The Tubman Museum began as a dream of the Rev. Richard Keil,
pastor of St. Peter Claver Catholic Church who wished to educate
others about African American art, history, and culture. &nbsp;Rev. Keil started a corporation to raise money
to purchase property on which to build the museum. &nbsp;In 1985, the first museum opened on the corner
of Walnut Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. By 1994, the museum had
outgrown its 8,500 square foot facility and that building was demolished in
preparation for a new, larger facility. Construction did not begin until 2002
with plans to open in 2003. Unfortunately, due to major financial issues
construction was halted in 2005 and did not resume until 2013. The new location
is an impressive 49,000 square feet with two levels.1

The present day Tubman Museum. Current director Andy Ambrose is pictured walking in front of the building. Photo courtesy of Beau Cabell, The Telegraph (Macon, GA). 

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The Tubman African American Museum features many permanent and travelling exhibits which showcase African American art, history, and culture. Permanent collection highlights include a beautiful and educational mural, the Inventors Gallery, local history and Georgia artists exhibit, and folk art exhibit. The original Tubman Museum opened in 1982. Construction for a new facility was completed in 2015 and opened to the public May 16, 2015. 
Patrons will not want to miss the incredible mural which the museum refers to as its “signature piece”. This acrylic and oil mural measures an impressive 68 inches tall by 55 feet long and allows visitors to explore the lives of prominent past and present African Americans. The Inventors Gallery introduces patrons to innovative African Americans who are typically not recognized for their contributions. The local history and Georgia artists exhibit showcases some of the best works of local artists as well as artifacts pertaining to Macon and Georgia history. African American folk art is also featured in these exhibits. In addition to permanent collections, the Tubman Museum offers a variety of travelling exhibits that can be booked at venues throughout the country. The museum also hosts various public events that occur throughout the year. 


Tubman Museum

This walking tour begins at Sidney Lanier Cottage and winds its way down Macon's famed Mulberry Street before concluding at the Tubman Museum. Highlights of the tour include the Johnston-Felton-Hay House which is a National Historic Landmark, the Otis Redding Foundation and Museum, and the Cannonball House, a historic Macon home that earned this nickname after a Union cannon sent a projectile that "bounced" into the family parlor. We hope to add more entries to this tour with the help of local people and institutions who create individual entries in Clio. 

There are a few examples in history of artists, who with relatively short lives, make a significant impact. Sidney Lanier is one of those examples, and his work is still well-loved in the Southern states that were home to him.&nbsp;Born in 1842 in Macon, Georgia, as the son of a lawyer, Lanier's childhood at the cottage&nbsp;was dominated by a growing passion for music. He self-taught and studied many different instruments, including the&nbsp;violin, flute, guitar, banjo, and piano. At age 14, Lanier's family sent him to&nbsp;Oglethorpe College in&nbsp;Milledgeville, Georgia. After graduating with high marks at the age of 18, Lanier was offered a tutorship at the college. However, the outbreak of the Civil War changed his plans for him. In 1861, Lanier enlisted in the Confederate Army, serving alongside his brother. In 1864, Federal troops captured Lanier, and he spent five months as a prisoner of war, during which time he contracted "consumption" (tuberculosis). Following the war,&nbsp;Lanier used his experiences as a soldier to write&nbsp;Tiger Lilies, delving into the hardships and pain of war. The years 1874 through 1879 were Lanier's most prolific in his literary career. During this time, he also held the position of first flute in the Peabody Symphony Orchestra in Baltimore for seven seasons, and in 1879 he became an English lecturer at John Hopkins University. By 1880, when Lanier wrote his final poem, "Sunrise," he was already quite unwell. On September 7, 1881, Sidney Lanier died in Lynn, North Carolina.

The Sidney Lanier Cottage was constructed around 1840, but the home's real fame would come a short time later in the form of Sidney Lanier, who was born in the cottage in 1842. Today the house, while also on the National Register of Historic Places, holds the extra honors of a Landmark of American Music and a Landmark of American Poetry. These honors are a direct result of the young man that lived his first years of life in the house--the budding genius that would one day be known as both poet and musician. Though his life was cut short by a long struggle with tuberculosis (resulting from his five-month stay as prisoner of war in a federal prison as a young man), his works are still commemorated today.

Sidney Lanier Cottage

<h4>History of the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church</h4>
A Catholic congregation had been in the Macon area since the early 1840s, and even at that time, it had been their dream to establish a church. As such, in 1841, about 50 parishioners and their priest, Father James Graham, bought a Presbyterian church and started the first Catholic parish in Macon. The congregation grew over the years, and in 1865, Father James O’Neill found the church too small for the congregation. The parish then purchased another Presbyterian church on today’s Riverside Drive.
Due to requests from the Bishop of Savannah, an influx of Jesuits came to Macon from New Orleans to staff the St. Joseph’s Pio Nono College, and within a year after the Jesuits arrived, they were determined to build a more worthy church. The foundation for the new church was laid in 1889 and the plans included a modified Romanesque-neo-Gothic style.1&nbsp;At the time of its dedication, the church was revered&nbsp;for its beautiful, 200-feet-tall towers jutting into the sky, its 67 stained glass windows from Bavaria, the 1,000-pipe organ, and the stunning&nbsp;white Carrara marbled altar and pulpit. In fact, at the time of its dedication, the Macon Telegraph wrote&nbsp;on November 15, 1903, "If architecture may be fittingly described as frozen music, St. Joseph's Church, to be dedicated today, is a symphony."2

The St. Joseph's Catholic Church is one of the most beautiful buildings in downtown Macon. With its twin towers standing 200 feet tall and its stained glass windows, this church is an esteemed example of Neo-Gothic architecture.

One of the more spectacular features of this church is its 67 stained glass windows, each portraying the incidents in the lives of the Holy Family and the Saints. Moreover, the church’s organ, built by Pilcher’s and Sons of Louisville, Kentucky, contains over 1,000 pipes ranging in size from a standard thermometer to the thirty-two foot resultant in the pedal board. 

Work on the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church was begun on 1889 and it was dedicated in 1892. As a central element of the Macon community while reflecting the history of the Catholic parish in the area, the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. 

St. Joseph's Catholic Church

The 18,000-square-foot mansion spans four levels and is crowned by a three-story cupola. Commissioned by imaginative owners and constructed by the most skillful workers of the time, its technological amenities were unsurpassed in the mid-19th century: hot and cold running water, central heat, a speaker-tube system, in-house kitchen and an elaborate ventilation system. 
 
Only two families lived in Hay House over three generations. Most of the museum's furnishings date from the Hay family's occupancy (1926-1962). A few pieces are from the Johnston family (1860-1896), most notably the Eastlake-style dining room suite. The most important piece in the collection may be the 1857 marble statue, "Ruth Gleaning," by American expatriate sculptor Randolph Rogers. 
 
The Johnstons 
William Butler Johnston was no typical nineteenth-century Southerner. He obtained his substantial wealth through investments in banking, railroads and public utilities rather than from the agrarian cotton economy. In 1851, he married Anne Clark Tracy, 20 years his junior, and the two embarked on an extended honeymoon in Europe. During their trip, the Johnston's visited hundreds of museums, historic sites and art studios. They collected fine porcelains, sculptures and paintings as mementos of their Grand Tour. The Johnston's were inspired by the Italian architecture they observed and, upon their return to America, constructed a monumental Italian Renaissance Revival mansion in Macon. 
 
The Feltons 
Completed in 1859 and called the "Palace of the South," the residence was decorated and furnished in accordance with wealth and good taste. It became a beloved home for the Johnston's, their daughters and their extended family. After the death of Mrs. Johnston in 1896, daughter Mary Ellen and her husband William H. Felton lived in the house. They remodeled and redecorated parts of the house, updated the plumbing and added electricity. 
 
 
The Hays 
After the deaths of Judge and Ms. Felton in 1926, Felton heirs sold the house to Parks Lee Hay, founder of the Banker's Health &amp; Life Insurance Company. The Hays substantially redecorated the house to reflect the changing character of twentieth-century living, and the house at 934 Georgia Avenue continued to be recognized as a local landmark for gracious living during the Hay ownership. 
 
After Mrs. Hay's death in 1962, her heirs established the P.L. Hay Foundation and operated the house as a private house museum. In 1977, ownership of the house was formally transferred to the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation. The house has been operated by the Trust since that time and has been designated as a National Historic Landmark.

One of Georgia's most distinguished structures, the Johnston-Felton-Hay House in Macon was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1974. It was built from 1855 to 1859 in the Italian Renaissance Revival style, a marked contrast to the more restrained Greek Revival architecture of the antebellum period.


Hay House is designed in the Italian Renaissance Revival style, unusual for residential architecture, most particularly in the South in the 1850s. It is chiefly characterized by arches and curves, as opposed to the Greek Revival style which is composed mainly with straight lines. Notice that all the windows are round arches. Symmetry is also fundamental to this style. The central block of the house is flanked by two wings which are identical, at least from the exterior. The two-story octagonal cupola crowns the house and gives it a sense of vertical lift. The cupola serves as part of the ventilation system, acting as a chimney which helps to draw the hot air up and out of the house.


The house itself contains more than 16,000 square feet in 24 principal rooms. When constructed, it had hot and cold running water, three bathrooms, an intercom system, central heat, and an advanced ventilating system. Hay House is constantly undergoing research and restoration, while remaining open to the public, thereby showing visitors interesting and informative procedures.


Today, Hay House is open to visitors. Tours are held daily. Some of the plants in the landscaping of the home date back to the 19th century. Renovations continue to occur to keep Hay House up to date. Upcoming projects include a redesign of the gift shop, including new insulation, and writing specifications for mortar repairs outside of the building. Half of the money raised in the capital campaign was allocated for restoration of the exterior, cupola, and most public rooms of the house

Hay House

The name "Cannonball House" may have stuck, precisely because there was not a plethora of homes competing for the title. In fact, Judge Asa Holt's home (today known as the Cannonball House) was the only home in Macon, GA to suffer damage from the Civil War. That fact alone is remarkable, considering its centrality in George. It had been a key stop in nearly every form of transportation from its founding. Moreover, during the Civil War, the town was home to the Macon Arsenal and prison camp, which housed up to 1,500 Union officers. At one point, the Confederate Georgia's capitol was even moved to Macon, and it held the very last session of Confederate Georgia's Legislature in May, 1865. All of these facts make it significant (and surprising) that Macon survived the war without significant damage. Instead, all the damage in the entire town can be seen in a repaired columnn and the dents in the plaster of the antebellum Cannonball House. The damage came when&nbsp;Major General George Stoneman attempted to invade the city on July 30, 1864. Using the Dunlap Farm as a base, the Union army fired many cannons into the town, but only the one cannon that landed a Judge Asa Holt's house hit an actual structure. The rest caused no damage. The Union army lost the battle and left Macon. The Cannonball House provides an interesting glimpse into the antebellum history of Macon. Tours are 45 minutes long and explain the history from the time of building the house through the restoration period. Women's history can additionally be explored through a glimpse into the rooms of the first sororities.

If thoughts of the old Confederacy and the Civil War seem a distant thought in the mind of visitors to Macon, the Cannonball House, named after a Union cannon that once "bounced" into the family parlor, may startle the unsuspecting visitor. Built as a planter's townhouse in 1853, today the Greek Revival-style house is Civil War Museum, managed by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Interestingly, the house also contains the recreated "Founders' parlors" (or meeting rooms) of the world's first two sororities, the Adelphean (ΑΔΙΙ) and Philomathean (ΦΜ) societies. They were recreated from Wesleyan College, where the sororities first began in 1851 and 1852.

The Cannonball House

<h4>History of the Grand Opera House</h4>
The Grand Opera House was designed by famed architect W.R. Gunn, who also designed the Hawkinsville Opera House as well as over&nbsp;100 theaters throughout the United States. Gunn was famous for saying, “I am the only theatrical architect and practical builder in the U. S. of A. who will guarantee the line of sight and acoustics when the entire control of the auditorium and stage is under my supervision, and will forfeit $1,000 when my construction proves a failure in either case.”&nbsp;
Gunn designed the Grand Opera House in Macon, and by its completion in 1884, the theater was the largest in the southeast, capable of hosting 2,418 attendees and featuring a 58’ x 90’ stage. By 1902, the stockholders of the Academy of Music called for a renovation, and with the addition of a seven-story Grand Building, the theater re-opened as the Grand Opera House in 1905.&nbsp;
In those early years, the Grand Opera House was one of the leading theaters in the area, drawing major vaudeville, burlesque, and comedy and drama acts. One of the first major acts was the 1908 production of Ben-Hur, a production that used live horses and chariots as well as a treadmill on the stage. Other major events included Charlie Chaplin leading the Philip Sousa Band in 1918 to raise money for the war effort, a memorial service for President McKinley, and various shows with some of the leading performers of the time. Harry Houdini also performed at the Grand Opera House, leaving an important legacy behind (Houdini created several trap doors for his act, and some of these doors are still in use today).&nbsp;
From the mid-1930s to the 1960s, the Grand Opera House was a cinema, hosting one major movie premier in 1945. The last movie that the Grand Opera House displayed was the Sound of Music, in 1965. The theater fell into disuse and the building was scheduled for demolition so that it could become a parking lot. In 1967, supporters of the theater rallied and formed the Macon Arts Council. After raising funds to save, restore, and return operations to the Grand Opera House, the Macon Arts Council saved the theater and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places soon after.&nbsp;

As the centerpiece of the Macon GA performing arts and music scene, the Grand Opera House is a historical and architecturally significant building that has been in operation since its construction in 1884. Originally known as the Academy of Music, the Grand Opera House was once the largest stage in the entire southeast and seated upwards of 2,418 people (almost a fifth of the Macon population in the 1880s and 1890s). 

The Grand Opera House gained famed in its early years through its use of live horses and chariots in the 1908 production of Ben-Hur, as well as a WWI fundraising effort conducted by Charlie Chaplin and the John Philip Sousa band. By the late-1930s, interest for vaudeville at the Grand Opera House faded and the theater was turning into a cinema. 

Today, after a near-demolition that would have turned the Grand Opera House into a parking lot, and its subsequent addition to the National Register of Historic Places, the Grand Opera House still continues to host many Broadway touring companies, music acts, the Macon Symphony Orchestra, and community theatre productions, among other performances and events.

Grand Opera House

<h4>History of Otis Redding</h4>
Otis Redding was born in Dawson, Georgia, but moved to Macon when he was two years old. Otis was introduced to music in his childhood years, singing and playing music in the choir of the Vineville Baptist Church. He also competed in Douglass Theatre talent shows for the $5 prize. By 1962, Otis Redding began pushing out hit singles, which included “These Arms Of Mine,” “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long,” and “Try A Little Tenderness.” After recording his final hit single, the “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay,” in 1967, Otis Redding was tragically killed in an airplane crash.1 &nbsp;
<h4>The Otis Redding Foundation</h4>
Following Otis Redding’s death, his fame only continued to grow, but at home his wife, Zelma, carried on as the family matriarch and continued to raise their children to a successful adulthood in honor of her late husband. In 2007, Zelma established the Otis Redding Foundation in Macon to create educational awareness programs in the arts and humanities. This foundation follows Otis’s dream and philanthropic nature, and it aims to “provide opportunities for youth to improve their academic performance by helping them make choices in life that enrich rather than endanger.”
In addition to providing programs to motivate and empower young people to explore music, writing, and instrumentation, the Otis Redding Foundation hosts the Otis Music Camp every year in June in Macon. Furthermore, the Foundation also helps support young musicians with scholarships for music enhancement lessons and continuing education programs.2

The Otis Redding Foundation and its Otis Redding Mini-Museum celebrate the music and the life of Macon resident Otis Redding. This foundation and museum aim to “to empower, enrich, and motivate all young people through programs involving music, writing, and instrumentation.”

At the museum, visitors can explore several exhibits that provide insight into Redding’s songwriting, producing and singing talents, as well as discover memorabilia and other items reflecting a career that yielded 13 albums and 15 Top 10 Hits. In addition to the Otis Redding Mini-Museum, Otis Redding fans can also visit the Otis Redding Statue at Ocmulgee Heritage Trail Gateway Park.

Otis Redding Foundation and Otis Redding Mini-Museum

Major general James H. Wilson, commanded
three divisions of the Union cavalry, which included about 13,500 men.&nbsp; His main opponent was Confederate Lieutenant general Nathan B. Forrest.&nbsp; This series
of battles and raids was the biggest cavalry raid of the war.&nbsp; The raids were mostly in Alabama and
destroyed a large part of the state's natural resources.&nbsp; 

The battles took place during the twilight of the Civil War.&nbsp; Before the final battle of the campaign, general Robert E. Lee had already surrendered to general Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, on April 9, 1865. The campaign just validated the end of Confederate fighting, eliminating their ability to conduct war.&nbsp;

Wilson's Raid to Macon was a series of battles and skirmishes, conducted by Union Cavalry Corps, Military Division of the Mississippi [US] from March 22 to April 20, 1865.  The campaign included battles and skirmishes in the following cities: Houston, Black warrior River, Elyton, Columbiana, Shelby, Tannehill, Brierfield, The University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, Trion (now Vance), Plantersville, Selma, Marion, and Montgomery, Alabama.  From Montgomery the campaign continued into Georgia starting in West Point and continuing through Columbus, where a claim is made to be the "Last Battle of the Civil War".  Macon, Georgia was captured shortly afterward on April 20, 1865 without resistance, concluding the campaign.

Wilson's Raid to Macon

<h4>The Cherry Blossom Festival</h4>
The Macon International Cherry Blossom Festival is one of the biggest cherry blossom festivals in the United States, and over the course of ten days in Macon, visitors from all over come to Macon to see and experience the spectacular display as Macon turns into a pink, cotton-spun paradise with over 300,000 Yoshino cherry trees in bloom.&nbsp;
The festival was born in 1982 due to the Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful Commission, and the festival was developed around the idea of “love, beauty, and international friendship.”1 In addition to watching the cherry trees in full bloom, residents and guests can attend the Mulberry Street Festival, the International Food Fair, the Cherry Blossom Street Party, a Balloon Fest, an Air Show, and the acclaimed Cherry Blossom Festival Grand Finale. Today, Macon continues to see a growth in its Yoshino cherry trees, as the Fickling Family Foundation continues to donate to Macon and Bibb County residents every year.1
<h4>Historic Marker Inscription</h4>
In grateful memory of William Arthur Fickling, Sr. (1903 - 1990), a long time resident of Macon and Bibb County and leader in numerous civic, governmental, religious and charitable organizations and activities.&nbsp;
Mr. Fickling’s broad ranging interests included Wesleyan College, Macon Chamber of Commerce, Bibb County Commission, a number of charitable organizations and Mulberry Street United Methodist Church.&nbsp;
Recipient of numerous awards for his service and contributions, Mr. Fickling was the inspiration for the Cherry Blossom Festival. He gave more than 180,000 Yoshino Cherry Trees to be planted throughout Bibb County. A result of that gift was the Cherry Blossom Festival, which has annually brought thousands of visitors to Macon and is recognized as a premier tourist attraction. Known for his honesty, fearlessness, and dedication to public service Mr. Fickling is widely recognized as one of Macon’s most influential and outstanding citizens.2

William Arthur Fickling, Sr., was a real estate magnate credited with giving Macon its cherry trees and making the town the cherry tree capital of the USA. A lifelong resident of Macon, Fickling, Sr. gained his wealth and prominence with the 1937 merger of his fledging real estate company with B. Sanders Walker, Jr.'s insurance agency, which formed the Fickling & Walker Realty and Insurance. 

In 1949, with his newfound wealth, Fickling, Sr. built his dream home on Ingleside Avenue, and in the front yard was planted a mysterious tree, which, in the early spring bloomed in a profusion of small, white to light pink blossoms. It wasn’t until 1952, during a trip to Washington D.C., that Fickling discovered the type of tree that was in his front yard — a Japanese Yoshino Cherry Tree.

Eventually, Fickling began giving away cherry trees to his friends and neighbors. The City of Macon took over his philanthropy, and to this day, more than 300,000 cherry trees in Macon are credited to his generosity and love of community. Today, the annual International Cherry Blossom Festival celebrates what is now known as the "Cherry Blossom Capital of the World.”

William Arthur Fickling, Sr. - Father of Cherry Blossoms

<h4>History of the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame</h4>
The museum dates back to 1956 and it was originally known as the Georgia Prep Sports Hall of Fame. Even from its humble beginnings, the museum’s mission was to “promote and improve athletics in the state; to foster a high standard of ethics and sportsmanship; to encourage closer cooperation and better understanding among coaches, administrators, and the public; and to foster the professional development of coaches.”&nbsp;Originally, the museum only honored school administrators, coaches, and athletes at the high school level, but then in 1963, it changed its name to the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame and inducted collegiate and professional athletes as well.
The first three inductees included baseball player Ty Cobb, Georgia Institute of Technology football coach William Alexander, and golfer Bobby Jones. The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame then became an official state entity in 1978, and in 1994, Chairman Harley Bowers successfully organized an effort to move the museum to Macon. Groundbreaking began in Macon in 1997, and the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame opened its doors in 1999.
<h4>Exhibits</h4>
The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame is best-known for its vast collection of Georgia sports artifacts, interactive exhibits, and the Hall of Fame Corridor, which honors over 400 inductees. All sports are celebrated in this museum, from baseball and boxing to cycling and dancing. And throughout the year, the Hall of Fame hosts basketball clinics, dancing lessons, summer camps, and the Peach State Pigskin Preview, the annual college football event where collegiate coaches from across the state talk football exclusively with the media.1

The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame is the largest state sports hall of fame in America. With everything from over 3,000 artifacts in its collection to several interactive exhibits designed for both kids and adults, the Hall of Fame aims to “celebrate outstanding athletic accomplishments of Georgians and to inspire the youth of our state to excellence.” 

Inside of the 43,000-square-foot facility that resembles a turn-of-the-century ballpark, the museum invites visitors to explore through its 14,000 square feet of exhibition space, and to experience the history of sports in Georgia. The Hall of Fame Corridor celebrates over 400 inductees, and throughout the year, the museum hosts several education events, ranging from summer camps to sports clinics to ballroom dancing.

Walking Tour of Historic Macon Georgia

Tubman Museum

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information