Cherry Blossom Capitol

Macon lies on the site of the Ocmulgee Old Fields, where the Creek Indians lived in the 18th Century. Their prehistoric predecessors, the Mississippian Culture, built a powerful chiefdom agricultural village. Prior to its establishment as a city, Macon was the site of Fort Benjamin Hawkins.

After the establishment of Bibb County in 1822, the city was chartered as the county seat in 1823 and officially named Macon, in honor of North Carolina statesman Nathaniel Macon because many of the city’s early settlers hailed from North Carolina. The city planners of Macon envisioned “a city within a park” and went about creating a city of spacious streets and parks. They also designated 250 acres for Central City Park and citizens were required by ordinances to plant shade trees in their front yards.