On April 17 of this year, the Bibb County Juvenile Court celebrated the one hundred year history of the Juvenile Court system in the United States. The present judges, Hon. Quintress Gilbert and Hon. Thomas Matthews, sponsored a special program held in the County Commissioners' Office.
The Bibb County Juvenile Court began in 1917. The first judge of this court was Bridges Smith. Appointed on December 1, 1917, he served until his death in 1930. Judge Smith had been Mayor of Macon, City Editor of The Macon Telegraph, an author, and a printer. He was not, however, a lawyer, nor had he ever studied law in so far as the record shows. His successor, Hugh W. Evans, 1930-31 was a member of the bar, as have been all subsequent judges of the court.
Peter O. Holliday, 1931 - 1946, was followed by Benning M. Grice 1946 - 1959, who resigned to run successfully for the Supreme Court. Durward B. Mercer served as judge from 1960 to 1965.
R. Habenicht Casson was appointed judge in 1965 and served until his death in 1968. At this time, the Juvenile Court handled delinquency, deprived and all custody cases. The court also administered the county orphanage. Because of the increasing case load, Judge Casson appointed Frank M. McKenney as referee - later associate judge - in 1968. He served until 1997.
Upon the death of Judge Casson, Alton Gladin served as pro tem judge for three months. Othniel W. McGehee was appointed judge in 1969, and served until 1997. At that time, the two present incumbents were appointed.
The first case in the Bibb County Juvenile Court was a referral from Recorder's court, December 6, 1917, of an eleven year old boy accused of loitering. The disposition is unknown. Several other boys were soon sent to court charged with riding their bicycles without the required handlebar bells. Such was the naivete of the times. These cases were reported in the newspapers, often with the names of the culprits.
Frank M. McKenney