Historic Macon

Born and educated in Connecticut, he came to
Newtown from New York where he had written
for Harper’s Magazine. In the frontier settlement
he wrote for a newspaper called The Bulldog.
When it crossed the Ocmulgee to become
Macon’s first newspaper, its name became The
Georgia Messenger. Rose bought a
partnership in the paper and was its editor
for almost fifty years.
Rose helped create the plan for Macon.
He insisted that major streets be 180 feet
wide, alternating streets be 120 feet wide.
His idea was to limit crowding, fire, and
disease. Rose also made the streets of Macon
shady. Throughout his life when he saw a
spot he felt needed a tree, he took servant,
horse and buggy to the Ocmulgee swamps,
found the right tree, and transplanted it to
the empty spot.
Rose’s house on Beall’s Hill overlooking
Macon was set on four acres crowded with
all kinds of trees, shrubs, flowers and
plants. He received seeds and cuttings
from all over the world. He began the
Central Horticultural Society and often
won prizes in its plant shows.
Rose’s love of plants led to the
achievement for which he was to be
remembered most, Rose Hill Cemetery. In
1838 he headed a committee to find a site
❖
Above: Macon’s original entry from
the east was via the Fifth Street
bridge. Several bridges were destroyed
by floods in the Nineteenth Century.
Today the bridge at this site is named
for native son Otis Redding and Fifth
Street is now Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr., Boulevard.
Left: Simri Rose as much as anyone
deserves the title “Father of Macon.”
His newspaper, The Georgia
Messenger, provided a record of early
Macon history. His civic contributions
were manifold and, more than
anyone, he worked to make Macon a
beautiful town.
Chapter II ✦ 9