Bibb County, Georgia

History

Native Americans/Indians (mostly Cherokee) had inhabited the area, which would become Bibb County, for centuries. They were forcibly removed farther West, to Indian Territory, in what was known as the Indian Removal in the 1830s, under the administration of seventh President Andrew Jackson. The Cherokee refer to their removal as the "Trail of Tears."

Bibb is one of the counties included in what has been called the "Black Belt", referring to the fertile dark soil of the uplands. The land was initially developed by European Americans and African Americans for cotton plantations in the antebellum years. This commodity crop generated high incomes for planters as the market for cotton was strong in northern textile mills and England. A total of one million slaves were forcibly removed to the Deep South in the domestic slave trade for these developments. Their population was the majority in many counties and areas.

Bibb County was created by act of the State Legislature of Georgia on December 9, 1822, with Macon to be incorporated as a town/city in December 1823; designated the County Seat. It was carved from the earlier territories of the counties of Jones, Monroe, Houston, and Twiggs counties. The County Seat has never been changed since, and no other subsequent county in the state has ever been created ("erected") out of land from Bibb County.

The county was named for Dr. William Wyatt Bibb, a physician from Elbert County, who was elected to and served in the U.S. House of Representatives and United States Senate from History of Georgia, moved to the new Alabama Territory, before being elected as the first Governor of the new State of Alabama.

During the Civil War, 10% of the white men in the county died in the service of the Confederate States Army.

Reconstruction and after

After white Democrats regained control of the state legislature, they passed laws to impose white supremacy and control freedmen. Under a new state constitution at the turn of century, the legislators disenfranchised most blacks and tens of thousands of poor whites in the state to reduce their political influence.

20th century to present

The first foreign Consulate in the county was established in Macon in 2006, with the Royal Danish Consulate of the Kingdom of Denmark. The first ever Honorary Consul to the Principality of Liechtenstein was also established in Macon in 2007.

Government

Macon and Bibb County were consolidated in January 2014. Since then, Macon-Bibb has been governed by a mayor, elected at-large (county-wide), along with a nine-member county commission with members elected from single-member districts.

Like all other Georgia counties, Bibb has an elected sheriff responsible for maintaining the jail. Bibb's sheriff also manages the county's law enforcement duties, with his deputies acting as the city and county police force. The current (2013) Bibb sheriff is David Davis.

On July 31, 2012, voters in Macon (57.8 percent approval) and Bibb County (56.7 percent approval) passed a referendum to merge the governments of the city of Macon and most of unincorporated Bibb County, based on the authorization of House Bill 1171, passed by the Georgia General Assembly earlier in the year; four previous consolidation attempts (in 1933, 1960, 1972, and 1976) had failed.

As the result of consolidation, a portion of Macon that extended into adjacent Jones County was deannexed from Macon.

Elections

Macon mayor Robert Reichert became the first mayor of the consolidated city on January 1, 2014. He received 49% of the vote in the general election on September 17 over the other five mayoral candidates; however, winning the election outright required the winner to capture a majority of the vote. He subsequently won 63% of the vote in a runoff election against former Macon mayor C. Jack Ellis.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 255 square miles (660 km²), of which 250 square miles (650 km²) is land and 5.6 square miles (15 km²) (2.2%) is water. The entirety of Bibb County is located in the Upper Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin.

Adjacent counties

National protected areas

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 153,887 people, 59,667 households, and 39,797 families residing in the county. The population density was 616 people per square mile (238/km²). There were 67,194 housing units at an average density of 269 per square mile (104/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 50.13% White, 47.32% Black or African American, 0.18% Native American, 1.08% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.46% from other races, and 0.81% from two or more races. 1.31% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 59,667 households out of which 31.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.30% were married couples living together, 20.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.30% were non-families. 28.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the county, the population was distributed with 26.60% under the age of 18, 10.10% from 18 to 24, 29.00% from 25 to 44, 21.70% from 45 to 64, and 12.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 85.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.20 males.

The population tables show a dramatic reduction in population growth from 1920 to 1940, less than half the amounts for censuses before and after these dates; during this period, tens of thousands of African Americans left the state for cities in the North and Midwest, as part of the Great Migration to escape the oppression of Jim Crow and lynchings, for better jobs, education and living conditions. Through such migration, they went from being mostly rural people to being more urbanized than the average in the United States, which has become a mostly suburban population in terms of where residences are located.

The median income for a household in the county was $34,532, and the median income for a family was $43,479. Males had a median income of $34,263 versus $25,540 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,058. About 15.50% of families and 19.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.20% of those under age 18 and 13.10% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 155,547 people, 60,295 households, and 38,714 families residing in the county. The population density was 622.8 inhabitants per square mile (240.5/km²). There were 69,662 housing units at an average density of 278.9 per square mile (107.7/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 52.1% black or African American, 43.2% white, 1.6% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 1.3% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.8% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 8.8% were English, 7.6% were American, 6.6% were Irish, and 5.2% were German.

Of the 60,295 households, 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.5% were married couples living together, 22.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.8% were non-families, and 30.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.10. The median age was 35.6 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $38,798 and the median income for a family was $52,158. Males had a median income of $41,219 versus $31,477 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,436. About 16.4% of families and 22.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.0% of those under age 18 and 12.8% of those age 65 or over.

Recreation

Lake Tobesofkee, about 10 miles (16 km) west of Macon, has three parks. Claystone, Sandy Beach, and Arrowhead Parks, each with a beach, and children's playgrounds. Sandy Beach has lighted tennis courts and a softball field.

Communities