Macon

Formed December 14, 1837 (91^st county)

Macon County (12,081), Oglethorpe (996), Montezuma (3,059)

The unique clock and bell tower stands out in the red brick facility located on Sumter between Chatham and Crescent streets.  Sumter Street is Georgia State Highway 128.  Veteran memorials are on the courthouse grounds.  The county was created on December 14, 1837 from Houston and Marion counties as the 91^st county.  Lanier also served as a county seat until 1856 when Oglethorpe took over.  This courthouse was built in 1894 in Romanesque Revival.  It was designed by Walter Chamberlain.  The courthouse was renovated in 1994.  Congressman and General Nathaniel Macon provided the source for the county’s name.  He is also the namesake of the county seat of Bibb County.  Georgia founding father General James Oglethorpe provided his name to the county seat.  He is also the source of Oglethorpe County’s name.  The county center is 4.5 miles North of Oglethorpe. 

Macon County government consists of a sheriff, an administrator, a coroner, a clerk, and a tax commissioner (executive).  It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.)  Sixteen Superior Court Judges serve Macon, Bibb, Chattahoochee, Crawford, Harris, Houston, Lee, Marion, Muscogee, Peach, Schley, Stewart, Sumter, Talbot, Taylor, and Webster counties and Five County Judges, court clerk, and county attorney serve Macon County (judicial.) The county is in western Georgia between Columbus and Macon.  The Flint River flows through the middle of the county.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Peach, Houston, Dooly, Sumter, Schley, and Taylor counties.  

The area of the county is 403 square miles.  It is 55 out of 159 counties in the state.  It ranks 116 out of 159 in population in the state.  It has a density of 30.0 persons per square mile making it 123 out of 159 in the state.  Macon County has 45.6% of its population in its incorporated areas.  There are no Interstates or United States Highways in the county.  Although the county lines zig and zag, the overall shape is round.  Oglethorpe is located in the southern third of the county.  Montezuma is located just south of center in the county.  Oglethorpe is the county seat and Montezuma is the largest city.  Oglethorpe is 8.2% of the county population while Montezuma is 25.3% of the county population.

Oglethorpe