Bibb County has aconsolidated city-county government following a merger of the county with itscounty seat and largest city,Macon, in 2014. They were later joined in this consolidated government in 2015 by the county's only other municipality,Payne City.[2]
This area was inhabited for thousands of years by successive indigenous peoples. TheOcmulgee National Monument is a national park and historic site incorporating two major mound and town complexes:Lamar Mounds and Village Site and Ocmulgee Mound Site, both located along theOcmulgee River. They were built by indigenous peoples during theMississippian culture era. The detailed chronicles of theHernando de Soto expedition recorded visitingIchisi, a major village, in 1539. Historians and archeologists have theorized it may have been located at the Lamar Mounds complex.[3]
For centuries, the historicNative AmericansMuscogee tribe, descendants of this culture, was the predominant one in a large area of Georgia, including that later organized as Bibb County. During the colonial period, Anglo colonists carried on a brisk trade with them and allied with them in certain wars in the Southeast. With European-American land hunger to extend cotton cultivation in the Georgia uplands, the Muscogee and other four Civilized Tribes of the Southeast were forcibly relocated to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River, in theIndian Removal of the 1830s, during the administration of PresidentAndrew Jackson. The Indian tribes affected refer to their journey is as the "Trail of Tears", since many died during the march west.
In the late 18th century, the cotton gin was invented, making profitable the processing of short-staple cotton. This could be grown across the uplands of the South, in contrast to the long-staple cotton of the Low Country. Bibb is considered one of the counties of the"Black Belt", which originally referred to the fertile dark soil in these uplands. The area was developed by European-American planters, who used enslaved African Americans as workers to clear land and develop largecottonplantations during the antebellum years. Cotton generated high profits, since it was in demand in the textile mills of the northern states and England. By the 1860 census, shortly before theAmerican Civil War, more than a million enslaved African Americans lived in Georgia, and they constituted a majority of the population in much of the Black Belt.
Bibb County was created by act of theGeorgia Legislature on December 9, 1822, with Macon to be incorporated as a town/city in December 1823; designated the county seat. It was carved from the earlier territories of the counties ofJones,Monroe,Houston, andTwiggs Counties. The county seat has not been changed since, and no other subsequent county in the state has ever been created ("erected") out of land from Bibb County.
During the Civil War, an estimated 10% of the white males in the county lost their lives while serving in theConfederate States Army.[4] The war gained the emancipation of slaves across the South. Georgia had been a battleground, and Atlanta and many other areas were left in ruins.
Well into the 20th century, the county depended on cotton and other agriculture as its economic base. It was subject to related vagaries of weather, financial markets, and the devastation of the invasiveboll weevil in the early 20th century, which destroyed cotton crops across the South.
After the Civil War and during the 20th century, the county seat of Macon continued to serve as the county's principal population center, site of the most significant landmarks, and the location of major historical events.
On July 31, 2012, voters in the City of Macon (57.8% approval) and Bibb County (56.7% approval) passed a referendum to merge the governments of the city and the county, based on the authorization of House Bill 1171 passed by theGeorgia General Assembly earlier in the year.[5] Four previous consolidation attempts (in 1933, 1960, 1972, and 1976) had failed.[6][7][8] The consolidation took effect on January 1, 2014, along with thedeannexation from the city of a small portion of land in Jones County.
In addition to Macon, Bibb County contained one other municipality,Payne City (or Payne), anenclave of around 200 people that was surrounded entirely by the preconsolidation City of Macon. In the 2012 referendum, Payne City voters rejected consolidation by a vote of 9 to 7, so it was not merged into the consolidated government. In early 2015, at the request of the small city's government, the Georgia General Assembly passed a bill dissolving Payne City, merging it with the rest of Macon-Bibb County.[2]
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 255 square miles (660 km2), of which 250 square miles (650 km2) is land and 5.6 square miles (15 km2) (2.2%) is water.[9] The entirety of Bibb County is located in the UpperOcmulgee River sub-basin of theAltamaha River basin.[10]
Bibb County, Georgia – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
In 2022, Bibb County had the highest crime rate in Georgia. Bibb County had a rate of 52.6 crimes per 1,000 residents. The most common was larceny theft, of which there were 3,694 incidents, while the second most common crime was aggravated assault, with 1,911 committed. Overall, Bibb had the highest crime rate for seven of the ten crime categories, including murder, robbery, motor vehicle theft and arson.[23]
Since the 2014 consolidation, Macon-Bibb has been governed by a mayor, electedat-large (county-wide), along with a nine-member county commission with members elected fromsingle-member districts.[24][25][26]
Like all other Georgia counties, Bibb has an electedsheriff responsible for maintaining thejail. Bibb's sheriff also manages the county'slaw enforcement duties, with their deputies acting as the city and countypolice force. As of 2019[update], the current sheriff is David Davis.[27]
In 2013, the consolidated city-county held its first elections. Macon's incumbent mayorRobert Reichert received 49% of the vote in the general election on September 17 over the other five mayoral candidates, but a winner had to take a majority of the vote. Reichert subsequently won 63% of the vote in arunoff election against former Macon mayorC. Jack Ellis.[28]Reichert was unopposed for re-election in 2016, following the death of his only opponent before the election. Under the city-county charter, the mayor is subject toterm limits and may serve only two consecutive terms. Reichert had to leave office in December 2020.[29]
As an urban county with a majority African-American population, voters in Bibb County today consistently vote at high rates forDemocratic candidates counties in presidential elections. During the late 19th century and into the late 1960s, when most African Americans were disenfranchised by the state constitution and practices underJim Crow, white conservatives dominated the Democratic Party and voting. The combination of these two contrasting affiliations resulted in the majority of county voters having supported for aRepublican presidential candidate only three times in its history. Bibb was the only county in the2004 flag referendum to vote to keep the2001 flag.[30]
United States presidential election results for Bibb County, Georgia[31]
Lake Tobesofkee, about 10 miles (16 km) west of Macon, has three parks. Claystone, Sandy Beach, and Arrowhead Parks, each with a beach, and children's playgrounds. Sandy Beach has lighted tennis courts, a water park with many attractions, and a softball field.[35]
TheMacon Transit Authority provides bus service to the residents of Bibb County, including the City of Macon. Their headquarters, and major transit hub is the formerTerminal Station in Macon.
