Historic Macon

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The village of Vineville was located
nearly two miles from Macon. Named
for the plentiful muscadine vines that
grew there it was a semi-rural home
for many Macon businessmen who
were early commuters. Its avenue was
lined with their estates and many of
their early houses remain.
The value of farm products in Macon in 1860
was estimated at $1.5 million, the value of
manufactured products at almost $1 million.
Manufacturing began in Macon soon after the
town was settled. The first industries were mills
for grinding grain and cutting timber. In 1849 a
steam-powered cotton mill called the Macon
Cotton Factory was opened by John J. Gresham.
Its workers were mostly women who were paid
$13 a month. Robert Findlay opened a foundry
which produced cotton gins and steam engines.
By 1860, eighty-eight manufacturing firms were
operating in Macon.
By 1842 eight regular steamboats ran
between Macon and the coast. The trip usually
took a week. After the Central Railroad reached
Macon in 1843 a trip to the coast took only a
day. By 1860 Macon had direct trains to
Savannah, Atlanta, Tennessee and Southwest
Georgia. Lines were being completed to
Brunswick and Augusta.
Records from the last year of peace before the
War Between the States showed how the town of
Macon had grown. Sixty-seven new houses were
built. Macon had twenty-seven doctors and the
same number of lawyers. It had fifty-seven
stores selling food, twenty stores selling dry
goods, four book stores, and three slave
markets. There were two newspapers, one of
them printed daily. Macon had five large hotels,
four banks, and two theatres. Concert Hall and
Ralston Hall presented concerts, lectures, operas
and plays. Schools included the Bibb Academy,
The Macon Common School, and several
private academies. Thirteen hundred Macon
students were taught by thirty-four teachers.
Wesleyan Female College and the Botanical and
Medical College offered higher education.
Churches served six denominations. The
population of Bibb County stood at fifteen
thousand with about half that number living in
the town limits.
Macon grew and developed for almost forty
years after it was settled. Sometimes its progress
was slowed by depressions, sometimes by fires,
floods, and accidents, but progress continued.
As the War Between the States began Macon
entered the period of its greatest role in
American history. That period was also the time
of the greatest threat to Macon’s survival.
22 ✦ HISTORIC MACON