Waddell Barnes Botanical Gardens
When construction of what originally was known as Macon Junior College began in 1967, the 167-acre campus became home to more than 1,600 trees, 2,500 shrubs and 12,000 ground cover plants. Landscape architect Clay Adamson, who retired as plant operations director from the Medical College of Georgia, made the original plant selection. Joseph White Jr., the director of Plant Operations when Macon Junior College opened, supervised the careful planting of the large order, most of which came from a nursery in Dalton, Ga.
Viewing the development 30 years later, Dr. Barnes was inspired by the potential he saw for an expanded horticultural display and approached then-MSC president Dr. Aaron Hyatt on developing the campus into a showcase for native plants and other specimens that have adapted to the region.
The botanical gardens will serve as a living memorial to Dr. Waddell Barnes, who died in October 2014 at the age of 89. Dr. Barnes, who earned a degree in medicine at Harvard University Medical School, practiced general internal medicine and medical oncology in Bibb County for 26 years. He became president of what was then the Macon State College Foundation in 1998, and his association with the college included serving as a health education advisor.
