Payne City
A Town Within A City

History

Near the end of the nineteenth century, William Sims Payne had the Payne Cotton Mill built in the northwest section of Bibb County, Georgia off Vineville Avenue.  A few houses were constructed for employees adjacent to the cotton mill.  In 1919, this community became incorporated as the town of Payne City, Georgia. 

The city covered the property owned by the Bibb Manufacturing Company which was 14 3/8 acres.  The Bibb Company had purchased the mill in 1905.  Since the 1960s, people of Payne City have owned their own homes.  Prior to then, everything was owned by the Bibb Manufacturing Company. 

The company provided its employees with houses, social facilities and events, athletic facilities including a swimming pool, an outdoor skating area, ball fields and playgrounds with equipment.  Men's and Women's Clubs were organized, Girl Reserves and Boy Scouts units were active for the young people and fully supported by the company. 

Employees and their families received free medical care from a doctor and nurse hired to provide full-time service.  In the thirties and forties, the population of Payne City was approximately 300, and today there are about 180 residents.  The size of the town has always been like one big family, and once a year former and present residents get together for a reunion that brings friends and family back to Payne City from all over the country. 

The early days of Payne City found it to be a town in Bibb County, and now with the growth of Macon, it has become known as the intercity, because it is completely encircled by the city of Macon, Georgia.