Seeing and the Soul: Tours through History

The Macon-Bibb County Convention and Visitors Bureau offers two guided tours through Macon to expose citizens to the historic sites in the community.

One tour focuses on the musical history in Macon by visiting places such as the Allman Brothers Band Museum, the historic home of the iconic southern rock group. The second tour includes more historic sites dedicated to remembering Georgia’s history as a whole.

This second tour is called “The Soul Sights” tours, because its purpose is to remind or introduce people to the “soul” of Macon. Steven Fulbright, director of tourism at The Macon-Bibb County Convention and Visitors Bureau, believes these locations hold emotional significance.

“The Soul Sights Tour is a general tour of Macon in which we talk about Macon’s heritage, and current affairs and development. It’s a one hour tour designed to give a quick overview of our town that encourages our guests to visit our sites more in depth on their own,” he said.

According to the Macon newsletter, “Visit Macon,” The Macon-Bibb County Convention and Visitors Bureau focuses its “Soul Sights” tour on “architectural masterpieces [and] the places that inspired musical legends” The tour is available every Friday and Saturday at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

The cost of the tour is $8 for adults and $7 for children 12 and under. The Macon-Bibb County Convention and Visitors Bureau offers a Macon resident, military and senior discount.

Most of the historic Macon sights include museums such as the Tubman Museum, The Big House, the Museum of Arts and Sciences, the Hay House, the Cannonball House and the Woodruff House.

These sights provide historical information to those interested in art, history and culture.

“The best thing about the tour is that it highlights Macon’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, including ancient Native American history, early colonization, African-American history and world renowned music legacy,” Fulbright said.

The Tubman Museum, for example, shows patrons the importance of African-American culture and showcases how African-American culture impacted the Macon community and the lives of all Americans.

Other artistic traditions are available at other sites offered by this tour, such as the St. Joseph Catholic Church and the Grand Opera House. While the St. Joseph Catholic Church pertains to religious history, the Grand Opera House is dedicated to keeping live performance alive.

The St. Joseph Catholic Church is the first parish in Macon that was created in the 1800s. This site left a spiritual mark on Macon’s history and contributed architectural aesthetic to the surrounding area.

The Grand Opera House, on the other hand, plays classic movies, such as “Casablanca” and offers live entertainment. The live entertainment varies, but mostly includes plays and musicals.

Fulbright hopes that by going on the tour patrons will learn extensively about the community that they live in.

“I think that anyone that takes this tour will come away with a sense of pride about Macon and even more importantly I think that they will develop a curiosity to know more,” he said.