History
The banks of the river were inhabited by people of the Mississippian culture between the 10th and 12th centuries. The river passes the remnants of several prehistoric Native American villages at Ocmulgee National Monument in Macon. For this reason the Ocmulgee site is also referred to as the "Macon Plateau". It was established around 950 CE by a population that most likely migrated from the Tennessee River Valley, based on pottery evidence. The inhabitants established a chiefdom, which was common for the Mississippian area. The site has eight, distantly spaced, large platform mounds and an earth lodge. Within the lodge, forty-seven seats were formed in a bench around the perimeter of the room. Across from this was a three-seated bench in the shape of an eagle effigy; it likely was used by the chiefdom leaders. About 1150 CE, the people abandoned the site.
In 1540 the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto traversed the region and baptized Native American converts in the river. His expedition had conflicts with some of the natives, drew from their resources, and exposed many to new infectious diseases. These produced epidemics and high fatalities, as the Native Americans had no immunity to the diseases.
In the 18th century, the Hitchiti, later part of the Creek Indian confederation, lived near present-day Macon in Ocmulgee Fields. The name of the river probably comes from a Hitchiti words oki, "water", plus molki, "bubbling" or "boiling".
In 1806, the U.S. acquired the area between the Oconee and Ocmulgee rivers from the Creek Indians by the First Treaty of Washington. That same year United States Army established Fort Benjamin Hawkins overlooking the Ocmulgee Fields. In 1819 the Creek Indians held their last meeting at Ocmulgee Fields.
In the same year, the McCall brother established a barge-building operation at Macon. The first steamboat arrived on the river in 1829. During the 19th century, the river provided the principal water navigation route for Macon, allowing the development of the cotton industry in the surrounding region. In 1842 the river was connected by railroad to Savannah. The river froze from bank to bank in 1886. In 1994 devastating floods on the river after heavy rains caused widespread damage around Macon.
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