Macon is a city with a rich cultural heritage and strong vision for the future. Macon offers the amenities of a small friendly city with the advantages of a growing city. Cultural, social, civic, and educational opportunities create an excellent quality of life. Macon is known as the "Cherry Blossom Capital of the World" with over 275,000 Yoshino cherry trees. Macon is a center of a metropolitan area of around 400,000 people including the city of Warner Robins. Macon's downtown is quite attractive with antebellum homes and beautiful churches and cathedrals mixed in. Beautiful houses in downtown Macon include the Cannonball House, the Woodruff House, and the Hay House. They were all built in the past by Macon's elite.
Get in
By Car
There are two main ways to approach Macon via the interstate system. I-16 runs into Macon from Savannah in the southeast and I-75 runs directly through the town going north/south. I-475 splits off of I-75 north of town in Monroe County, then rejoins I-75 just before Hartley Bridge Road, south of town.
By Bus
The Macon Greyhound station is located just off I-16 on Spring Street, near downtown.
By Train
Amtrak does not stop directly in Macon, but offers bus service to and from the Atlanta station.
By Air
Macon also has its own airport, the Macon Regional Airport, which is served daily from Atlanta by Delta Connection. The Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is approximately 90 miles away, and can be accessed by car or shuttle service on Interstate 75.
Get around
By Foot
The downtown Macon area is very walkable, however, the city does sprawl somewhat, and travelling anywhere outside of the immediate downtown area requires an automobile.
By Bus
The Macon Transit Authority operates a fleet of buses that traverse the city. Regular fare is one dollar.
The MTA also operates the MITSI (Macon Intown Trolley Service, Inc.), which costs twenty-five cents and offers guided tours of the historic downtown area with stops at the Woodruff House, Hay House, The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, and St. John's Cathedral.
By Car
This is the easiest way to travel through Macon, especially as many of the tourist destinations like the Museum of Arts and Sciences and the Indian Mounds are outside the downtown area.
See
Do
Buy
Eat
Drink
The Rookery Pub in Downtown Macon.
Jazz Plex in Cherry Street also in Downtown Macon.
Sleep
Holiday Inn, Rodeway Inn, Ramada Inn, La Quinta Inn, Days Inn, The Crowne Plaza Hotel, and more. . Macon officials are currently trying to get a Marriot to locate next to the Macon Coliseum and Convention Center near downtown Macon.
Get out
One can get out of Macon by either Northbound or Southbound Highway 75, or any other street for that matter.
Georgia (IPA: /ˈdʒɔːɹ.dʒə/) is a state in the southern region of the United States of America and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution. It was the last of the Thirteen Colonies to be established as a colony. It was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788. It seceded from the Union on January 21, 1861 and was one of the original seven Confederate states. It was the last state readmitted to the Union on July 15, 1870. Georgia is one of the fastest-growing states in the United States, with its population increasing from 8,186,453 in 2000 to an estimated 9,072,576 people in 2005. Georgia is also known as the Peach State and the Empire State of the South. The largest city, and capital, is Atlanta.
Georgia is bordered on the south by Florida; on the east by the Atlantic Ocean and South Carolina; on the west by Alabama and by Florida in the extreme southwest; and on the north by Tennessee and North Carolina. The northern part of the state is in the Blue Ridge Mountains, a mountain range in the vast mountain system of the Appalachians. The central piedmont extends from the foothills to the fall line, where the rivers cascade down in elevation to the continental coastal plain of the southern part of the state. The highest point in Georgia is Brasstown Bald, 4,784 feet (1,458 m); the lowest point is sea level.
With an area of 59,441 square miles (153,951 km²), Georgia is ranked 24th in size among the 50 U.S. states. Georgia is the largest state east of the Mississippi River in terms of land area, although it is the fourth largest (after Michigan, Florida, and Wisconsin) in total area, a term which includes expanses of water claimed as state territory.
Geography
Boundaries
Beginning from the Atlantic Ocean, the state's eastern border with South Carolina runs up the Savannah River, northwest to its origin at the confluence of the Tugaloo River and Seneca River. It then continues up the Tugaloo (originally Tugalo) and into the Chattooga River, its most significant tributary. These bounds were decided in the 1787 Treaty of Beaufort, and tested in the U.S. Supreme Court in the two Georgia v. South Carolina cases in 1922 and 1989.
The border then takes a sharp left turn around the tip of Rabun County, at latitude 35°N, though from this point it diverges slightly south (possibly due to later resurveying with better accuracy). This originally was the Georgia and North Carolina border all the way back to the Mississippi River, until Tennessee was divided from North Carolina, and Alabama and Mississippi (the Yazoo Lands) were taken from Georgia.
The state's western border then departs in another straight line south-southeastward, at a point southwest of Chattanooga, to meet the westernmost point of the Chattahoochee River near West Point, Georgia. It continues down to the point where it ended at the Flint River (the confluence of the two forming Florida's Apalachicola River), and goes almost due east and very slightly south, in a straight line to the origin of the Saint Mary's River, which then forms the remainder of the boundary back to the ocean.
It should be noted that the water boundaries are still set to be the original thalweg of the rivers. Since then, several have been inundated by man made lakes, including the Apalachicola/Chattahoochee/Flint point now under Lake Seminole.
Geology and terrain
Georgia is divided into four geologic regions. They are the Ridge and Valley, the Blue Ridge, the Piedmont, and the Coastal Plain. Each region has its own distinctive characteristics. For instance the Ridge and Valley, which lies in the northwest corner of the state, includes limestone, sandstone, shale and other sedimentary rocks, which have yielded construction-grade limestone, barite, ochre and small amounts of coal. The Blue Ridge Mountains of northeast Georgia are made up of metamorphic rock as well as granite and diabase. The geology of the Piedmont includes schist, amphibolite, gneiss, migmatite, and granite while the Coastal Plain's primary resource is kaolin.
Flora and fauna
Georgia has a large mix of flora and fauna. The State of Georgia has approximately 250 trees and 58 protected plants. Georgia's trees include red cedar, scaly-bark and white hickories, as well as many others. Yellow jasmine, flowering quince, and mountain laurel make up just a few of the flowering shrubs in the state.
Regarding fauna, white-tailed (Virginia) deer can be found in approximately 50 counties. The mockingbird and brown thrasher are just two of the 160 bird species that can be found in the state. The rattlesnake, copperhead, and cottonmouth as well as salamanders, frogs, and toads are among 79 species of reptile and 63 amphibians that make Georgia their home. The most popular freshwater game fish are trout, bream, bass, and catfish, all but the last of which are produced in state hatcheries for restocking. Dolphins, porpoises, shrimp, oysters, and blue crabs are found off the Georgia coast.
Climate
The majority of Georgia is primarily a humid subtropical climate tempered somewhat by occasional polar air masses in the winter. Hot and humid summers are typical, except at the highest elevations. The entire state, including the north Georgia mountains, receives moderate to heavy precipitation, which varies from 45 inches (1143 mm) in central Georgia to approximately 75 inches (1905 mm) around the Northeast part of the state. The degree to which the weather of a certain area of Georgia is subtropical depends not just on the latitude, but also on how close it is to the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico and the altitude. This is especially true in the mountainous areas in the northern part of the state, which are further away from ocean waters and can be up to 4500 feet (1350 m) or higher above sea level.
The areas near the Florida/Georgia border, extending from the entire Georgia coastline west to the Florida panhandle, experiences the most subtropical weather, similar to that of Florida: hot, humid summers with frequent afternoon thunderstorms and mild, somewhat drier winters. These areas experience snow much less frequently than other parts of Georgia. The Georgia Piedmont area is somewhat cooler in winter than the coastal areas. The Southern areas of the Piedmont may receive snow every other year, while areas close to the foothills get snow several times a year. This part of Georgia is especially vulnerable to ice storms. The mountains of Georgia have the coolest climate and most frequent snowfall in the state, although snowfall is less than any other part of the Appalachian Mountains.
In spite of having moderate weather compared to many other states, Georgia has occasional extreme weather. The highest temperature ever recorded is 112 °F (44.4 °C), while the lowest ever recorded is -17 °F (-27.2 °C). Georgia is one of the leading states in incidents of tornadoes. The areas closest to the Florida border get the same small F0 and F1 tornadoes associated with summer afternoon thunderstorms. However, it is very uncommon for tornadoes to become severe (over F3). As it is on the Atlantic coast, Georgia is also vulnerable to hurricanes, although the Georgia coastline only rarely experiences a direct hurricane strike. More common are hurricanes which strike the Florida panhandle, weaken over land, and bring strong tropical storm winds and heavy rain to the Georgia interior, as well as hurricanes that come close to the Georgia coastline, brushing the coast on their recurvature on the way up to hit Carolinas.
Protected lands
Georgia is home to 63 parks, 48 of which are state parks and 15 that are historic sites, and numerous state wildlife preserves, under the supervision of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Other historic sites and parks are supervised by the National Park Service and include the Andersonville National Historic Site in Andersonville; Appalachian National Scenic Trail; Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area near Atlanta; Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park at Fort Oglethorpe; Cumberland Island National Seashore near Saint Marys; Fort Frederica National Monument on St. Simons Island; Fort Pulaski National Monument in Savannah; Jimmy Carter National Historic Site near Plains; Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park near Kennesaw; Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Site in Atlanta; Ocmulgee National Monument at Macon; Trail of Tears National Historic Trail.
History
The local moundbuilder culture, described by Hernando de Soto in 1540, completely disappeared by 1560. Early on, in the course of European exploration of the area, a number of Spanish explorers visited the inland region of Georgia.
The conflict between Spain and England over control of Georgia began in earnest in about 1670, when the English founded the Carolina colony in present-day South Carolina. Nearly a century earlier, the Spanish of Spanish Florida had established the missionary provinces of Guale and Mocama on the coast and Sea Islands of present-day Georgia. After decades of fighting, the Carolinians and allied Indians permanently destroyed the Spanish mission system during the invasions of 1702 and 1704. After 1704, Spanish control was limited to St. Augustine and Pensacola. The Florida peninsula was subjected to raids as far as the Florida Keys. The coast of Georgia was occupied by now British-allied Indians such as the Yamasee until the Yamasee War of 1715-1717, after which the region was depopulated, opening up the possibility of a new British colony. In 1724, it was first suggested the British colony there be called Province of Georgia in honor of King George II.
British interest in establishing a colony below South Carolina came from varied sources. Spanish Florida was a threat to South Carolina and a haven for runaway slaves. The French in the 1720s established a fort near present-day Montgomery, Alabama, also a threat to British interests in the region. Traders from Charleston, South Carolina, had established trading posts as far west as the Ocmulgee River, near present-day Macon, Georgia. The British trading network kept the Creek Indians allied with them; the French move threatened to wrest these Indians' trade away from the British. These strategic interests made the British government interested in establishing a new colony that would reinforce the British influence in the border country that had been open to Spanish and French penetration.
Meanwhile, many members of the British Parliament had become concerned about the plight of England's debtors. A parliamentary committee investigated and reported on conditions in Britain's debtor prisons. A group of philanthropists organized themselves to establish a colony where the "worthy poor" of England could reestablish themselves as productive citizens. This goal was seen as both philanthropic, helping these distressed people, and patriotic, simultaneously relieving Britain of the burden of the imprisoned debtors and augmenting Britain's vital mercantile empire by planting new, industrious subjects to strengthen her trade. This goal went unfulfilled as Georgia was ultimately not settled by debtors or convicts.
In 1732, a group of these philanthropists were granted a royal charter as the Trustees of the Province of Georgia. They carefully selected the first group of colonists to send to the new colony. On 12 February 1733, 113 settlers landed in the HMS Anne at what was to become the city of Savannah. This day is now known as Georgia Day, which is not a public holiday but is mainly observed in schools and by some local civic groups. James Edward Oglethorpe, one of the trustees of the colony, traveled with the first group of colonists, laid out the design of the town of Savannah, and acted as governor of the colony, although technically under the trustees there was no "governor." Oglethorpe acted as the only trustee present in the colony. When he returned to Britain, a series of disputes ended his tenure governing the colony; Georgia was then led by a series of presidents named by the trustees. In 1752, after the government failed to renew subsidies that had helped support the colony, the Trustees turned over control to the crown. Georgia became a crown colony, with a governor appointed by the British king.
Georgia was one of the thirteen colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution by signing the 1776 Declaration of Independence, despite a large population of people loyal to the crown. Following the war, it became the fourth state of the United States of America after ratifying the United States Constitution on 2 January 1788. Georgia established its first state constitution in 1777. The state established new constitutions in 1788, 1799, 1861, 1865, 1868, 1877, 1945, 1976, and 1983, for a total of 10 — more constitutions than any other state, except for Louisiana, which has had 11.
Confederate history
On January 18, 1861, Georgia joined the Confederacy and became a major theater of the American Civil War.
In December 1864, a large swath of the state from Atlanta to Savannah was destroyed during General William Tecumseh Sherman's March to the Sea. This event served as the historical background for the 1936 novel Gone with the Wind and the 1939 film of the same name.
On July 15, 1870, following Reconstruction, Georgia became the last former Confederate state to be readmitted to the Union.
Capitals
Georgia has had five official state capitals: colonial Savannah, which later alternated with Augusta; then for a decade at Louisville (pronounced Lewis-ville), and from 1806 through the American Civil War, at Milledgeville. In 1868, Atlanta became the fifth capital of the state. The state's legislature also met at other temporary sites, including Macon, especially during the Civil War.
Cities
