Macon County is a county located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,082.[1] The county seat is Oglethorpe.[2][3]
Macon County | |
|---|---|
 Macon County Courthouse in Oglethorpe, Georgia | |
 Location within the U.S. state of Georgia | |
 Georgia's location within the U.S. | |
| Coordinates: 32°21′N 84°02′W / 32.35°N 84.04°W | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Georgia |
| Founded | December 14, 1837 |
| Named for | Nathaniel Macon |
| Seat | Oglethorpe |
| Largest city | Montezuma |
| Area | |
| • Total | 406 sq mi (1,050 km2) |
| • Land | 401 sq mi (1,040 km2) |
| • Water | 5.4 sq mi (14 km2) 1.3% |
| Population (2020) | |
| • Total | 12,082 |
| • Density | 30/sq mi (10/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Congressional district | 2nd |
| Website | Macon County government |
The Macon County Courthouse is located in Oglethorpe.
History
editMacon County was created in 1837 from parts of Houston ("house-ton") and Marion counties, effective December 14 of that year. The 91st county, it was named for the then-recently deceased General Nathaniel Macon[4] of North Carolina, who served in the U.S. Congress for 37 years and ran for U.S. vice president. The city of Macon, Georgia was also named for him, but the city of Macon, Georgia, is the seat of Bibb County, a different county. The county was later reduced when parts were separated to organize Taylor and Peach counties, in 1852 and 1924, respectively.
The first county seat was not chosen until 1838, when the county's inferior court selected Lanier. The Georgia General Assembly (state legislature) designated it on December 29 of that year and incorporated it as a town.
In the 1850s, the Central of Georgia Railroad was built through Oglethorpe, changing county dynamics. As a result, the Georgia Assembly called for a referendum on moving the Macon County seat to Oglethorpe in February of both 1854 and 1856. Little is known about the first vote, but the second vote resulted in approval for a change to the county seat, and Oglethorpe was designated the following year in 1857.
During the Civil War, 13,000 Union soldiers who were prisoners of war died at the Confederate camp in Andersonville, Georgia from starvation and disease. In the late period of the war, Georgia also had difficulty supplying its own troops and people with food. Throughout the Civil War, more men on both sides died of disease than of their wounds. Commandants of the camp were prosecuted after the war for poor treatment of prisoners. The Andersonville National Cemetery, established for the many Union dead, is at the southwestern tip of the county.[5]
The county has an active Mennonite community. The area code for Macon County is currently 478.
Geography
editAccording to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 406 square miles (1,050 km2), of which 401 square miles (1,040 km2) is land and 5.4 square miles (14 km2) (1.3%) is water.[6] The county is located in the upper Atlantic coastal plain region of the state.
Most of the southern half of Macon County, from west of Ideal to State Route 49 north of Montezuma, then running north along State Route 49 to Marshallville, and then running southeast in the direction of Unadilla, is located in the Middle Flint River sub-basin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin). The northern and northwestern portion of the county, from north of Marshallville heading west, is located in the Upper Flint River sub-basin of the same ACF River Basin. The northeastern corner of Macon County, east of Marshallville, is located in the Lower Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin.[7]
Major highways
edit
Adjacent counties
edit- Peach County (northeast)
- Houston County (east)
- Dooly County (southeast)
- Sumter County (south)
- Schley County (southwest)
- Taylor County (northwest)
National protected area
editCommunities
editCities
edit- Ideal
- Marshallville
- Montezuma
- Oglethorpe (county seat)
Demographics
edit| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1840 | 5,045 | — | |
| 1850 | 7,052 | 39.8% | |
| 1860 | 8,449 | 19.8% | |
| 1870 | 11,458 | 35.6% | |
| 1880 | 11,675 | 1.9% | |
| 1890 | 13,183 | 12.9% | |
| 1900 | 14,093 | 6.9% | |
| 1910 | 15,016 | 6.5% | |
| 1920 | 17,667 | 17.7% | |
| 1930 | 16,643 | −5.8% | |
| 1940 | 15,947 | −4.2% | |
| 1950 | 14,213 | −10.9% | |
| 1960 | 13,170 | −7.3% | |
| 1970 | 12,933 | −1.8% | |
| 1980 | 14,003 | 8.3% | |
| 1990 | 13,114 | −6.3% | |
| 2000 | 14,074 | 7.3% | |
| 2010 | 14,740 | 4.7% | |
| 2020 | 12,082 | −18.0% | |
| 2023 (est.) | 11,817 | [8] | −2.2% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[9] 1790-1880[10] 1890-1910[11] 1920-1930[12] 1930-1940[13] 1940-1950[14] 1960-1980[15] 1980-2000[16] 2010[17] 2020[18] | |||
| Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2000[19] | Pop 2010[17] | Pop 2020[18] | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 5,184 | 4,961 | 4,078 | 36.83% | 33.66% | 33.75% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 8,337 | 8,902 | 7,150 | 59.24% | 60.39% | 59.18% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 26 | 19 | 15 | 0.18% | 0.13% | 0.12% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 82 | 190 | 156 | 0.58% | 1.29% | 1.29% |
| Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 0 | 18 | 7 | 0.00% | 0.12% | 0.06% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 9 | 5 | 20 | 0.06% | 0.03% | 0.17% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 72 | 118 | 184 | 0.51% | 0.80% | 1.52% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 364 | 527 | 472 | 2.59% | 3.58% | 3.91% |
| Total | 14,074 | 14,740 | 12,082 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 12,082 people, 4,696 households, and 3,033 families residing in the county.
Education
editPolitics
edit| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 2020 | 1,783 | 38.24% | 2,858 | 61.29% | 22 | 0.47% |
| 2016 | 1,540 | 35.92% | 2,705 | 63.10% | 42 | 0.98% |
| 2012 | 1,545 | 32.28% | 3,211 | 67.09% | 30 | 0.63% |
| 2008 | 1,712 | 34.35% | 3,251 | 65.23% | 21 | 0.42% |
| 2004 | 1,851 | 38.72% | 2,906 | 60.79% | 23 | 0.48% |
| 2000 | 1,566 | 35.96% | 2,757 | 63.31% | 32 | 0.73% |
| 1996 | 1,006 | 26.54% | 2,618 | 69.06% | 167 | 4.41% |
| 1992 | 944 | 24.80% | 2,491 | 65.45% | 371 | 9.75% |
| 1988 | 1,412 | 38.19% | 2,268 | 61.35% | 17 | 0.46% |
| 1984 | 1,515 | 37.54% | 2,521 | 62.46% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1980 | 894 | 22.47% | 3,025 | 76.02% | 60 | 1.51% |
| 1976 | 638 | 17.47% | 3,013 | 82.53% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1972 | 2,005 | 70.55% | 837 | 29.45% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1968 | 598 | 19.22% | 954 | 30.67% | 1,559 | 50.11% |
| 1964 | 1,723 | 61.56% | 1,076 | 38.44% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 438 | 22.74% | 1,488 | 77.26% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1956 | 363 | 15.47% | 1,984 | 84.53% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1952 | 319 | 17.81% | 1,472 | 82.19% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1948 | 127 | 10.74% | 675 | 57.11% | 380 | 32.15% |
| 1944 | 168 | 15.89% | 889 | 84.11% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1940 | 72 | 7.76% | 852 | 91.81% | 4 | 0.43% |
| 1936 | 92 | 8.74% | 958 | 90.98% | 3 | 0.28% |
| 1932 | 55 | 3.67% | 1,438 | 96.06% | 4 | 0.27% |
| 1928 | 258 | 23.96% | 819 | 76.04% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1924 | 52 | 6.93% | 649 | 86.53% | 49 | 6.53% |
| 1920 | 68 | 12.34% | 483 | 87.66% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1916 | 97 | 17.38% | 440 | 78.85% | 21 | 3.76% |
| 1912 | 85 | 16.50% | 411 | 79.81% | 19 | 3.69% |
In popular culture
editMacon County has been an important setting for season 4 of AMC's hit TV show, The Walking Dead.
Macon County was a shooting place for the 2013 movie, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.
The Mountain Goats reference Macon County, Georgia in their song, "Going to Georgia".
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ "Census - Geography Profile: Macon County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ^ "Macon County Courthouse". Archived from the original on October 12, 2000. Retrieved August 7, 2005.
- ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 195.
- ^ "Macon County". Georgia.gov. Archived from the original on October 12, 2008. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
- ^ "Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission Interactive Mapping Experience". Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
- ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades". United States Census Bureau.
- ^ "1880 Census Population by Counties 1790-1800" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1880.
- ^ "1910 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1910.
- ^ "1930 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1930.
- ^ "1940 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1940.
- ^ "1950 Census of Population - Georgia -" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1950.
- ^ "1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1980.
- ^ "2000 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 2000.
- ^ a b "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Macon County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
- ^ a b "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Macon County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
- ^ "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Macon County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
- ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 21, 2018.