Macon, Bibb county, GA History Items

Georgia Genealogy Trails

"Where your Journey Begins"

Bibb County Georgia

The First Hundred Years of Macon
As Told By Columnist Ed Grisamore in "The Telegraph"
Transcribed and Submitted by Ernest Cooling

There are six cities & towns in the U S named after North Carolina's statesman Nathaniel Macon.
Macon, Georgia is by far the oldest (estabished 1823) & the largest (population 97,253) the others, according to size are in MISSOURI (5,538), MISSISSIPPI (2,461), MICHIGAN (1,448) ILLINOIS (1,213) & NORTH CAROLINA (115
[By: Ed Grisamore (The Telegraph) reported. Sunday September 20 2009]

Fort Hawkins, served as a frontier fort & army headquarters for 22 years from its establishment in 1806 by President Thomas Jefferson until it was decommissioned in 1828. The fort was built on an outpost overlooking the Ocmulgee fields & was named after Benjamin Hawkins, who was appointed by President George Washington (& later re-appointed by Jefferson) to serve an agent among the Creek Indians & superintendent of all tribes south of the Ohio river. The fort is considered the city's birthplace. Macon, Georgia was laid out and incorporated in 1823

WESLEYAN COLLEGE

Johnston-Hay House
934 Georgia Avenue
Macon, Bibb County, GA

One of Macon GEORGIA'S leading tourist attractions, It has been called the palace of the south and is considered one of the most technologically advanced Antebellum House in AMERICA. It took four years to build (1855-1859) and boasts more than 18,000 square feet. Movies and television shows like "Gone with the Wind" have been filmed there.
[Pictures from the Library of Congress]

NOTEWORTHY PEOPLE of BIBB COUNTY

HEALY Family
The three amazing HEALY brothers, James, Patrick, & Michael grew up on a plantation near Macon Georgia in the 19th century on what is now Healy Point & river north.

James, the oldest of the ten Healy children, became the first African American to be ordained as a bishop in the U.S. in the Roman Catholic Church.
Patrick was the first African American college student in the nation to earn a doctorate in 1874 and was named president of Georgetown University in Washington D. C.
Michael, the adventurer, became the first black to be assigned command of a US government ship. At one time he was the highest federal officer in the territory of Alaska. Parts of his story were chronicled in Jack London's THE SEA WOLF and James Michener's book, ALASKA.

Arnold Blum
Macon's most accomplished amateur golfer. Won five Georgia Amateur Titles, including three consecutive titles from 1950-1952. He also captured nine Macon City championships, three Southeastern Amateur championships and two Southern Amateur Titles. He was a member of the victorious 1957 US Walker Cup Team, a 16 time qualifier for the US Amateur championships and played in The Masters five times as an amateur, finishing in the top 24 in 1952. In 1978 Mr. Blum was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame last year. Idle Hour honored him by rededicating and renaming the club's teaching facility the BLUM GOLF LEARNING CENTER. [By: Ed Grisamore (The Telegraph) reported. Sunday September 20 2009]

Melvyn Douglas
Macon-born actor Melvyn Douglas won two academy awards, both for best supporting actor roles. His first was as Paul Newman's father in the movie HUD in 1963. He later won as a political insider & confidante of gardener Peter Sellers in the movie BEING THERE in 1979. He was also nominated for best actor in 1970 for "I Never Sang for My Father" but lost to George C. Scott for PATTON. He starred with Greta Garbo in "As You Desire Me" in 1932.

Willie "Smokie" Glover
Seven baseball caps once hung in the office of the late Willie "Smokie" Glover the longtime groundskeeper at Luther William Field (2nd oldest field) minor league baseball park in the country built in 1929. Glover, who died in 1993, worked for seven different baseball organizations in his 39 years as groundskeeper: the Dodgers, Reds, Phillies, Tigers, Cardinals, Pirates & Braves. The half mile loop from the entrance to central city park to the stadium bears his name [By: Ed Grisamore (The Telegraph) reported. Sunday September 20 2009]

Otis Redding
Musician Otis Redding had moved to Macon Georgia with his family at a very young age and is sometimes referred to as the "King of Soul". He died in a plane crash in 1967 at age 26, a month before his biggest hit, Sitting on the Dock of the Bay, was released. It was the first single ever to reach no 1 on the billboard charts after a musician's death. Rolling Stone magazine ranked Otis Redding no.21 on its list of the "100 greatest artis of all time." In 1993 the US Post Office issued a 29 cent commemorative postage stamp in honor of Otis Redding. A memorial statue of Otis Redding was placed at the city's gateway park in 2002 not far from the Otis Redding Memorial Bridge.