The Beginning: Two Men, Two Companies, One Vision
The story begins in January 1939, when two Macon businessmen decided to merge their small, independent ventures into something greater. William Arthur Fickling, Sr. and B. Sanders Walker IV each brought distinct strengths to the partnership that would become Fickling & Walker, Inc.
William Fickling was born in March 1903 in Taylor County, Georgia, the son of a dentist. After attending Emory University for two years, he taught mathematics at Reynolds High School before making his way to Macon. He started Fickling Realty Co. in 1937, gaining his earliest real estate experience as a rent collector in some of Macon's poorest neighborhoods. The conditions he witnessed in those predominantly Black communities would leave a lasting impression, quietly shaping his future support for civil rights causes.
B. Sanders Walker IV was born on May 7, 1909, also in Macon. A graduate of the University of Georgia and Babson's School of Business in Boston, Walker brought a different set of skills to the partnership, including expertise in insurance and mortgage banking. During World War II, he served as a Navy officer in the Philippines before returning to build the business alongside Fickling.
Their 1939 merger created Fickling & Walker, a company that would quickly expand beyond simple real estate sales into mortgage banking, development, residential rentals, commercial leasing, property management, and insurance. The foundation they laid would prove remarkably durable, surviving economic downturns, market shifts, and generational transitions for more than 85 years.
Building a Company, Building a City
Throughout the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, Fickling & Walker became synonymous with growth in Middle Georgia. The company distinguished itself as an innovator, willing to take on ambitious projects that would reshape the region's commercial and residential landscape.
In 1961, the company made history by developing Westgate Mall, Georgia's first fully enclosed shopping center and the first air-conditioned mall in the South. Opening just a year after Birmingham's Eastwood Mall, Westgate represented a new era of retail convenience. While it lacked the department store anchors that would later define American malls, Westgate's climate-controlled environment and concentrated shopping experience attracted consumers who had previously made the drive to Atlanta for major purchases.
Eight years later, the company completed its most iconic project: the Fickling Building at 577 Mulberry Street in downtown Macon. The 15-story, 165,000-square-foot office tower was designed by FABRAP Architects and completed in 1969. Rising to approximately 211 feet with its architectural features, it remains the tallest building in Middle Georgia more than half a century later.
Beyond these signature developments, Fickling & Company developed more than 100 subdivisions and apartment communities throughout Middle Georgia. The company's heritage includes high-rise office buildings, industrial facilities, regional malls, luxury apartments, and mixed-use communities across the Southeast. Today, the firm manages and leases over 1.75 million square feet of retail space, more than 3,000 apartment units, and several million square feet of office and industrial space for over 300 separate property owners.
The Cherry Blossom Capital of the World
By the time of his death in 1990, William Fickling Sr. had donated more than 600,000 cherry blossom trees and cuttings to the community. Today, more than 350,000 Yoshino cherry trees bloom each spring in Macon, and the city is recognized by Congressional Records as the Cherry Blossom Capital of the World.
A Serendipitous Discovery: The Cherry Blossom Legacy
While William Fickling Sr. built his business acumen developing properties, an accidental discovery in his own backyard would transform Macon's identity forever. In 1949, Fickling built his dream home on Ingleside Avenue. When he hired a landscaping company to plant dogwood trees in the front yard, something unexpected happened. The following spring, the trees bloomed not in the stark white of dogwoods but in a profusion of small, delicate pink blossoms.
Fickling didn't know what kind of tree had appeared in his yard. No one in Macon could identify it. The mystery persisted until 1952, when Fickling traveled to Washington, D.C. on business. There, around the Tidal Basin, he spotted trees identical to the one in his backyard. They were Yoshino cherry trees, the same species Japan had gifted to the nation's capital in 1912.
"We call it an act of God."
- William Fickling III, Great-grandson of the founder
A skilled horticulturist and camellia gardener, Fickling Sr. learned to propagate the Yoshinos. What began as sharing cuttings with friends and neighbors grew into a lifelong mission. When Carolyn Crayton of the Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful Commission asked him for 1,000 trees a year for ten years, Fickling gave her 10,000 trees instead. Crayton organized mass plantings, beginning with the Wesleyan Woods neighborhood in November 1973.
The partnership between Fickling's generosity and Crayton's organizational energy culminated in 1982 with the founding of the International Cherry Blossom Festival. Fittingly, the first festival was held on March 23rd, which happens to be both Fickling's birthday and the average peak bloom date for the cherry trees. The festival was built around themes of "love, beauty, and international friendship."
The Cherry Blossom Festival has grown from a three-day celebration with 30 events into a month-long extravaganza featuring hundreds of events, ranking among the Top 20 Events in the South and Top 50 Events in the United States.
Three Generations of Leadership
When William Fickling Sr. passed away, he left behind his wife Claudia Foster Fickling, a son William A. Fickling Jr., a daughter Virginia Monfort, and seven grandchildren. The company he co-founded had already established itself as Middle Georgia's premier real estate firm.
William A. Fickling Jr. took the helm, guiding the company through the prosperous years of the 1980s and into the 1990s. Under his leadership, Fickling & Company continued to expand its residential and commercial services throughout the region.
In 1994, a new chapter began when Roy H. Fickling, grandson of the founder, purchased Fickling and Walker. At this point, the company name evolved to become simply Fickling & Company, though the founding principles remained intact.
"We feel like the company has had a big hand and a big role in the shaping of the community, and we're proud to still be a part of that community."
- Roy Fickling, during the company's 80th anniversary celebration in 2019
The company's commitment to its employees has been a cornerstone of its success. Wanda Morman, who started working at Fickling & Company in 1970, has spoken of the honor she felt when Roy asked her to continue with the firm after he purchased it. Guy Gunn, who has been with the company for more than 43 years, credits its success to the commitment shown to employees, particularly during challenging times like the 2008 recession.
That dedication to developing talent has had ripple effects throughout Middle Georgia. More than half of the real estate companies that have operated in Macon for 15 years or more were spawned from Fickling & Walker and Fickling & Company, as former employees branched out to start their own successful ventures.
Continuing the Cherry Blossom Legacy
Four generations of the Fickling family have now carried on the cherry blossom tradition. William Fickling III serves as current steward of the Fickling Farm, where cherry trees continue to be cultivated. His great-grandfather's meticulous records of bloom times are still used today to help schedule the Cherry Blossom Festival five years in advance.
The Fickling Family Foundation, established in 1995, continues to donate thousands of cherry trees to Macon-Bibb residents each year. Landscape architect Laurie Fickling, another great-grandchild of the founder, has designed a new Cherry Blossom Trail for downtown Macon, funded by the family foundation. In January 2025, the foundation provided a $10,000 grant to Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful to revitalize the existing trail and introduce new varieties of cherry trees.
The family's ongoing work includes collaboration with the National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. to research hybrid varieties that can better tolerate Macon's warming climate. Trees like the Helen Taft, named for the First Lady who received Japan's original gift of cherry trees, show greater resistance to the heat and disease that have shortened the lifespan of traditional Yoshinos in Georgia's climate.
Today and Tomorrow
Fickling & Company today operates as one of the few real estate firms in the region accredited by the Institute of Real Estate Management of the National Association of Realtors. The company maintains offices in Macon, Warner Robins, Milledgeville, Stockbridge, and St. George Island, Florida, serving Central Georgia and the Florida Gulf Coast.
The firm continues to provide the full range of services its founders envisioned: residential sales and rentals, commercial sales and leasing, property management, development, and investment services. Roy Fickling serves as President and CEO, maintaining the family's direct involvement in company leadership.
As Macon undergoes new phases of development, including the construction of a major amphitheater at the Macon Mall site and continued revitalization of the downtown core, Fickling & Company remains positioned at the center of the region's growth. The company that helped build Middle Georgia's skyline continues to adapt to new opportunities while honoring the legacy of innovation and community service established in 1939.
A Lasting Legacy
A historical marker in Third Street Park honors William Arthur Fickling, Sr. as the "Father of Cherry Blossoms." It notes his roles with Wesleyan College, the Macon Chamber of Commerce, the Bibb County Commission (which he chaired from 1953 to 1957), charitable organizations, and Mulberry Street United Methodist Church. The marker concludes that he was "known for his honesty, fearlessness, and dedication to public service" and is "widely recognized as one of Macon's most influential and outstanding citizens."
But perhaps the most fitting legacy is visible each March, when more than 350,000 cherry trees transform Macon into what visitors describe as a "pink, cotton-spun paradise." What started with a single mistaken tree in a realtor's front yard has become an international celebration drawing visitors from around the world.
The story of Fickling & Company is ultimately a story about how one company, one family, and one vision can shape a community for generations. From the first air-conditioned mall in the South to the tallest building in Middle Georgia, from more than 100 subdivisions to more than 350,000 cherry trees, the Fickling legacy is written across the landscape of Central Georgia.
As the company approaches its ninth decade, it continues to be guided by the principles its founders established: professional service, community commitment, and a willingness to invest in the places and people that make Middle Georgia home. The partnership that began between William Fickling and Sanders Walker in 1939 has grown into something neither man could have imagined-a regional institution whose influence can be seen in every neighborhood, every spring bloom, and every floor of the tower that bears the family name.
