Welcome to Macon Co. GAGenWeb
Macon Co. Georgia was created in 1837 by the state legislature.
Carved from Houston and Marion counties, Macon Co. was named for Nathaniel
Macon, a general in the revolutionary war, a congressman and a senator,
having served as president pro tempore.
The town of Lanier was designated as the county seat. The earliest inhabitants
of Macon Co. were indians, Cherokee, Uchee, and Creeks.
The county seat was moved to its current location in 1856 to the town of Oglethorpe. Named for James Oglethorpe, the town sits on land originally settled by British colonist Timothy Barnard before the revolutionary war. Barnard married an Uchee Indian and his settlement was a popular trading post.
During
the War Between the States, the Confederacy operated Camp Sumter, commonly
called Andersonville Prison, the notorious prison in southwest Macon Co,
just outside the town of Andersonville. The prison, established in 1863
was designed to hold 10,000 Union prisoners. By August 1864, Camp Sumter
held over 32,000 prisoners, and in the last 14 months of the war, almost
13,000 Union soldiers died in the prison and are buried in the cemetery.
Today, the National Parks Service operates the Andersonville National Historic
Site. The 475 acre Historical site contains the prison site, and a cemetery
with approximately 18,000 interments. The cemetery is still in use for
eligible veterans and dependents based on criteria established by the National
Cemetery Administration.
