The city of Macon was established in 1823 at the site of Fort Benjamin Hawkins, a frontier outpost established by President Thomas Jefferson in 1806. The location of the fort provided a great vantage point to guard against the Creek Indians. As the fort grew, the name changed to Newtown and officially changed to Macon when the city was established in 1823. The reconstructed blockhouse of Fort Hawkins can be visited today as a museum and an existing Creek Indian settlement dating back 10,000 years is still celebrated and studied at the Ocmulgee National Monument.

The city was established on the banks of the Ocmulgee River and thrived there. It is the county seat of Bibb County and its location in the center of the state has earned the nickname “Heart of Georgia”. It is located at the intersection of Interstate Highways 75 and 16 and is home to the Middle Georgia Regional Airport providing a quick commute to Atlanta and beyond.

Macon has a rich musical heritage. The city is the hometown or birthplace of many famous musicians. The list includes Otis Redding, Little Richard, The Allman Brothers Band (two band members are buried in the Rose Hill Cemetery), Lena Horne, Robert McDuffie, Young Jeezy and Jason Aldean. This heritage assisted in Macon becoming the home of the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. The kazoo was invented in Macon in the 1840’s.

There are many educational opportunities in Macon ranging from Technical to four year colleges. Macon is proud to be the home of two of the oldest educational institutions, Wesleyan College and Mercer University. Wesleyan College was chartered in 1836 as the first college in the world to grant degrees to women and is the world’s oldest women’s college. Mercer University was founded in 1833 and includes the Walter F. George School of Law, the School of Medicine, the School of Engineering, Stetson School of Business and Economics, College of Liberal Arts, and Townsend School of Music. Other educational opportunities include Central Georgia Technical College, Macon State College, Georgia Academy for the Blind and satellite campuses for schools such as Georgia College and State University and Fort Valley State University.

In addition to the history and educational opportunities, Macon provides a variety of cultural and entertainment opportunities through the arts, points of interest and festivals. The Grand Opera House is the home of the Macon Symphony Orchestra and hosts a series of traveling Broadway Musicals throughout the year. The Macon Little Theatre and Theatre Macon showcase our local talent and provide quality entertainment for central Georgia. Some points of interest are the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, Hay House, Cannonball House, Tubman African Museum, The Georgia Children’s Museum, Lake Tobesofkee, and the Ocmulgee National Monument.

Macon enjoys hosting many festivals including the Ocmulgee Indian Celebration, the Georgia State Fair and the International Cherry Blossom Festival. The Cherry Blossom Festival, recognized worldwide, has 10 days worth of events and takes place in mid-March to showcase over 300,000 Yoshino cherry trees blooming throughout Macon. Mr. William A. Fickling, Sr., founder of Fickling & Company Real Estate, first discovered the Yoshino Cherry tree on his personal property in 1952. He learned to propagate the trees and began freely sharing them with the community. The Yoshino cherry trees' numbers keep growing as the Fickling Family Foundation continues to donate thousands of cherry trees to Macon and Bibb County residents each year and has earned Macon the distinctive title as the Cherry Blossom Capital of the World.