Macon

History

Macon was platted in 1856. Like the county itself, Macon was named for Nathaniel Macon. A post office called "Macon City" was established in 1856, and the name was changed to Macon in 1892. The Western Baptist Bible College opened its two-story Macon campus in January 1892, having previously been established in Independence, Missouri. The college considers itself to be the "oldest African American school west of the Mississippi River". It continued operations in Macon until it was finally relocated to its present-day campus at the Ridge Estate in Kansas City, in September 1920. In May 1898, there was a string of break-ins in the area of Macon. The break-ins included the theft of food and items, as well as assaults on women. During this break-in, there were references to previous assaults, an attempted assault, and a theft of two sacks of flour.

Geography

Macon is in southeastern Macon County. Two US highways cross in the city. U.S. Route 36, passing through the northern side of the city, leads east to Hannibal and west to Brookfield, while U.S. Route 63 passes through the city as Missouri Street, leading north to Kirksville and south to Moberly. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city of Macon has a total area of , of which are land and , or 4.78%, are water. }}

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  735
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  678
• Ring-billed Gull

  Larus delawarensis Ord, 1815 · Aves
  606
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  477
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  464
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  457
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  450
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  366

Largest nearby schools

• MACON ELEMENTARY
  Elementary · MACON · 486 students · 11.6:1 ratio
• MACON SENIOR HIGH
  High · MACON · 438 students · 16.2:1 ratio
• MACON MIDDLE SCHOOL
  Middle · MACON · 286 students · 11.4:1 ratio
• BEVIER ELEM.
  Elementary · BEVIER · 141 students · 10.8:1 ratio
• BEVIER HIGH
  High · BEVIER · 73 students · 10.4:1 ratio
• CALLAO ELEM.
  Elementary · CALLAO · 39 students · 19.5:1 ratio
• FAMILY LITERACY CENTER
  Other · MACON
• MACON AREA CTE CENTER
  High · MACON

Most recent

• M 2.53 — 2025-07-15
  3 km W of Hale, Missouri
• M 2.59 — 2022-12-05
  4 km SW of Madison, Missouri
• M 2.9 — 2004-02-08
  6 km SSW of Stoutsville, Missouri