. And as the birthplace or hometown to such singers and musicians as The Allman Brothers Band, Mark Heard, Lucille Hegamin, Lena Horne, Otis Redding, Little Richard, Johnny Jenkins, and violinist Robert McDuffie, Macon proudly serves as the official home of the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. The major orchestra of the city is the Macon Symphony Orchestra, which performs at the historic Grand Opera House in downtown Macon.

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Tourism

Macon is known as the "Cherry Blossom Capital of the World." It boasts over 275,000 Yoshino Cherry Trees, more than any other city in the world. During mid-March of every year, the height of the trees' bloom, Macon holds the International Cherry Blossom Festival, a 10-day celebration of concerts, food festivals, arts and crafts shows, parades, street markets, picnics, dances, and exhibitions of artists from around the nation. The city becomes bathed in pink, the symbolizing color of this event, reflecting the color of the blossoms. The Festival has become among the top 20 events in the South, top 50 in the United States, and one of the top 100 in North America.

Macon has a rich African American cultural heritage. The historic Douglass Theatre as well as the Harriet Tubman African American Museum, the largest of its kind in the state, are located downtown. Each year in April, Macon holds the Pan-African Festival featuring parades, African and Caribbean musical performances, African dancing, films, food festival, and cultural shows and exhibitions.

Image:Macon Ocmulgee Earth Lodge.jpg Ocmulgee National Monument is located near downtown Macon. It preserves some of the largest mounds in Georgia built by the Native Americans of the Mississippian culture a millennium ago. The park features a spiral mound, funeral mound, temple mounds, burial mounds, an earth lodge, as well as other smaller sites used for ceremonial purposes.

Other Attractions: