This guide will help you make yourself at home in Monroe County, including information on setting up utilities, contacting your elected representatives, finding good places to eat and hunting down things to do in our area. Consider it our community’ s way of saying“ welcome home.”

Even if you’ ve lived here your whole life, this magazine

is also for you. It will give you a handy, one-stop guide where you can find important phone numbers and information about services and opportunities in the community.

Monroe County is the home of rolling pastureland, wideopen spaces, rambling rivers, rich history and two popular fishing lakes. We have top-notch schools, a friendly, hometown hospital and an excellent selection of doctors.

Our location is unbeatable. It’ s rural enough to enjoy a slower pace of life, but right on I-75 so that Atlanta and Macon are less than an hour away. It’ s just a 15-minute drive to major shopping districts in north Macon, and it’ s just a 45-minute drive to the Atlanta airport. As we like to say, we’ re in the Middle of Everywhere.

While Monroe County hasn’ t been immune from the recession, we are growing. Our

population is up more than 16 percent just since 2000. And with the state Department of Corrections moving its headquarters and 400 jobs to historic Tift College this fall, it’ s bound to continue growing.

AT-A-GLANCE

Forsyth-Monroe County

• Population Monroe County... 25,425 Forsyth........... 5,022 Culloden........... 227

( Source: U. S. Census Estimates, 2009)

Bolingbroke, High Falls, Juliette and Smarr are in unincorporated Monroe County.

Private developer IDI has turned a 253-acre tract on I-75 in Smarr into a ready-to-develop distribution park. The county is

investing millions of dollars to expand water lines. The city of Forsyth has begun a $ 1 million facelift to the downtown square, which will make it match our beautifully restored courthouse. Our schools, our churches and our businesses make it a special place to live. Nothing says small-town America like a Mary Persons football game on Friday night. But what really makes Monroe County are the people. The small-town values that shape our character are what make Monroe County a great place to be.

Welcome home!

Area Code........ 478

Location

Monroe County is located in central Georgia, approximately 50 miles south of Atlanta and 25 miles north of Macon. Surrounding counties include Bibb, Jones, Jasper, Lamar, Butts,