Signs from the League of Creative Interventionists at a cemetery in Macon. Credit: Molly McWilliams Wilkins.

History is around each corner in Macon, Ga., some of it well known, some of it hidden by the depths of time. But the Macon League of Creative Interventionists, a local affiliate of a global group that connects communities with art, sought to uncover some of that history last month.

In fact history was the international theme for the league in July, and members of the Macon chapter posted signs around the community to identify historic gems.

“Our goal with the history of intervention was to shed some light on places or events that hadn’t gotten a lot of attention, or were just really interesting pieces of local history that not everyone knew about Macon,” said Mark Vanderhoek, chapter leader.  “It was fun to learn about the different pieces league members knew about.”

Walking through some parts of Macon, you might find yourself faced with obvious historical sites, such as the Hay House or the Cannonball House. However, many times it is the undiscovered parts of history that are the most interesting.

“Macon is a town that talks about its history a lot since it’s pretty star-studded. But often because of that, some of the best stories get left out or overlooked. It was great to be able to bring some of Macon’s lesser-known stories to light. I hope we can continue to add more in the future,” said J.R. Olive, program coordinator for the College Hill Alliance and a member of the Creative Interventionists.

Many times the history of a community can be found in its cemeteries, and that’s true in Macon where two historic cemeteries attract much attention. Rose Hill Cemetery was built by Simri Rose in 1840. Riverside Cemetery boasts a walking tour each October called “Spirits in October” and was originally designed by one of the landscape architects behind Central Park in New York: Calvert Vaux. But there is one cemetery that predates them all, and the League of Creative Interventionists used their posters to draw attention to it.

The Old City Cemetery was the first to serve the city of Macon, from 1825 until 1840.  The city maintains the cemetery, where just a few marked graves remain.  The cemetery is off the beaten path, beyond where most might drive by it, unlike its successors Rose Hill and Riverside. The League of Creative Interventionists placed one of their posters at this site, as well as others around town.

A poster placed in front of the Old School Music Headquarters on Second Street tells the story of legends such as James Brown and Billie Young stopping by Lafayette Haynes’ store, originally opened as Lafayette Records on Cotton Avenue. Another poster speaks of a high-speed wreck when a brand-new motorized fire truck was called to the scene of a fire. The truck could reach speeds of 60 miles per hour, and the truck is believed to have blown a tire when clipping an iron storm drain. Three firemen died in the accident, and as a result the city of Macon would require the truck’s gears to be adjusted so that it could not travel more than 30 miles per hour.

“Last month’s history theme gave us an opportunity to share some of Macon’s really interesting stories,” said Rachel Hollar, a member of the Macon chapter of the league. “No one can deny we have a rich history but we wanted to tell the stories of a few forgotten sites including… I think Macon is a cool city and I hope passersby feel the same way I do after stumbling upon the posters.”

Molly McWilliams Wilkins is a Macon, Ga.,-based freelance writer. You can follow her on Twitter: @MakeItWorkMolly.