Macon County, Georgia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Macon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2000 census, the population is 14,074. The 2005 Census Estimate shows a population of 13,745 [1]. The county seat is Oglethorpe, Georgia6. [2]
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[edit] History
Macon County was created in 1837 from Houston ("house-ton") and Marion counties, effective December 14th of that year. The 91st county, it was named for the recently-deceased General Nathaniel Macon of North Carolina, who served in the U.S. Congress for 37 years and ran for U.S. vice president. (The city of Macon, Georgia was also named for him, but is actually the seat of another county.) Parts of the county were used to create Taylor and Peach counties, in 1852 and 1924 respectively.
The first county seat was actually not chosen until 1838 when the county's inferior court selected Lanier. The Georgia General Assembly (state legislature) designated it so on December 29th of that year and incorporated it as a town. The Central of Georgia Railroad was then built through Oglethorpe in the 1850s, and the assembly called for a referendum on moving the seat to Oglethorpe in February of both 1854 and 1856. Little is known about the first vote, but the second resulted in the change to the new county seat the following year.
The infamous Andersonville National Cemetery is at the southwestern tip of the county. During the American Civil War, 13,000 died there from starvation and disease. [3] There is also an active Mennonite community within the county. The area code for Macon County is currently 478.
[edit] Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,051 km² (406 mi²). 1,044 km² (403 mi²) of it is land and 7 km² (3 mi²) of it (0.66%) is water.
[edit] Major Highways
Georgia State Route 26
Georgia State Route 49
Georgia State Route 90
Georgia State Route 128
Georgia State Route 224
Georgia State Route 240
[edit] Adjacent Counties
- Peach County (northeast)
- Houston County (east)
- Dooly County (southeast)
- Sumter County (south)
- Schley County (southwest)
- Taylor County (northwest)
[edit] Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 14,074 people, 4,834 households, and 3,485 families residing in the county. The population density was 13/km² (35/mi²). There were 5,495 housing units at an average density of 5/km² (14/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 37.37% White, 59.48% Black or African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.60% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 1.52% from other races, and 0.75% from two or more races. 2.59% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 4,834 households out of which 34.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.70% were married couples living together, 24.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.90% were non-families. 25.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.25.
In the county the population was spread out with 27.60% under the age of 18, 9.70% from 18 to 24, 27.60% from 25 to 44, 22.30% from 45 to 64, and 12.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 98.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.70 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $24,224, and the median income for a family was $29,402. Males had a median income of $26,922 versus $18,611 for females. The per capita income for the county was $11,820. About 22.10% of families and 25.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 39.00% of those under age 18 and 22.60% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Cities and towns
[edit] Pop Culture
Macon County is referenced in the The Mountain Goats song "Going To Georgia" [4].
