Macon, Missouri

Macon is a city in Macon County, Missouri, United States. The population was 5,500 at the 2012 census. It is the county seat of Macon County.

Geography
Macon is located at 39.74056°N, -92.47056°W (39.740596, -92.470639). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.30 sqmi, of which 6.00 sqmi is land and 0.30 sqmi is water.

2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 5,471 people, 2,369 households, and 1,357 families residing in the city. The population density was 911.8 PD/sqmi. There were 2,727 housing units at an average density of 454.5 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 90.8% White, 5.6% African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 2.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.3% of the population.

There were 2,369 households of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.0% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 42.7% were non-families. 38.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.90.

The median age in the city was 42.7 years. 23.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.7% were from 25 to 44; 25.1% were from 45 to 64; and 22.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 46.7% male and 53.3% female.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 5,538 people, 2,434 households, and 1,448 families residing in the city. The population density was 903.9 people per square mile (348.8/km²). There were 2,723 housing units at an average density of 444.4/sq mi (171.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.78% White, 5.36% African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.42% from other races, and 0.98% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.88% of the population.

There were 2,434 households out of which 27.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.1% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.5% were non-families. 37.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.82.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.7% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 23.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 85.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,738, and the median income for a family was $36,633. Males had a median income of $30,069 versus $18,217 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,679. About 8.6% of families and 12.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.4% of those under age 18 and 16.8% of those age 65 or over.

Media

 * Macon city and county are served by a daily newspaper, the Macon Chronicle-Herald and a weekly newspaper, the Home Press.
 * Radio station KLTI (AM) is licensed to Macon. Other radio signals from cities in the region like Brookfield, Kirksville, and Moberly are easily received in Macon as well.

History
Macon County pioneers began arriving in the early 1820s, coming mostly from Kentucky, North Carolina and Tennessee. They followed an ancient Indian trade route, called the Great Trail. The trail followed the great divide between the Missouri and Mississippi watershed and ran through the site of what was to become Macon County's first county seat, Bloomington, in 1837.

Macon was laid out in 1856. Like the county, Macon was named for Nathaniel Macon.

Rapid growth in the area resulted from the development of two railroad lines, the Northwest Railroad and the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad, which intersected in Macon. By June 1861, over 7,000 Union troops populated the City of Macon. The decision to move the county seat to Macon in 1863 was both political and of economic necessity.

In the mid-1890s, Frederick W. V. Blees, the headmaster of Macon's St. James Academy, an Episcopalian military school for boys, inherited a large sum, and decided to use his windfall to benefit Macon. Blees was responsible for the construction of several of the town's commercial buildings and the town's first sewage system; founded the local horseless carriage factory, the first theater, and the First National Bank of Macon, and he financed the paving of the town's streets on a 50-50 basis with the city. In 1899, he took on the project that he hoped would be his legacy - the construction of the Blees Military Academy. However, Blees died in 1906, the Academy went bankrupt soon thereafter, and the buildings stood vacant until 1915. In that year, Charles E. Still and Harry M. Still, sons of A. T. Still, the founder of the profession of osteopathic medicine, along with Dr. Arthur G. Hildreth, established the Still-Hildreth Sanatorium, which was devoted to the treatment and care of all types of nervous and mental disorders. Today, the surviving Romanesque Revival buildings of Blees Academy are on the National Register of Historic Places and serve as low income housing in Macon.

Macon is one of Missouri's richest coal bearing counties. The town was laid out on rolling upland prairie, between the Middle Fork of the Salt and the East Fork of the Chariton rivers, 1856. Hudson, named for a railroad official, was laid out just west, 1857, and both towns joined as Macon City, 1859. The Hannibal and St. Joseph (Burlington) reached here, 1858, and the North Missouri (Wabash), 1859.

A railroad center, Macon was a Union troop concentration point in the Civil War, and it replaced pro-Southern Bloomington as seat of Macon County, 1863. Here 11 military parole violators were executed by order of Union General Lewis Merrill, Sept. 26, 1862. Macon County, through which passes the Great Divide between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, abounds in bituminous coal deposits. A prime coal producer, the county was first in the state, 1891-1913. Coal was first discovered at nearby Bevier, laid out, 1858, named for Col. Robert S. Bevier.

Macon lies in the Glacial Plains Region of Missouri, territory claimed by Sac, Fox, and Iowa Indians until 1824. Pre-historic Indian mounds are found in the area and the Great Indian Trail is believed to have crossed the county near Macon. A pioneer trail, the Bee Trace ran north from here. First settlers, from the South, came in late 1820s, and soon many states and countries were represented. In the late 1860s, Welsh settled nearby New Cambria. Many Welsh and later Italians came to mine the coal. Early schools established in Macon were Johnson College (Methodist), 1866; St. James Academy and St. Agnes Hall (Episcopal), 1875 and 1884; outstanding Blees Military Academy, 1899; and south at College Mound, noted McGee (Presbyterian) College, 1853. Blees Academy was sold,in 1914,to become Still-Hildreth Osteopathic Sanatorium. It is now known as Lakeview Towers and provides low income housing to residents of Macon, with aid from the Missouri Housing Authority. Macon owes much of its development to Col. F.W.V. Blees(1860–1906), Prussian-born educator, businessman, and philanthropist; and to Theodore Gary (1854–1952), utilities magnate, first chairman Mo. State Highway Commission, and town benefactor. President Barack Obama visited the POET LLC renewable energy plant in Macon on April 28, 2010 to promote his renewable energy policies. The plant which started operations in 2003 employs 45 people and produces 46 million gallons of ethanol a year from 16 million bushels of corn purchased from area farmers. It was the first biofuel refining plant in Missouri and claims to be the largest company by revenue in Northeast Missouri.

Notable residents

 * Frederick W. V. Blees, chief benefactor of Macon, founder of Blees Military Academy, (1860–1906).
 * Frank P. Briggs, former United States Senator and Assistant U.S. Secretary of the Interior.
 * Henderson Forsythe, (1916–2006), American Actor
 * James P. Kem, United States Senator from Missouri, 1947-1953.
 * Milton A. Romjue, long-time US Congressman for Missouri's 1st district.