Macon, Georgia#Media

{{see also|Timeline of Macon, Georgia}}

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.{{cite web |url=http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?path=%2FHistoryArchaeology%2FArchaeologyandEarlyHistory%2FArchaeologicalPeriodsinGeorgia%2FArchaicPrehistoricPeriod&id=h-810 |title=Georgia Encyclopedia |publisher=Georgia Encyclopedia |date=May 20, 2009 |access-date=2012-05-30 |archive-date=September 6, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110906084250/http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?path=%2FHistoryArchaeology%2FArchaeologyandEarlyHistory%2FArchaeologicalPeriodsinGeorgia%2FArchaicPrehistoricPeriod&id=h-810 |url-status=dead }}

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.){{cite web |title=Fort Hawkins |url=http://cityofmacon.net/visitors-museums-fort_hawkins |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100919235143/http://cityofmacon.net/visitors-museums-fort_hawkins |archive-date=September 19, 2010 |access-date=2017-06-25 |website=cityofmacon.net}} 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.

File:Sholes' directory of the city of Macon, September 1st, 1888. Volume III - DPLA - 479e385385443ba8674ba7fafe08c6b4.pdf

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, DC, to the ports of Mobile, Alabama, and New Orleans, Louisiana. 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, built in 1938, 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.

File:Mill Children in Macon 2.jpg]]

File:Recto Macon Savings Bank (Georgia) 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,{{cite book|last=Gannett|first=Henry|title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ|year=1905|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n194 195]}} 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 {{convert|250|acre|km2}} were dedicated for Central City Park, and ordinances required residents to plant shade trees in their front yards.

File:Wesleyan College, 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.{{cite journal|last1=Davis|first1=Robert Scott|title=A Cotton Kingdom Retooled for War: The Macon Arsenal and the Confederate Ordnance Establishment|journal=Georgia Historical Quarterly|date=2007|volume=91|issue=3|pages=266–291|url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=26628620&site=eds-live&scope=site|access-date=15 February 2018}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/GeorgiaReferenceShelf/HigherEducation.html?Welcome |title=Colleges and Universities |publisher=Dlg.galileo.usg.edu |date=January 1, 1970 |access-date=2012-02-29}} Nonetheless, Macon came in last in the 1855 referendum voting to be Georgia's capital city with 3,802 votes.{{cite web |url=http://roadsidegeorgia.com/city/macon.html |title=Macon, Georgia |website=Roadsidegeorgia.com |date=March 19, 1990 |access-date=2017-01-29 |archive-date=December 19, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071219125047/http://roadsidegeorgia.com/city/macon.html |url-status=usurped }}

File:RG77_CWMF_N76_04.jpg and "Graveyard of Union Prisoners" (NAID 305649)]]

During the American Civil War, Macon served as the official arsenal of the Confederacy manufacturing percussion caps, friction primers, and pressed bullets.{{cite book |last=Miller |first=Francis Trevelyan |title =The Photographic History of The Civil War |volume=5: Forts and Artillery |publisher =Castle Books |date =1957 |location =New York |page =162 }} 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.mycivilwar.com/pow/ga-macon.htm |title=Macon (Camp Oglethorpe) Prisoner of War Camp |website=Mycivilwar.com |access-date=2017-01-29}}

Macon City Hall served as the temporary state capitol in 1864 and was converted to a hospital for wounded Confederate soldiers. 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 the war's end, Maconite survivors fit for duty could fill only five companies.{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/cottonfiredreams00davi |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/cottonfiredreams00davi/page/123 123] |quote=macon arsenal. |title=Cotton, Fire and Dreams |publisher=Mercer University Press |access-date=2012-05-30|isbn=9780865545984 |last1=Davis |first1=Robert Scott |year=1998 }}

The city was taken by Union forces during Wilson's Raid on April 20, 1865.[http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/georgiabooks/pdfs/gb0390.pdf "The Last Battle of the Civil War"]. Digital Gallery, University of South Georgia.

File:Georgia - Macon - NARA - 23937141 (cropped).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 its emergence as a railroad transportation and textile factory hub.{{cite web|url=http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7527719/Final-Master-Plan.pdf|title=College Hill Corridor / Mercer Village Master Plan|publisher=Mercer University City of Macon|date=January 2009|access-date=2012-08-07}}{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Terminal Station was built in 1916.{{cite web|url=http://railga.com/Depots/macon.html |title=Macon Terminal Station |website=Railga.com |access-date=2017-01-29}} In the 20th century, Macon grew into a prospering town in Middle Georgia.

{{wide image|Macon, Georgia early 1900s.jpg|800px|Downtown Macon in the early 1900s, looking northeast near the intersections of Cotton Avenue, First Street, and Poplar Street}}

Macon has been impacted by natural catastrophes. In 1994, Tropical Storm Alberto made landfall in Florida and flooded several Georgia cities. Macon, which received {{convert|24|in|cm}} of rain, suffered major flooding.{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/06/us/record-rain-pelts-georgia-4-die-in-flood.html |work=The New York Times | title=Record Rain Pelts Georgia; 4 Die in Flood | date=July 31, 2012 | access-date=2010-05-12}}

On May 11, 2008, an EF2 tornado hit Macon. Touching down in nearby Lizella, the tornado moved along the southern shore of Lake Tobesofkee, continued into Macon, and lifted in Twiggs County. The storm's total path length was {{convert|18|miles}}, and its path width was {{convert|100|yards}}.{{Cite web |last=Preiss |first=Enrique |date=2008-05-21 |title=Mother's Day Tornado Leaves Destruction in Macon, State of Emergency Declared |url=https://thecentralgeorgian.com/2008/05/21/mothers-day-tornado-leaves-destruction-in-macon-state-of-emergency-declared/ |website=The Central Georgian}} The tornado produced sporadic areas of major damage, with widespread straight-line wind damage to the south of its path. 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 Macon State College, where almost 50% of the campus's trees were snapped or uprooted and several buildings were damaged, with the gymnasium. The tornado's intensity varied from EF0 to EF2, with the EF2 damage and winds up to {{convert|130|mph}} occurring near the intersection of Eisenhower Parkway and Pio Nono Avenue.

File:Bibb County Georgia Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Macon Highlighted.svg

On July 31, 2012, voters in Macon (57.8% approval) and Bibb County (56.7% 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;{{cite web |url=http://www1.legis.ga.gov/legis/2011_12/sum/hb1171.htm |title=HB 1171 – Macon-Bibb County; create and incorporate new political body corporate |access-date=2017-06-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120609043238/http://www1.legis.ga.gov/legis/2011_12/sum/hb1171.htm |archive-date=June 9, 2012 }} Four previous consolidation attempts (in 1933, 1960, 1972, and 1976) failed.{{cite report |url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Documents/City%20County%20Consolidations.01.01.2011.pdf |title=City-County Consolidation Proposals, 1921 - Present |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120719083354/http://www.naco.org/Counties/Documents/City%20County%20Consolidations.01.01.2011.pdf |archive-date=July 19, 2012 |website=National Association of Counties |access-date=2011-02-11 |year=2011}}{{cite report |url=http://www.ai.org/legislative/interim/committee/2005/committees/prelim/MCCC02.pdf |title=The Effects of City-County Consolidation: A Review of the Recent Academic Literature |publisher=Indiana Policy Review Foundation |location=Fort Wayne, IN |first1=Samuel R. |last1=Staley |first2=Dagney |last2=Faulk |first3=Suzanne M. |last3=Leland |first4=D. Eric |last4=Schansberg |date=November 16, 2005 |access-date=2017-01-29 |archive-date=July 21, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140721082018/http://www.ai.org/legislative/interim/committee/2005/committees/prelim/MCCC02.pdf |url-status=dead }}Consolidation pass for Macon and Bibb county in the 2012 vote. [http://etd.lib.fsu.edu/theses/available/etd-04152005-170723/unrestricted/05_lsj_CHAPTER_4_b.pdf "Consolidation of City and County Governments: Attempts in Five Cities"]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120034927/http://etd.lib.fsu.edu/theses/available/etd-04152005-170723/unrestricted/05_lsj_CHAPTER_4_b.pdf |date=January 20, 2013 }}. Retrieved September 14, 2010.

As a result of the referendum, the Macon and Bibb County governments were replaced with a mayor and a nine-member county commission elected by districts, and 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.{{cite news |last1=Lee |first1=Maggie |title=Macon-Bibb merger proposes smaller, redesigned local government |url=https://www.macon.com/news/article28642771.html |access-date=17 January 2022 |work=The Telegraph |location=Macon, Georgia |date=28 February 2012}}{{subscription required}}{{cite news|url = http://www.macon.com/2012/07/31/2116420/first-macon-bibb-county-consolidation.html|title = Macon-Bibb County consolidation wins with strong majorities|author = Mike Stucka|newspaper = The Telegraph|location=Macon, Georgia|date = July 31, 2012|access-date = August 1, 2012|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140719125943/http://www.macon.com/2012/07/31/2116420/first-macon-bibb-county-consolidation.html|archive-date = July 19, 2014|url-status = dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.13wmaz.com/news/topstories/article/188608/175/Consolidation-3-Areas-of-Macon-and-Bibb-Affected-Differently |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130116000154/http://www.13wmaz.com/news/topstories/article/188608/175/Consolidation-3-Areas-of-Macon-and-Bibb-Affected-Differently |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 16, 2013 |title=Consolidation: 3 Areas of Macon and Bibb Affected Differently |publisher=13 WMAZ |date=July 13, 2012 |first=Erica |last=Lockwood }}{{cite news |last1=Gaines |first1=Jim |title=Reichert wins Macon-Bibb mayor's office by wide margin over Ellis |url=https://www.macon.com/news/politics-government/election/article30124359.html |access-date=17 January 2022 |work=The Telegraph |location=Macon, Georgia|date=15 October 2013 |ref=ReichertMaconBibb}}{{subscription required}}

File: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 hills 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 elevation 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 {{Coord|32.834839|-83.651672|type:city_region:US-GA|format=dms|display=inline}} (32.834839, −83.651672).{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=2011-04-23|date=February 12, 2011|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}} According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of {{convert|56.3|sqmi|km2}}, of which {{convert|0.5|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}} (0.82%) is covered by water. Macon is about {{convert|330|ft|abbr=on}} above mean sea level.

Macon has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa). The normal monthly mean temperatures range from {{convert|46.3|°F|1}} in January to {{convert|81.8|°F|1}} in July. On average, 4.8 days have {{convert|100|°F|0}}+ highs,{{efn|The record number of triple-digit (Fahrenheit) readings is 24 in 1954,}} and 83 days have {{convert|90|°F|0}}+ highs,{{efn|The historical range is 31 in 1994 to 116 in 2011.}} 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 {{convert|45.7|in|mm|sigfig=3}}. The wettest day on record was July 5, 1994, with {{convert|10.25|in|mm|abbr=on}} of rain, and the wettest month on record was July 1994, with {{convert|18.16|in|mm|abbr=on}} of rain. Since 1892, though, when precipitation records for the city began, two months, October 1961 and October 1963, did not even record a trace of precipitation in the city, and two other months, October 1939 and May 2007, only recorded a trace. Snow is occasional, with about half of the winters receiving trace amounts or no snowfall, averaging {{convert|0.7|in|cm|abbr=on}}; the snowiest winter was 1972−73 with {{convert|16.5|in|cm|abbr=on}}.{{cite web |url=http://www.sercc.com/climateinfo/historical/avgsnowfall.html |title=Average Total Snowfall (inches) for Selected Cities in the Southeast |publisher=Sercc.com |access-date=2012-05-30 |archive-date=April 17, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130417204503/http://www.sercc.com/climateinfo/historical/avgsnowfall.html |url-status=dead }}{{cite web

| url =http://www.ustravelweather.com/weather-georgia/macon-weather.asp | title =Macon Weather | access-date =October 3, 2007 | publisher = US Travel and Weather|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070929091850/http://www.ustravelweather.com/weather-georgia/macon-weather.asp |archive-date = September 29, 2007|date=July 2011}}

{{clear}}

{{Main|Macon, Georgia metropolitan area}}

{{wide image|Macon night skyline2.JPG|1000px|Downtown Macon at night in 2008}}

{{US Census population

| 1840 = 3297

| 1850 = 5720

| 1860 = 8247

| 1870 = 10810

| 1880 = 12749

| 1890 = 22746

| 1900 = 23272

| 1910 = 40665

| 1920 = 52995

| 1930 = 53829

| 1940 = 57865

| 1950 = 70252

| 1960 = 69764

| 1970 = 122423

| 1980 = 116896

| 1990 = 106612

| 2000 = 97255

| 2010 = 91351

| 2020 = 157346

| estyear = 2023

| estimate = 156512

| estref = {{Cite web |title=Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023 |url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-counties-total.html |access-date=March 24, 2024 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}}

| footnote = U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade.html|title=Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decade|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=}}
1850-1870{{Cite web|first= |last= |author-link= |title= 1870 Census of Population - Georgia - Population of Civil Divisions less than Counties |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1870|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1870/population/1870a-13.pdf |access-date=|page=}} 1870-1880{{Cite web|first= |last= |author-link= |title= 1880 Census of Population - Georgia - Population of Civil Divisions less than Counties |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1880|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1880/vol-01-population/1880_v1-09.pdf |access-date=|page=}}
1890-1910{{Cite web|first= |last= |author-link= |title= 1910 Census of Population - Georgia |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1910|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1910/abstract/supplement-ga.pdf |access-date=|page=}} 1920-1930{{Cite web|first= |last= |author-link= |title= 1930 Census of Population - Georgia |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1930|url=https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/03815512v1ch04.pdf |access-date=|pages=251–256}}
1940{{Cite web|first= |last= |author-link= |title= 1940 Census of Population - Georgia |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1940|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1940/population-volume-1/33973538v1ch04.pdf |access-date=}} 1950{{Cite web|first= |last= |author-link= |title= 1950 Census of Population - Georgia |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1950|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1950/population-volume-2/37779083v2p11ch2.pdf |access-date=}} 1960{{Cite web|first= |last= |author-link= |title= 1960 Census of Population - Population of County Subdivisions - Georgia |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1960|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1960/population-volume-1/vol-01-12-c.pdf|access-date=}}
1970{{Cite web|first= |last= |author-link= |title= 1970 Census of Population - Population of County Subdivisions - Georgia |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1970|url=https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1970a_ga-01.pdf|access-date=}} 1980{{Cite web|first= |last= |author-link= |title= 1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Georgia |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1980|url=https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1980a_gaABC-01.pdf|access-date=}} 1990{{Cite web|first= |last= |author-link= |title= 1990 Census of Population - Summary Social, Economic, and Housing Characteristics - Georgia |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1990|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1990/cph-5/cph-5-12.pdf|access-date=}}
2000{{Cite web|first= |last= |author-link= |title= 2000 Census of Population - General Population Characteristics - Georgia |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 2000|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/2003/dec/phc-3-12.pdf |access-date=}} 2010{{Cite web|first= |last= |author-link= |title= 2010 Census of Population - General Population Characteristics - Georgia |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 2010|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/2010/cph-2/cph-2-12.pdf|access-date=}} 2020

}}

File:Map of Georgia highlighting Macon-Warner Robins-Fort Valley CSA.svg

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.

As of the official 2010 U.S. census, the population of Macon was 91,351. In the last official census, in 2000, 97,255 people, 38,444 households, and 24,219 families were residing in the city. The population density was {{convert|1,742.8|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The 44,341 housing units had an average density of {{convert|794.6|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. 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. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 2.48% of the population. By the 2020 census, its population increased to 157,346.

Of the 38,444 households in 2000, 30.1% had children under 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 not families. About 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the city, the age distribution was 26.9% under 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 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 79.7 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 72.8 males.

Since 2020, crime has become a higher concern in the city. In 2022, Macon set a homicide record with 70.{{cite web | url=https://wgxa.tv/news/local/bibb-co-coroner-reacts-to-2022-record-breaking-homicide-numbers-crime-murder-macon-homicide-numbers-death-macon-violence-macon-violence-prevention-mvp- | title=Bibb Co. Coroner reacts to 2022 record breaking homicide numbers | date=January 2, 2023 }} In 2023, Macon had the highest crime rate in Georgia: 52.6 crimes per 1,000 residents.{{cite web | url=https://www.41nbc.com/macon-bibb-revealed-georgias-crime-capital-according-to-new-study/ | title=Study: Bibb County revealed as Georgia's crime capital | date=December 13, 2023 }} Gang activity is a major reason for the crime problem in Macon.{{cite web | url=https://www.13wmaz.rticle/news/special-reports/caught-in-the-cross-hairs/former-macon-gang-member-talks-how-gangs-operate-and-how-he-got-out/93-5e43e377-04c0-4b5a-b15a-7981adaf0f66#:~:text=In%202022%2C%20The%20families%20of,Lt | title=13Investigates: Former Macon gang member talks how gangs operate and how he got out | date=February 16, 2023 }} The Georgia Bureau of Investigation expanded its Gang Task Force Office to Macon in 2023.{{cite web | url=https://gbi.georgia.gov/press-releases/2023-04-21/gbi-expands-gang-task-force-middle-georgia#:~:text=Macon%2C%20Georgia%20(April%2021%2C,new%20home%20in%20downtown%20Macon | title=GBI Expands Gang Task Force to Middle Georgia | Georgia Bureau of Investigation }} As of 2024, crime has reduced in Macon compared to 2022 and 2023.{{Cite web |date=2024-04-18 |title=Yes, so far this year, crime is down in Macon-Bibb County {{!}} VERIFY |url=https://www.13wmaz.com/article/news/local/macon/yes-crime-gone-down-in-macon-bibb-county-we-verify/93-79201d69-c340-49a3-acbd-09fca8951fe8 |access-date=2024-04-23 |website=WMAZ |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Fabian |first=Liz |date=2024-01-03 |title=AskMayorMiller: New jail, downtown development, reduced crime rates |url=https://macon-newsroom.com/20006/news/askmayormiller-new-jail-downtown-development-reduced-crime-rates/ |access-date=2024-04-23 |website=The Macon Newsroom}}

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.{{cite web | url=https://mbcia.com/doing-business/leading-industries/ | title=Leading Industries }}

The health-care and social-assistance sector is the largest industry in Macon by number of employees,{{Cite web |url=https://explorer.gdol.ga.gov/vosnet/mis/Profiles/msa/macon.pdf |title=Macon |access-date=March 13, 2024 |archive-date=March 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240313041733/https://explorer.gdol.ga.gov/vosnet/mis/Profiles/msa/macon.pdf |url-status=dead }} 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.

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 18 and 18.4% of those over 65.{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |title=U.S. Census website |date=March 9, 2011 |access-date=2017-06-25 }}

Malls include The Shoppes at River Crossing, Macon Mall, and Eisenhower Crossing. Traditional{{clarify|strip malls?|date=October 2012}} shopping centers are in the downtown area and Ingleside Village.{{cite web |author=Georgia Department of Economic Development |url=http://www.exploregeorgia.org/listing/2586-ingleside-village-shopping-arts-district |title=Ingleside Village Shopping & Arts District | Macon, Georgia |website=Exploregeorgia.org |date=August 26, 2014 |access-date=2017-01-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180202191634/http://www.exploregeorgia.org/listing/2586-ingleside-village-shopping-arts-district |archive-date=February 2, 2018 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}

Macon is the headquarters of the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Georgia Army National Guard. The largest single-site industrial complex in Georgia,{{cite web |title=Robins Air Force Base |url=http://www.military.com/base-guide/robins-air-force-base |access-date=2017-01-29 |website=Military.com}} Robins Air Force Base, is 10 miles south of Macon on Highway 247, just east of Warner Robins.

{{Promotional|section|date=July 2010}}

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,{{cite web|author=Jason Ankeny |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/mike-mills-mn0000414895/biography |title=Mike Mills | Biography & History |website=AllMusic |date=December 17, 1958 |access-date=2017-01-29}} and Bill Berry of R.E.M., as well as more recent artists like violinist Robert McDuffie and country artist Jason Aldean.{{clarify|these need to have their START in Macon. There is already an article for People from Macon|date=February 2012}} 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.Georgia Music Hall of Fame. [http://www.georgiamusicstore.com/artist/G8/ "Alan Walden - Georgia Music Hall of Fame 2003 Inductee"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511225903/http://www.georgiamusicstore.com/artist/G8/ |date=May 11, 2008 }}. Georgiamusicstore.com. Retrieved August 27, 2008.

The Macon Symphony Orchestra,{{cite web |url=http://www.maconsymphony.com/ |title=Macon Symphony Orchestra Website |publisher=Maconsymphony.com |date=May 5, 2012 |access-date=2012-05-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061105174528/http://www.maconsymphony.com/ |archive-date=November 5, 2006 |url-status=usurped |df=mdy-all }} a youth symphony, and the Middle Georgia Concert Band perform at the Grand Opera House in downtown Macon.{{cite web|url=http://www.middlegeorgiaconcertband.org/ |title=Middle Georgia Concert Band website |publisher=Middlegeorgiaconcertband.org |date=January 9, 2012 |access-date=2012-05-30}}

The Georgia Music Hall of Fame was located in Macon from 1996 to 2011.{{cite news| url=http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2012/02/23/closed-georgia-music-hall-site.html | first=Dave | last=Williams | title=Closed Georgia Music Hall site 'surplus property' | date=2012-02-23}}

File:Chblossomfest.JPG]]

File:2004-03121sunset.jpg

• International Cherry Blossom Festival, a 10-day celebration, is held every mid-March in Macon.
• The Mulberry Street Festival,{{cite web|url=http://www.middlegeorgiaart.org |title=Home - Middle Georgia Art Association |publisher=Middlegeorgiaart.org |access-date=2012-02-29}} an arts and crafts festival, is held downtown the last weekend of March.
• The Juneteenth Freedom Festival is 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.{{Cite web |date=2023-06-17 |title=Macon Makes Juneteenth Bigger Than Ever - Macon Magazine |url=https://maconmagazine.com/macon-juneteenth-2023/ |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=Macon Magazine |language=en-US}}
• Pan African Festival, an annual celebration of the African diaspora and culture, is held in April.
• Ocmulgee Indigenous Celebration, a celebration of the original residents of the land where Macon now sits, is held every third weekend in September{{Cite web |title=Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park |url=https://www.exploregeorgia.org/macon/arts-culture/museums/ocmulgee-mounds-national-historical-park |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=Official Georgia Tourism & Travel Website {{!}} Explore Georgia.org |language=en}} at Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park.{{Cite web |title=Ocmulgee Indigenous Celebration - Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/ocmu/planyourvisit/ocmulgee-indigenous-celebration.htm |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=U.S. National Park Service |language=en}} 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{{Cite web|url=http://wdawebs.com/skydog/?skydog|title=Skydog 73|website=wdawebs.com}} 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{{cite web|url=http://www.maconfilmfestival.com/ |title=Macon Film Festival |publisher=Macon Film Festival |date=February 19, 2012 |access-date=2012-02-29}} is an annual celebration of independent films, held the third weekend in July.

File:Fort Hawkins Macon, Georgia.jpg]]

• Terminal Station, a railroad station built in 1916, 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. 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.cannonballhouse.org/ |title="Cannonball House" Website |publisher=Cannonballhouse.org |date=February 6, 2012 |access-date=2012-05-30}}
• 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.historicmacon.org/slc.html |title=coming soon...Historic Macon Foundation |access-date=2017-06-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040828014744/http://www.historicmacon.org/slc.html |archive-date=August 28, 2004 }}
• Temple Beth Israel, a domed Neoclassical built in 1902 to house Macon's Jewish congregation, founded in 1859.{{cite web |url=http://www.ga011.urj.net/hxtbi.html |title=History of Temple Beth Israel |access-date=2017-06-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050206203949/http://www.ga011.urj.net/hxtbi.html |archive-date=February 6, 2005 }}
• Wesleyan College, the first chartered women's college in the world

• 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{{cite web |url=http://www.georgiachildrensmuseum.com/ |title=Georgia Children's Museum in Macon, GA |publisher=Georgiachildrensmuseum.com |access-date=2012-02-29 |archive-date=February 24, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080224125441/http://www.georgiachildrensmuseum.com/ |url-status=dead }} - 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

• City Hall, Georgia's capital for part of the Civil War

File:Macon Auditorium.JPG - featuring the world's largest true copper dome]]

• 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"{{cite web|title=History of the Hay House|url=http://www.georgiatrust.org/historic_sites/hayhouse/history.php|publisher=The Georgia Trust|access-date=July 2, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716095413/http://www.georgiatrust.org/historic_sites/hayhouse/history.php|archive-date=July 16, 2012|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}
• City Auditorium, the world's largest true copper dome{{cite web |url=http://www.rutlandguttersupply.com/blog/2010/09/08/RoofDomes.aspx |title=Rutland Architectural Blog - Roof Domes |publisher=Rutlandguttersupply.com |date=September 8, 2010 |access-date=2012-02-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100913050514/http://www.rutlandguttersupply.com/blog/2010/09/08/RoofDomes.aspx |archive-date=September 13, 2010 }}
• 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

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.

The city maintains several parks and community centers.{{cite web |url=http://www.cityofmacon.net/citydept-pr-recctr |title=Recreation Centers | cityofmacon.net |access-date=2017-06-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100723145209/http://www.cityofmacon.net/citydept-pr-recctr |archive-date=July 23, 2010 }}

File:OcmulgeeRiverWalk.jpg]]

File:Macon_Skatepark_Bowl.jpg]]

File:Central City Park, 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{{cite web|url=http://www.exploregeorgia.org/listing/3501-otis-redding-statue-at-ocmulgee-heritage-trail-gateway-park |title=Otis Redding Statue at Ocmulgee Heritage Trail Gateway Park | Macon, Georgia |website=Exploregeorgia.org |date=August 26, 2014 |access-date=2017-01-29}}
• Carolyn Crayton Park (formerly Central City Park){{cite news |last1=McGouirk |first1=Brandon |title=Macon community celebrates as Central City Park officially rebrands to honor local icon, Carolyn Crayton |url=https://wgxa.tv/news/local/macon-community-celebrates-as-central-city-park-officially-rebrands-to-honor-local-icon-carolyn-crayton |access-date=21 August 2023 |work=WGXA News |date=12 July 2023}}
• Central City Skatepark

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.{{Cite web |title=The Case over Baconsfield Park |url=https://faculty.mercer.edu/davis_da/fys102/baconsfield.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141104092909/http://faculty.mercer.edu/davis_da/fys102/baconsfield.html |archive-date=2014-11-04 |access-date=2022-09-02 |website=Mercer University}} In Evans v. Newton,382 U.S. 296 (1966), 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 Georgia224 Ga. 826, 165 S.E.2d 160 (1968) and the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed.Evans v. Abney, 396 U.S. 435 (1970). The 50-acre (20 ha) park was lost and commercially developed.{{Cite web|url=https://medium.com/the-bearfaced-truth/baconsfield-macons-missing-park-1fe5ec37c0cb|title = Baconsfield: Macon's Missing Park|date = May 3, 2019}}

{{See also|List of mayors of Macon, Georgia}}

File:City Hall Macon.jpg]]

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. There are also 9 County Commissioners elected from districts within the county.

On March 15, 2019, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged the former County Manager, Dale M. Walker, with fraud.{{cite web|url=https://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2019/lr24424.htm|date= Mar 15, 2019|title=SEC Charges Former Municipal Officer with Fraud in Connection with Public Pension Funds|work=U.S.Securities and Exchange Commission|access-date=March 15, 2019}}

File:Mercer University Administration Building.jpg]]

File:Georgia Academy for the Blind on Vineville, Macon Georgia USA, September 2021 - 02.jpg]]

Bibb County Public School District operates district public schools.

Public high schools include:

• Central High School
• Howard High School{{cite web|title=School Listing|url=http://schools.bibb.k12.ga.us/howardhs|publisher=Bibb County Board of Education|access-date=July 2, 2012|archive-date=July 4, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120704155224/http://schools.bibb.k12.ga.us/howardhs|url-status=dead}}
• Northeast Health Science Magnet High School{{cite web|title=School Listing|url=http://schools.bibb.k12.ga.us/northeast|publisher=Bibb County Board of Education|access-date=July 2, 2012|archive-date=April 22, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120422150748/http://schools.bibb.k12.ga.us/northeast|url-status=dead}}
• Rutland High School{{cite web|title=School Listing|url=http://schools.bibb.k12.ga.us/rutlandhs|publisher=Bibb County Board of Education|access-date=July 2, 2012|archive-date=September 2, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120902110611/http://schools.bibb.k12.ga.us/rutlandhs|url-status=dead}}
• Southwest Magnet High School and Law Academy{{cite web|title=School Listing|url=http://schools.bibb.k12.ga.us/southwest|publisher=Bibb County Board of Education|access-date=July 2, 2012|archive-date=August 25, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120825071115/http://schools.bibb.k12.ga.us/southwest|url-status=dead}}
• Westside High School{{cite web|title=School Listing|url=http://schools.bibb.k12.ga.us/westside|publisher=Bibb County Board of Education|access-date=July 2, 2012|archive-date=June 14, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614200417/http://schools.bibb.k12.ga.us/westside|url-status=dead}}

Georgia Academy for the Blind, operated by the state of Georgia, is a statewide school for blind students.{{cite web |url=http://www.gabmacon.org/index.aspx |title=Welcome to Georgia Academy for the Blind |publisher=Georgia Academy for the Blind |access-date=July 2, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120404053823/http://www.gabmacon.org/index.aspx |archive-date=April 4, 2012 }}

Also operated by Bibb County Public Schools:

• Elam Alexander Academy{{cite web |url=http://schools.bibb.k12.ga.us/elam |title=Elam Alexander Academy / Overview |website=Schools.bibb.k12.ga.us |access-date=2017-01-29 |archive-date=January 20, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120031530/http://schools.bibb.k12.ga.us/elam |url-status=dead }}
• Northwoods Academyhttp://schools.bibb.k12.ga.us/butler {{dead link|date=January 2017}}

Macon is home to several private high schools, many of which were established as segregation academies for parents wishing to avoid the desegregation of private schools, with the exception of Mount de Sales Academy.{{Cite book |last=Manis |first=Andrew Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7j-wXvGvNvcC&pg=PA312 |title=Macon Black and White: An Unutterable Separation in the American Century |date=2004 |publisher=Mercer University Press |isbn=9780865549586 |page=312 |language=en |author-link=Andrew Manis}}

• Covenant Academy{{cite web |url=http://www.covenantacademy.net/ |title=Covenant Academy |access-date=2017-06-25 |url-status=deviated |archive-date=December 3, 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011203124418/http://www.covenantacademy.net/ }}
• First Presbyterian Day School
• Mount de Sales Academy
• Stratford Academy
• Tattnall Square Academy
• Windsor Academy

• The Academy for Classical Education{{cite web|url=http://www.acemacon.org |title=Academy for Classical Education |website=Acemacon.org |access-date=2017-01-29}}
• Cirrus Academy Charter School[https://www.cirrusacademy.org/ Cirrus Academy Charter School]{{cite web|author=Madison Cavalchire |url=https://www.13wmaz.com/article/news/local/new-charter-school-opens-in-macon/285504845 |title=New charter school opens in Macon; 13 WMAZ |website=13wmaz.com |date=August 1, 2016 |access-date=2021-12-04}}

Approximately 30,000 college students live in the greater Macon area.{{cite web |url=http://www.maconworks.com/higher-education.da |title=Great South League | Macon Giants |publisher=Greatsouthleague.pointstreaksites.com |date=January 2, 2011 |access-date=2012-02-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130115133753/http://www.maconworks.com/higher-education.da |archive-date=January 15, 2013 |url-status=dead }}

• Central Georgia Technical College
• Mercer University
• Middle Georgia State University
• Miller-Motte Technical College - satellite campus
• Wesleyan College

{{see also|List of newspapers in Georgia (U.S. state)|Template:Macon Radio|Template:Macon TV}}

Macon has a substantial number of local television and radio stations. It is also served by two local papers.

• 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

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.

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.

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.

In Jim Croce's "Walkin' Back to Georgia" on his album You Don't Mess Around With Jim, Croce mentions Macon in the lyric "But she's the girl who said she loved me on that hot dusty Macon road."{{Cite web |title=But she's the girl who said she loved me / On that hot dusty Macon road / And if she's still around, I'm gonna settle down / With that-a hard lovin' Georgia girl |url=https://genius.com/Jim-croce-walkin-back-to-georgia-lyrics?referent_id=14079112#note-14079112 |access-date=2024-12-24 |website=Genius}}

The Mountain Goats mention crossing Macon County line in their song Going to Georgia.

• The Medical Center, Navicent Health (a part of Atrium Health){{Cite web |title=The Medical Center - Navicent Health, Macon, Georgia - Atrium Health Navicent |url=https://navicenthealth.org/service-center/the-medical-center |access-date=2022-09-02 |website=navicenthealth.org |language=en}}
• Atrium Health Navicent Beverly Knight Olson Children's Hospital (formerly The Children's Hospital Of Central Georgia)
• Piedmont Health Macon (formerly Coliseum Medical Centers){{Cite web |date=2021-05-03 |title='Cost-effective and efficient care': Piedmont Healthcare purchasing Coliseum Medical Centers, Coliseum Northside |url=https://www.13wmaz.com/article/news/local/serve-the-needs-of-the-macon-community-piedmont-healthcare-to-buy-coliseum-medical-centers-coliseum-northside-2/93-840eb68b-9bbb-4757-920a-c0cb9a2b7215 |access-date=2022-09-02 |website=WMAZ |language=en-US}}
• Piedmont Macon Medical Center {{Cite web |title=Piedmont Macon Medical Center {{!}} Piedmont Healthcare |url=https://www.piedmont.org/locations/piedmont-macon-medical/about |access-date=2022-09-02 |website=www.piedmont.org}}
• Piedmont Macon North Hospital{{Cite web |title=Piedmont Macon North Hospital {{!}} Piedmont Healthcare |url=https://www.piedmont.org/locations/piedmont-macon-north/about |access-date=2022-09-02 |website=www.piedmont.org}}
• The American Red Cross of Central Georgia
• Central Georgia Rehabilitation Hospital

{{Anchor|prose}}

• 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 {{convert|9|mi|abbr=on}} south of downtown.

Interstates:

• 20px  Interstate 16
• 20px  Interstate 75
• 25px  Interstate 475
• 20px  Interstate 14 (proposed)

U.S. Routes:

• 20px U.S. Route 23
• 20px U.S. Route 41
• 20px U.S. Route 80
• 25px U.S. Route 129

State Routes:

• 20px State Route 11
• 20px State Route 19
• 20px State Route 22
• 20px State Route 49
• 20px State Route 74
• 20px State Route 87
• 20px State Route 87 Connector
• 20px State Route 247
• 20px State Route 401 (unsigned designation for I-75)
• 20px State Route 404 (unsigned designation for I-16)
• 20px State Route 408 (unsigned designation for I-475)
• 20px State Route 540 (Fall Line Freeway)

File: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.{{cite news |last1=Eason |first1=Jenna |title=Riding the bus in Macon isn't so hard. Here's a simple guide to get you started |url=https://www.macon.com/news/local/article251007774.html |access-date=30 May 2022 |work=The Macon Telegraph |date=30 April 2021}}{{subscription required}}

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.{{cite news |last1=Kousouris |first1=Abby |title='It's all here in the same building:' Greyhound station relocates to Macon Transit hub |url=https://www.13wmaz.com/article/news/greyhound-station-relocates-to-macon-transit-hub/93-75c3b023-c5a7-4161-91ae-8e4b6b7ce0e8 |access-date=29 May 2022 |work=13wmaz.com |date=31 July 2019}}

Macon grew as a center of rail transport after the 1846 opening of the Macon and Western Railroad.{{cite web |url=http://www.nscorp.com/nscportal/nscorp/Community/NS%20History/timeline.html |title=Norfolk Southern – The Thoroughbred of Transportation | Creating green jobs shipping freight by rail |publisher=Nscorp.com |access-date=2012-02-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315214622/http://www.nscorp.com/nscportal/nscorp/Community/NS%20History/timeline.html |archive-date=March 15, 2012 }} 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.{{cite web | url=https://www.american-rails.com/kansas-city-florida-special.html | title="Kansas City-Florida Special" (Train): Timetable, Schedule }} 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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.13wmaz.com/article/news/federal-infrastructure-plan-could-bring-rail-stop-to-macon/93-c7b01134-e262-4ae6-a345-58a278b4969c|title = People in Macon could soon catch a train to Atlanta, Savannah under new federal infrastructure plan|date = April 4, 2021}}

{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}

• Heritage Trail
• Ocmulgee Heritage Trail

{{div col end}}

{{Main|List of people from Macon, Georgia}}

Macon has six sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):{{cite web |url=http://www.macon.ga.us/sister-cities |title=Macon Sister Cities Commission | cityofmacon.net |access-date=2017-06-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326072337/http://www.macon.ga.us/sister-cities |archive-date=March 26, 2012 }}

{{div col|colwidth=22em}}

• {{flagicon|FRA}} Mâcon, France
• {{flagicon|GHA}} Elmina, Ghana
• {{flagicon|JPN}} Kurobe, Toyama, Japan
• {{flagicon|RUS}} Ulyanovsk, Russia
• {{flagicon|TAI}} Kaohsiung, Taiwan
• {{flagicon|KOR}} Gwacheon, South Korea

{{div col end}}

{{Portal|State of Georgia|Cities|United States}}

• 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)

{{notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Refbegin}}

Published in 19th century

• {{cite book

|title= Southern Business Directory

|editor=John P. Campbell

|location=Charleston, SC

|publisher=Press of Walker & James

|year=1854

|chapter=Georgia: Bibb County

|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_IRDAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA213

}}

• {{Citation

|publisher = S. Boykin

|author= Adiel Sherwood

|date = 1860

|edition=4th |location = Macon

|title = Gazetteer of Georgia

|chapter= Bibb County: Macon

|chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/gazetteerofgeorg00sher#page/30/mode/2up

| ref = {{harvid|Sherwood|1860}}

|author-link= Adiel Sherwood

}}

• {{cite book|title=Historical Record of Macon and Central Georgia |url=https://archive.org/details/historicalrecord00butl|year=1879 |publisher=J. W. Burke & Company |author=John C. Butler }}
• {{citation

|title=Report on the Social Statistics of Cities: Southern and the Western States

|author1=George E. Waring, Jr.

|author2= U.S. Department of the Interior, Census Office

|location=Washington DC

|publisher=Government Printing Office

|year=1887

|chapter= Georgia: Macon

|chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=xb9NAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA169

|pages= 169–172

| ref = {{harvid|Waring|1887}}

}}

• {{Citation

|publisher = Rand, McNally & Co.

|date = 1899

|location = Chicago

|title = Rand, McNally & Co.'s Handy Guide to the Southeastern States |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/randmcnallycosha07chic#page/122/mode/2up

|chapter= Macon

|via=Internet Archive

}}

Published in 20th century

• {{cite book |editor1= Allen D. Candler |editor2= Clement A. Evans |title= Georgia: Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons Arranged in Cyclopedic Form |publisher=State Historical Association |location=Atlanta |year= 1906

|chapter=Macon |volume=2 |pages=511+

|hdl= 2027/mdp.39015027784332?urlappend=%3Bseq=503 | ref = {{harvid|Candler|Evans|1906}}

}}

• {{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Macon |volume= 17 | page = 267 }}
• {{Citation

|publisher = University of Georgia Press

|location = Athens

|author = Federal Writers' Project

|title = Georgia: a Guide to Its Towns and Countryside

|date = 1940

|series= American Guide Series

|chapter= Macon

|chapter-url= https://archive.org/stream/georgiaaguidetoi008333mbp#page/n137/mode/2up

|page=102+

|author-link = Federal Writers' Project

}} {{free access}}

• 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)
• {{cite book|author=Richard W. Iobst|title=Civil War Macon: The History of a Confederate City|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y_uAV2-_PEAC|year= 2009 |orig-year=1999 |publisher=Mercer University Press|isbn=978-0-88146-172-5}}
• {{cite book |title=Macon, Georgia |author=Jeanne Herring |publisher=Arcadia |location=Charleston, South Carolina |series=Black America |year= 2000

}}

Published in 21st century

• {{cite book |author=Tracy Maurer|title= Macon Celebrates the Millennium |location=Montgomery, Ala. |publisher= Community Communications |isbn=1581920342 |year= 2001}}
• {{cite book|author= Andrew Michael Manis |title=Macon Black and White: An Unutterable Separation in the American Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7j-wXvGvNvcC|year=2004|publisher=Mercer University Press|isbn=978-0-86554-958-6|author-link=Andrew Manis}}
• {{cite book

|author=Paul T. Hellmann

|title=Historical Gazetteer of the United States

|year= 2006

|publisher=Taylor & Francis

|isbn=1-135-94859-3

|chapter= Georgia: Macon

|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=REtEXQNWq6MC

| ref = {{harvid|Hellmann|2006}}

}}

• 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
• {{cite book |series=Images of America |title= Macon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hZAbAgAAQBAJ |location= Charleston, S.C. |publisher= Arcadia |isbn= 9781467111157|year= 2013}}
• Wynne, Ben, Something in the Water: A History of Music in Macon, Georgia, 1823-1980 (Mercer University Press, 2021)

{{refend}}

{{commons category|Macon, Georgia}}

• {{Official website|https://www.maconbibb.us/}}
• [https://www.maconga.org Macon-Bibb County Convention and Visitors Bureau]
• [http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-782&sug=y Macon] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130406174222/http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-782&sug=y |date=April 6, 2013 }} (the New Georgia Encyclopedia)
• {{Wikivoyage inline|Macon (Georgia)}}
• {{citation |encyclopedia=New Georgia Encyclopedia |publisher=Georgia Humanities Council |title= Macon |url= http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/counties-cities-neighborhoods/macon }}
• {{cite web |url= http://www.bibblib.org/genealogy-archives/ |title=Genealogical & Historical Room |work=Middle Georgia Regional Library |location=Macon }}
• [https://dp.la/search?utf8=✓&page_size=100&q=macon+georgia Items related to Macon], various dates (via Digital Public Library of America)
• {{cite web |url=http://guides.mga.edu/macon |title= Subject Guides: Macon |publisher=Middle Georgia State University Libraries }}
• [http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/CollectionsA-Z/rees_search.html Rees stereograph collection from the Digital Library of Georgia]

{{Geographic location

| Centre =Macon

| North =Atlanta

| Northeast =

| East =Savannah

| Southeast =

| South = Valdosta

| Southwest =

| West = Columbus

| Northwest =

}}

{{Macon, Georgia}}

{{Macon Metro}}

{{Bibb County, Georgia}}

{{Georgia (U.S. state)}}

{{Georgia county seats}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Cities in Bibb County, Georgia

Category:Cities in Georgia (U.S. state)

Category:County seats in Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia

Category:Cities in Jones County, Georgia

Category:Macon metropolitan area, Georgia

Category:Populated places established in 1823

Category:Consolidated city-counties