DID YOU KNOW?
Creek Indians held the
land until 1821, when they
surrendered it in the treaty
resulting from their defeat
at the Battle of Horseshoe
Bend in 1814.
MONROE COUNTY
Monroe County was established in 1821
and named after James Monroe, the
fifth president of the United States. It
was once much larger than it is now but
parts of the original county were pared
off to create Pike, Upson, Bibb, Butts
and Spalding counties.
Bisected by Interstate 75, Monroe
is only an hour to Atlanta and 20
minutes to the shopping centers and
entertainment venues in Macon.
Forsyth, the county seat, might be a
small city but it's not a sleepy one. It's
undergoing a cultural renaissance, and
the charming historic downtown square
has become a center of dining and
entertainment.
Forsyth's square turns positively
stunning each spring as the bright
yellow blossoms of the forsythia burst
into bloom. The town celebrates with
the Forsythia Festival during the second
weekend of March.
The Georgia Department of Corrections
headquarters is located on the former
campus of historic Tift College.
That joins another major state law
enforcement facility in Forsyth, the
Georgia Public Safety Training Center.
Georgia Power operates Plant Scherer
in Juliette, the fifth largest electric
generating plant in the United States.
POPULATION: 26,984 (source:
quickfacts.census.gov, 2013 estimate)
MEDIAN HOUSE VALUE: $150,700
(source: quickfacts.census.gov, 2008-
2012)
Peach blossoms
72 l MACON MAGAZINE JUNE/JULY 2014
