Macon is one of the largest cities in Georgia. A pleasant place with fine historic buildings and museums, it is home to 114,336 people, with more than 322,549 in the metropolitan area. A trade and manufacturing center, it is on the Ocmulgee River at the southern end of the Appalachian Trail. Macon is known as “the Heart of Georgia” because it sits in the middle of the state, 78 miles southeast of Atlanta by I-75.

The Cherry Blossom Festival, in March, is a tribute to the more than 100,000 Japanese cherry trees that adorn the city.

Thomas Jefferson established Fort Hawkins at the future townsite in 1806 on land then occupied by the Creek tribe. The city was chartered in 1823. Macon became a major railroad, river transport, and cotton center. It served as a supply depot and gold depository during the Civil War. Sherman’s Union forces fired on the city in 1864 but moved on when fire was returned. The town’s surrender in 1865 saved it from destruction.

Downtown Macon was revamped in the 1980s and the city has six historic districts that feature antebellum buildings in a diversity of styles. Further information is available from the visitor center, which offers customized tours of the city.

Historic buildings include the outstanding mansion known as Hay House (1855-59), which features a three-story cupola and trompe l’oeil effects. It was built by William Johnston, a treasurer of the Confederacy. Another is the cottage where poet Sidney Lanier was born in 1842. It has Lanier memorabilia.

The Old Cannonball House (1853) gained its name from a Union cannonball which hit the house in 1864 and rolled into the hallway; it is still on display today.

The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame is on Cherry Street, and nearby is the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. The latter features thematic interactive displays relating to the state’s musical progeny, including Ray Charles, James Brown, Joe Williams, the B-52s, REM, and two of Macon’s most famous African-American sons — Otis Redding and Little Richard. Two former members of the Allman Brothers Band (Duane Allman and Berry Oakley), who also hail from Macon, are buried in Rose Hill Cemetery. Both were killed in Macon, in motorcycle accidents.

Children enjoy the fine Museum of Arts and Sciences while the excellent Tubman African-American Museum has a diverse collection of material.

Seventeen miles north of Macon is the Jarrell Plantation, near Dames Ferry. Twenty original structures remain, including the first dwelling, built in 1847.

Twelve miles north of Macon is Clinton where, in April, local Civil War battles are fiercely reenacted. Twelve miles north of Clinton is Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge.

Due north of Macon is Eatonton, the home, until 1864, of Joel Chandler Harris, who popularized the folk tales of Brer Rabbit. A statue of the trickster sits on the courthouse lawn and a replica of Uncle Remus’s cabin holds Harris memorabilia. Five miles north of town is the Rock Eagle Center, a 6,000-year-old mound of opalescent quartz in the shape of a large bird. It is 102 feet long, 120 feet wide and 10 feet high. It is believed to have been used by Native Americans for religious rituals.

Macon is at the intersection of two major highways, I-75 and I-16. It is serviced by bus, and the Spring Street bus station is allegedly where Little Richard wrote “Tutti Frutti” while washing dishes. Macon also has its own airport.