Bibb County, Georgia

Bibb County, Georgia
Bibb County courthouse in Macon
Location in the U.S. state of Georgia
Georgia's location in the U.S.
Founded	December 9, 1822
Named for	William Wyatt Bibb
Seat	Macon
Largest city	Macon
Area
• Total	255 sq mi (660 km2)
• Land	250 sq mi (647 km2)
• Water	5.6 sq mi (15 km2), 2.2%
Population (est.)
• (2015)	153,721
• Density	623/sq mi (241/km²)
Congressional districts	2nd, 8th
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website	www.co.bibb.ga.us

Bibb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 155,547.^[1] On July 31, 2012, by a margin of 57% to 43%, voters in the county approved a measure to consolidate Bibb County with the county seat, Macon and dissolve the government of the only other incorporated municipality in the county, Payne City;^[2] however, Payne City was officially dissolved by Governor Nathan Deal on March 27, 2015.^[3]

Bibb County is part of the Macon, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Robert Reichert was the first mayor of Macon-Bibb, January 1, 2014.^[4]

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.^[5]

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 country 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.^[6][7][8]

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;^[9] four previous consolidation attempts (in 1933, 1960, 1972, and 1976) had failed.^[10][11][12]

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.^[4]

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.^[13] The entirety of Bibb County is located in the Upper Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin.^[14]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

• Jones County - northeast
• Twiggs County - east
• Houston County - south
• Peach County - south-southwest
• Crawford County - southwest
• Monroe County - northwest

National protected areas

• Bond Swamp National Wildlife Refuge (part)
• Ocmulgee National Monument

Demographics

2000 census

As of the census^[20] 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.^[21] 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).^[22] 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.^[21] In terms of ancestry, 8.8% were English, 7.6% were American, 6.6% were Irish, and 5.2% were German.^[23]

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.^[21]

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.^[24]

Recreation

Lake Tobesofkee in the Wintertime

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.^[25]

Communities

• Macon
• Lizella
• Payne
• Walden
• Sofkee
• Franklinton
• Avondale

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Bibb County, Georgia

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bibb County, Georgia.

• Official website
• Bibb County Historical Marker
• Bibb County Documents at the Digital Library of Georgia

	Monroe County		Jones County
			Twiggs County
		Bibb County, Georgia
	Peach County and Crawford County	Houston County

Municipalities and communities of Bibb County, Georgia, United States
County seat: Macon
City	Macon
Unincorporated communities	Avondale Bellevue Dry Branch‡ East Macon Franklinton Lizella Payne Sofkee Walden
Footnotes	‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

Macon-Warner Robins-Fort Valley Combined Statistical Area
Principal cities	Macon Warner Robins Fort Valley
Municipalities	Allentown Byron Centerville Culloden Danville Forsyth Gray Jeffersonville Perry Roberta
Other communities	Avondale Bolingbroke Bonaire Clinchfield Dunbar Elberta Elko Franklinton Haddock Juliette Kathleen Knoxville Lizella Musella Robins AFB Sofkee Smarr Walden
Counties	Bibb Crawford Houston Jones Monroe Peach Twiggs
CSA components	Macon Metropolitan Statistical Area Warner Robins Metropolitan Statistical Area Fort Valley Micropolitan Statistical Area

State of Georgia
Atlanta (capital)
Topics	Index Geology History Congressional delegations Government Law People Music Elections Geography State Parks Symbols Transportation Visitor Attractions
Society	Culture Crime Demographics Economy Education Politics Sports
Regions	Atlantic coastal plain Blue Ridge Central Georgia Cumberland Plateau Golden Isles Historic South Lower Coastal Plain Metro Atlanta North Georgia North Georgia Mountains Northeast Georgia Piedmont Ridge and Valley Sea Islands Southern Rivers Southeast Georgia Southwest Georgia Tennessee Valley Wiregrass Region
Largest cities	Albany Atlanta Athens Augusta Columbus Johns Creek Macon Marietta Roswell Sandy Springs Savannah Valdosta Warner Robins
Counties	Appling Atkinson Bacon Baker Baldwin Banks Barrow Bartow Ben Hill Berrien Bibb Bleckley Brantley Brooks Bryan Bulloch Burke Butts Calhoun Camden Candler Carroll Catoosa Charlton Chatham Chattahoochee Chattooga Cherokee Clarke Clay Clayton Clinch Cobb Coffee Colquitt Columbia Cook Coweta Crawford Crisp Dade Dawson Decatur DeKalb Dodge Dooly Dougherty Douglas Early Echols Effingham Elbert Emanuel Evans Fannin Fayette Floyd Forsyth Franklin Fulton Gilmer Glascock Glynn Gordon Grady Greene Gwinnett Habersham Hall Hancock Haralson Harris Hart Heard Henry Houston Irwin Jackson Jasper Jeff Davis Jefferson Jenkins Johnson Jones Lamar Lanier Laurens Lee Liberty Lincoln Long Lowndes Lumpkin Macon Madison Marion McDuffie McIntosh Meriwether Miller Mitchell Monroe Montgomery Morgan Murray Muscogee Newton Oconee Oglethorpe Paulding Peach Pickens Pierce Pike Polk Pulaski Putnam Quitman Rabun Randolph Richmond Rockdale Schley Screven Seminole Spalding Stephens Stewart Sumter Talbot Taliaferro Tattnall Taylor Telfair Terrell Thomas Tift Toombs Towns Treutlen Troup Turner Twiggs Union Upson Walker Walton Ware Warren Washington Wayne Webster Wheeler White Whitfield Wilcox Wilkes Wilkinson Worth (Campbell) (Milton)

Coordinates: 32°48′N 83°42′W / 32.80°N 83.70°W / 32.80; -83.70