Macon County, Georgia | |
|---|---|
 Macon County Courthouse in Oglethorpe, Georgia | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofGeorgia | |
| Coordinates:32°21′N84°02′W / 32.35°N 84.04°W /32.35; -84.04 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Georgia |
| Founded | December 14, 1837; 188 years ago (1837-12-14) |
| Named after | 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 (12/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Congressional district | 2nd |
| Website | Macon County government |
Macon County is acounty located in the west central portion of theU.S. state ofGeorgia. As of the2020 census, the population was 12,082.[1] Thecounty seat isOglethorpe.[2][3]
TheMacon County Courthouse is located in Oglethorpe.
Macon County was created in 1837 from parts ofHouston ("house-ton") andMarion counties, effective December 14 of that year. The 91st county, it was named for the then-recently deceasedGeneralNathaniel Macon[4] ofNorth Carolina, who served in theU.S. Congress for 37 years and ran forU.S. vice president. The city ofMacon,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 organizeTaylor andPeach counties, in 1852 and 1924, respectively.
The first county seat was not chosen until 1838, when the county's inferior court selected Lanier. TheGeorgia General Assembly (state legislature) designated it on December 29 of that year and incorporated it as a town.
In the 1850s, theCentral 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, andOglethorpe 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 inAndersonville, 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. TheAndersonville National Cemetery, established for the many Union dead, is at the southwestern tip of the county.[5]
The county has an activeMennonite community. Thearea code for Macon County is currently478.
According to theU.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 upperAtlantic coastal plain region of the state.
Most of the southern half of Macon County, from west ofIdeal toState Route 49 north ofMontezuma, then running north along State Route 49 toMarshallville, and then running southeast in the direction ofUnadilla, is located in the MiddleFlint River sub-basin of theACF 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 LowerOcmulgee River sub-basin of theAltamaha River basin.[7]
| 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% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 11,831 | [8] | −2.1% |
| 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 orAlaska Native alone (NH) | 26 | 19 | 15 | 0.18% | 0.13% | 0.12% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 82 | 190 | 156 | 0.58% | 1.29% | 1.29% |
| Native Hawaiian orPacific 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 the2020 census, the county had a population of 12,082, 4,299 households, and 3,033 families, and the median age was 41.7 years.[20][21]
17.7% of residents were under the age of 18 and 19.0% were 65 years of age or older, with 118.6 males for every 100 females and 122.5 males for every 100 females age 18 and over. 0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.[20]
The racial makeup of the county was 34.4% White, 59.3%Black or African American, 0.3%American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%Asian, 0.1%Native Hawaiian andPacific Islander, 2.7% from some other race, and 2.0% fromtwo or more races.Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 3.9% of the population.[22]
There were 4,299 households, of which 27.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 38.9% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 34.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[21]
There were 5,109 housing units, of which 15.9% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 64.4% were owner-occupied and 35.6% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.0% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.9%.[21]
Macon County is a long-timeDemocratic stronghold. The lastRepublican to win the county wasNixon in 1972, and since then it has been won by Democrats by comfortable margins. After 1972, no Republican, untilDonald Trump in 2024, was able to reach even 40% of the vote.
For elections to theUnited States House of Representatives, Macon County is part ofGeorgia's 2nd congressional district, currently represented bySanford Bishop. For elections to theGeorgia State Senate, Macon County is part ofDistrict 15.[23] For elections to theGeorgia House of Representatives, Macon County is part ofDistrict 150.[24]
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1912 | 85 | 16.50% | 411 | 79.81% | 19 | 3.69% |
| 1916 | 97 | 17.38% | 440 | 78.85% | 21 | 3.76% |
| 1920 | 68 | 12.34% | 483 | 87.66% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1924 | 52 | 6.93% | 649 | 86.53% | 49 | 6.53% |
| 1928 | 258 | 23.96% | 819 | 76.04% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1932 | 55 | 3.67% | 1,438 | 96.06% | 4 | 0.27% |
| 1936 | 92 | 8.74% | 958 | 90.98% | 3 | 0.28% |
| 1940 | 72 | 7.76% | 852 | 91.81% | 4 | 0.43% |
| 1944 | 168 | 15.89% | 889 | 84.11% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1948 | 127 | 10.74% | 675 | 57.11% | 380 | 32.15% |
| 1952 | 319 | 17.81% | 1,472 | 82.19% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1956 | 363 | 15.47% | 1,984 | 84.53% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 438 | 22.74% | 1,488 | 77.26% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1964 | 1,723 | 61.56% | 1,076 | 38.44% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1968 | 598 | 19.22% | 954 | 30.67% | 1,559 | 50.11% |
| 1972 | 2,005 | 70.55% | 837 | 29.45% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1976 | 638 | 17.47% | 3,013 | 82.53% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1980 | 894 | 22.47% | 3,025 | 76.02% | 60 | 1.51% |
| 1984 | 1,515 | 37.54% | 2,521 | 62.46% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1988 | 1,412 | 38.19% | 2,268 | 61.35% | 17 | 0.46% |
| 1992 | 944 | 24.80% | 2,491 | 65.45% | 371 | 9.75% |
| 1996 | 1,006 | 26.54% | 2,618 | 69.06% | 167 | 4.41% |
| 2000 | 1,566 | 35.96% | 2,757 | 63.31% | 32 | 0.73% |
| 2004 | 1,851 | 38.72% | 2,906 | 60.79% | 23 | 0.48% |
| 2008 | 1,712 | 34.35% | 3,251 | 65.23% | 21 | 0.42% |
| 2012 | 1,545 | 32.28% | 3,211 | 67.09% | 30 | 0.63% |
| 2016 | 1,540 | 35.92% | 2,705 | 63.10% | 42 | 0.98% |
| 2020 | 1,783 | 38.24% | 2,858 | 61.29% | 22 | 0.47% |
| 2024 | 1,916 | 40.89% | 2,755 | 58.79% | 15 | 0.32% |
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 2020 | 1,787 | 38.91% | 2,727 | 59.37% | 79 | 1.72% |
| 2020 | 1,599 | 37.51% | 2,664 | 62.49% | 0 | 0.00% |
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 2020 | 823 | 18.06% | 1,987 | 43.60% | 1,747 | 38.34% |
| 2020 | 1,591 | 37.21% | 2,685 | 62.79% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 2022 | 1,460 | 38.82% | 2,269 | 60.33% | 32 | 0.85% |
| 2022 | 1,361 | 38.38% | 2,185 | 61.62% | 0 | 0.00% |
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 2022 | 1,551 | 41.05% | 2,209 | 58.47% | 18 | 0.48% |
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 reference Macon County, Georgia in their song, "Going to Georgia".
Places adjacent to Macon County, Georgia | ||||||||||||||||
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Municipalities and communities ofMacon County, Georgia,United States | ||
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| Unincorporated communities | ||
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