Macon County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the west central portion of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,082. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Oglethorpe. The Macon County Courthouse is located in Oglethorpe.

History

Macon County was created in 1837 from parts of

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

("house-ton") and Marion counties, effective December 14 of that year. The 91st county, it was named for the then-recently deceased

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Nathaniel Macon Nathaniel Macon (December 17, 1757June 29, 1837) was an American politician who represented North Carolina in both houses of United States Congress, Congress. He was the fifth Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, speaker of the ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, who served in the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

for 37 years and ran for

U.S. vice president The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. Th ...

. The city of Macon,

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 Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) ** List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) ...

and

Peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and Agriculture, cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called necta ...

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 The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directl ...

(

state legislature A state legislature is a Legislature, legislative branch or body of a State (country subdivision), political subdivision in a Federalism, federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of ...

) designated it on December 29 of that year and incorporated it as a town. In the 1850s, the

Central of Georgia Railroad The Central of Georgia Railway started as the Central Rail Road and Canal Company in 1833. As a way to better attract investment capital, the railroad changed its name to Central Rail Road and Banking Company of Georgia. This railroad was constr ...

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 Andersonville is a city in Sumter County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 237. It is located in the southwest part of the state, approximately southwest of Macon on the Central of Georgia railroad ...

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. The county has an active

Mennonite Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...

community. The

area code A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, rea ...

for Macon County is currently 478.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.3%) is water. The county is located in the upper

Atlantic coastal plain The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

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 The Apalachicola–Chattahoochee–Flint River Basin (the ACF River Basin) is the drainage basin, or watershed, of the Apalachicola River, Chattahoochee River, and Flint River, in the Southeastern United States. This area is alternatively know ...

(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 The Ocmulgee River () is a western tributary of the Altamaha River, approximately 255 mi (410 km) long, in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the westernmost major tributary of the Altamaha.Altamaha River The Altamaha River is a major river in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It flows generally eastward for from its Source (river or stream), origin at the confluence of the Oconee River and Ocmulgee River towards the Atlantic Oce ...

basin.

Major highways

* * * * * ** * * *

Adjacent counties

* Peach County (northeast) * Houston County (east) * Dooly County (southeast) * Sumter County (south) * Schley County (southwest) * Taylor County (northwest)

National protected area

* Andersonville National Historic Site (part)

Communities

Cities

* Ideal * Marshallville * Montezuma * Oglethorpe (county seat)

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 12,082 people, 4,696 households, and 3,033 families residing in the county.

Education

Politics

Macon County is a longtime Democratic stronghold. The last Republican to win the county was

Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 36th vice president under P ...

in 1972, and since then it has been won by Democrats by comfortable margins. After 1972, no Republican, until

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

in 2024, was able to reach even 40% of the vote.

In popular culture

Macon 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 The Mountain Goats are a United States band formed in Claremont, California, Claremont, California, by singer-songwriter John Darnielle. The band is currently based in Durham, North Carolina, Durham, North Carolina. For many years, the sole me ...

reference Macon County, Georgia in their song, "Going to Georgia".

References

External links

Macon County government
{{Coord, 32.35, -84.04, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-GA_source:UScensus1990 Georgia (U.S. state) counties 1837 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Populated places established in 1837 Black Belt (U.S. region) Majority-minority counties in Georgia