Poet Sidney Lanier was born in this Victorian cottage in Macon,
Ga. in 1M2. Among Lanier's best known poems are "Tbe Marshes of
Glynn" and "Song of the Chattahoochee." His native city, once
known as a "river town," has hosted ancient Indian tribes, explor
ers, river traders, cotton kings and presidents. It is purely by design
that Macon, with all of her beautiful parks and beauty spots, is
known as a "City in a Park."
Macon In Deep South
Varies Greatly From
; Sister City In Warren
The Warren County commun
ity of Macon has a sister city
down in the Deep South? and
what a big sister she is.
The city of Macon, Georgia,
established in 1823, now covers
50 square miles. Its population
exceeds 125,000.
The city has 316 full-time fire
men and 260 police officers. It
contains 206 manufacturing
L facilities and over 250 churches.
P A total of 919 acres of parkland
I can be found within the city, and
more than 2,600 hotel and motel
rooms are available.
But, of course, it wasn't
always so.
[
Macon is located in the middle
of the state on Georgia's Fall
Line, where Paleozoic Sea
waters lapped the shoreline here
millions of years ago.
Macon is the county seat of
Bibb County, and is located 84
miles from Atlanta.
Archeological excavations at
the Ocmulgee National Monu
ment at Macon indicate Indian
settlements beginning about
8,000 B.C. On a hill near these
historic settlements, Fort Hawk
ins was built in 1806. The block
house replica on the original site
is the only reconstruction of an
inland Georgia fort and trading
post typical of those established
for the protection of the settlers
as civilization moved westward
across the Southeast. General
Andrew Jackson and other
military leaders utilized the fort
in the nation's early struggles.
Spanish explorer Hernando
DeSoto recorded the first Chris
tian baptism on the new continent
during his explorations in this
area in 1540. His priests baptized
two Indians in the Ocmulgee
River near the Indian mounds at
Ocmulgee National Monument.
Following Indian treaties in
1821, Macon was laid out and in
corporated in 1823 on the west
bank of the river on the plan of
old Babylon, with wide streets
and provisions for parks. This
layout has been developed into
one of America's most beautiful
and best designed business dis
tricts.
Macon became the focal point
of education and culture for
Middle Georgia early in its
history. Wesleyan College was
established in 1836, the first
college in the world chartered to
grant degrees to women. Mercer
University, established at Pen
field, Georgia in 1833, moved to
Macon in 1871.
Wealthy planters and busi
nessmen in pre-Civil War days
built elaborate mansions and
neat cottages, many of which
are preserved today as a part of
Macon's heritage. Four of
Macon's downtown churches
were established more than 150
years ago.
Macon resisted two attacks by
Union troops, but was occupied
by the Federals in 1865. A Con
federate depository was located
in Macon. The state capitol was
located in the city when Sher
man's troops were threatening
the capitol in nearby Milledge
ville. Several foundries and
munitions plants were located
here.
Today Macon is a thriving,
growing business center of the
Southeast. Its people, its in
dustries. its commerce are all on
the move. History is being made
here today but there is still much
to remember of the past.
The city is a blend of rich
history and an even richer
future. If offers advantages of a
growing city while maintaining
friendly, quiet beauty. An envi
able topography and a mild cli
mate make this city a prime
distribution, agricultural and
industrial center of the South.
Some 200,000 tourists visit
Macon each year to enjoy Ma
con's natural charm and well
preserved heritage. In the
spring visitors are invited to a
grand celebration, the Macon,
Georgia Cherry Blossom Festi
val, an annual ten-day parade of
entertainment and over 100
special events. Begun in 1983,
the festival celebrates the blos
soming of Macon's famous
70,000 Yoshino cherry trees.
Best
Wishes
\
Macon!
Old-timers will recall that J. H. Gilliland's Macon Grocery Com
pany occupied the single-story building in foreground on Macon's
main thoroughfare which was paved in 1927 and now carries U.S.
Highway 158 designation. The frame two-story building beside the
Gilliland building is the Coleman Brothers general merchandise
store. The square building in the next block is the site of a service
station which had an auto repair shop in the rear. It is the site of
Macon's first store, that operated by B. I. Egerton. Egerton's son,
William Gray Egerton, bad his first store in a frame building on the
opposite end of the block. In 1916 he built the large brick building
which now houses Haithcock's Grocery. On this side of Haithcock's
Grocery is Lobo's Lounge, which is in the building housing the Bank
of Macon from 1910 until the bank closed in 1933. Next to the old bank
building is the H. B. Harris building, built in 1922. It served as a
grocery store and post office. At the far right in this photo is a large
two-story building with living quarters in rear. It housed a general
merchandise business operated by Henry Watson, the young town's
only black merchant. Watson served as Maron postmaster from 1897
until 1901. West of that store was a store owned and operated by
Julius (Pete) Olsen, an immigrant from Denmark who was be
friended and given a farm job by Billy Brown. Later Olsen built a
large frame store with living quarters. Before his death, in 1941,
Oisen became blind and sold fish in the heart of downtown Macon.
The Olsen property was purchased by Wilton Loyd who built a
service station on a vacant area in 1946. Loyd operated the station
until his death in 1962. The station now houses a repair business
operated by Larry Kimball. W. G. Egerton's steam-powered cotton
gin was across the road from the Olsen store. The gin stood between
the main road and the railroad. Several feet east of the gin was a
blacksmith shop, next to which stood a small jail. That is the present
site of a Gulf service station operated last by Marvin Stegall. Up
from there was a storage warehouse and beyond that stood the
freight depot. A freight platform was located nearby. Another
freight warehouse stood directly across from Coleman Brothers'
Store. ( Staff Photo by Howard Jones )
This was the Macon Hotel, which was demolished about 1960. It
was built by Walter Egerton, son of early merchant B. I. Egerton.
The hotel stood on the north side of the railroad tracks, across Oak
Street from the Macon Methodist Church. In the rear of the hotel
was a livery stable. Salesmen would come to town on the train, rent
a horse and buggy and make calls in surrounding communities.
We would like to
publicly commend the
citizens of Macon for
their contributions over
the years to our com
pany and to our county.
We congratulate the
Town Off Macon on its
100th birthday*
t
i ?
(
We salute the contributions
your citizens have made to
the well-being of Warren
County over the years.