The History of Our Neighborhood

North Highlands, one mile from Macon’s central business district, is recognized by the National Register of Historic Places because of its architecture, community planning and development. The area north of the city was originally one plantation, owned by Thomas Woolfolk, who in the 1830′s parceled and sold the land for farming and smaller plantations. The region then developed as a suburb in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Originally marketed as Melrose Heights, this beautiful hillside overlooking downtown and the Ocmulgee River became Macon's first planned suburban neighborhood. In September 1897, the original Spring Street Bridge was completed which provided access to the new neighborhood. By 1898, streets were laid out and gas, water and sewage lines were installed. The sale and construction of new homes followed shortly thereafter.

On June 28, 1903, after the Spring Street bridge had been reinforced, a new trolley opened that extended from downtown to North Highlands. This access to modern transportation spurred a resurgence in the neighborhood building boom. Many of Macon's earliest residents commuted daily to downtown via the new trolley line.

North Highlands possesses a wide variety of architectural styles from the older and larger Greek Revival, Queen Anne, Shingle Colonial Revival, English Vernacular Revival, Classic Revival, and Craftsman styles to the more economical one-story bungalows and ranch style homes. The earliest house in the district is the Greek Revival style Melrose-Barton House. Built in 1850, the original property was a pioneer settlement around Fort Hawkins with a frontier trading post where the house now stands. 

Whereas the North Highlands area began with an agricultural emphasis, for well over a hundred years it has continued to be a unique residential community.