Historic Macon

Some unusual events happened in Macon in
the closing years of the Nineteenth Century. In
1886 record cold froze the Ocmulgee and
people were able to walk across it. The same
year an earthquake shook windows and
chimneys and stopped the clock at the railroad
station. In 1887 more than fifty thousand
people crowded into Macon for a reunion of
Confederate veterans. Jefferson Davis attended
and a large ball was given in his honor. In 1896
a Philadelphia man, George Gassler, made
possible another industry in Macon when he
found, nearby, a white clay called kaolin used in
the production of porcelain and slick paper.
Macon’s progress in the late 1800s was
limited by setbacks. Profits declined in the
cotton mills in the late 1880s. In 1891 a
depression closed several local banks and
businesses, among them the J. W. Burke
Printing Company and The Macon News. In
1893 the Bibb Mills closed for ten days putting
six hundred people out of work. The mills were
reopened on half time. In both 1894 and 1895
county tax collections decreased. Conditions
began to improve in 1897 and, within two
years, two new cotton mills opened, The
Willingham and The Ocmulgee.
The 1880 population count showed that
twelve thousand five hundred people lived in
Macon. The count made the town seem smaller
than it was because it did not include people
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Above: The Grand Opera House was
created in 1906 to enlarge the
Academy of Music. The Grand
became a movie theatre in the 1930s
and closed in the 1960s. Macon
theatre lovers united in 1969 to restore
the old theatre to its former glory and
since then it has been a well-used and
much-loved community resource.
Left: In 1916 a new railroad terminal
was opened at the foot of Cherry
Street. For over fifty years, Terminal
Station was a beehive of activity. It is
now owned by the City of Macon and
may one day serve again as a
passenger depot.
Chapter IV ✦ 43