Newnan, Georgia

Newnan, Georgia
City
Seal
Motto: City of Homes
Location in Coweta County and the state of Georgia
Newnan Location of Newnan in Metro Atlanta
Coordinates: 33°22′35″N 84°47′19″W / 33.37639°N 84.78861°W / 33.37639; -84.78861Coordinates: 33°22′35″N 84°47′19″W / 33.37639°N 84.78861°W / 33.37639; -84.78861
Country	United States
State	Georgia
County	Coweta
Incorporated (city)	December 20, 1828
Area
• Total	18.1 sq mi (46.9 km2)
• Land	17.9 sq mi (46.4 km2)
• Water	0.2 sq mi (0.5 km2)
Elevation	971 ft (296 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	33,039
• Density	1,389.5/sq mi (577.8/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Area code(s)	770, 678
FIPS code	13-55020[1]
GNIS feature ID	0332499[2]

Newnan is a city in Metro Atlanta, and the county seat of, Coweta County, Georgia, about 30 miles southwest of Atlanta. The population was 16,242 at the 2000 Census. Newnan is one of the fastest growing cities in Georgia, with an estimated population of 27,097 in 2006 and 33,293 in July 2008. According to the 2010 census, 33,039 people live in Newnan, and it grew 103.4% since 2000.

History

Coweta County Courthouse

Newnan was established as county seat of Coweta County (replacing the defunct town of Bullsboro) in 1828 and was named for North Carolinian General Daniel Newnan. Newnan quickly became a prosperous magnet for lawyers, doctors, other professionals and merchants. Much of Newnan's prosperity was due to the thriving cotton industry, which relied on slavery. Newnan was largely untouched by the American Civil War due to its status as a hospital city (for Confederate troops), and as a result still features much antebellum architecture. Celebrated architect Kennon Perry designed many of the town's 20th Century homes. During the Atlanta Campaign, Confederate cavalry badly defeated Union forces at the nearby Battle of Brown's Mill.

Newnan was host to the trial in 1948 of wealthy landowner John Wallace, the first white man in the south to be condemned to death by the testimony of African Americans, two field hands who were made to help with burning the body of murdered white sharecropper Wilson Turner. These events were portrayed in the novel Murder in Coweta County. The film version starred Johnny Cash, Andy Griffith, and June Carter.

The Newnan/Sharspburg area is home to three high schools, Newnan High School (founded in 1887), East Coweta High School (founded in 1946), and Northgate High School (founded in 1996). Newnan is also home to The Heritage School, a small private school. Newnan is served by the Coweta County School System.

The city is home to one of the few Georgia counties with a museum that focuses mainly on African American history. The Coweta County African American Heritage Museum and Research Center, or Caswell House, was opened in July 2003 in a donated mill village house once owned by Ruby Caswell. The museum sits on Farmer St. on an old, unmarked, slave cemetery. It has collected hundreds of family genealogical records by interviewing residents and going through the census records. The museum also houses the Coweta Census Indexes from 1870 to 1920.^[3] The first black library in the county was the Sara Fisher Brown Library. Built in the 1950s, the library has since been converted into the Community Action For Improvement Center.^[4] The "Farmer Street Cemetery" is the largest slave cemetery in the south, and may be the largest undisturbed in the Nation. It is in the city limits of Newnan and was recently cleaned up again in August and September 2011.

Geography

Newnan is located at 33°22′35″N 84°47′19″W / 33.37639°N 84.78861°W / 33.37639; -84.78861 (33.376411, -84.788648)^[5].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 18.1 square miles (47 km²) of which 17.9 square miles (46 km²) is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km²) (1.05%) is water.

Climate

Shopping

Newnan is a shopping hub and has experienced rapid commercial development. One of the new developments is Ashley Park, an open-air shopping mall near I-85, anchored by Dillard's, and Belk department stores along with a large movie theater and dozens of other well-known retailers and restaurants.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 16,242 people, 5,939 households, and 3,973 families residing in the city. The population density was 906.4 people per square mile (349.9/km²). There were 6,464 housing units at an average density of 360.7 per square mile (139.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 54.08% White, 42.15% African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.73% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.59% from other races, and 1.23% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.96% of the population.

There were 5,939 households out of which 34.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.0% were married couples living together, 23.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.1% were non-families. 27.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.16.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.8% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 31.9% from 25 to 44, 18.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 91.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $36,142, and the median income for a family was $43,243. Males had a median income of $36,786 versus $25,314 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,081. About 17.6% of families and 19.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.1% of those under age 18 and 18.1% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Coweta County School District

The Coweta County School District holds grades pre-school to grade twelve, that consists of nineteen elementary schools, six middle schools, and three high schools.^[7] The district has 1,164 full-time teachers and over 18,389 students.^[8]

• Arbor Springs Elementary
• Arnco-Sargent Elementary
• Atkinson Elementary
• Brooks Elementary
• Canongate Elementary
• Eastside Elementary
• Elm Street Elementary
• Grantville Elementary
• Jefferson Parkway Elementary
• Moreland Elementary
• Newnan Crossing Elementary
• Northside Elementary
• Poplar Road Elementary
• Ruth Hill Elementary
• Thomas Crossroads Elementary
• Western Elementary
• Welch Elementary
• White Oak Elementary
• Willis Road Elementary

Middle schools

• Arnall Middle School
• East Coweta Middle School
• Evans Middle School
• Lee Middle School
• Madras Middle School
• Smokey Road Middle School
• The Heritage School

High schools

• Newnan High School
• East Coweta High School
• Northgate High School (Newnan)
• Central Educational Center (Chartered Coweta County School System School)
• The Pentecostal Church of God Christian Academy
• The Heritage School

Higher education

Mercer University has a Regional Academic Center in Newnan. The center, opened in 2010, offers programs through the university's College of Continuing and Professional Studies. The University of West Georgia has a campus located in Newnan, near I-85. This campus is currently holding two undergraduate programs- Bachelors of Science in Nursing and Early Childhood Education.^[9] Newnan is also home to a campus of West Georgia Technical College.^[10]

The University of West Georgia also has a campus in Newnan off of Georgia SR 34.

Notable people

• Ellis Arnall, governor of Georgia (1943–1947)
• Karsten Bailey, former NFL wide receiver
• Hamilton Bohannon, musician and record producer
• Keith Brooking, current National Football League linebacker with Georgia Tech, Atlanta Falcons, and Dallas Cowboys.
• Jack Tarpley Camp Jr., jurist
• Lewis Grizzard, author
• Steven Hicks, current football manager at the University of Arkansas.
• Drew Hill, former National Football League wide receiver with the Houston Oilers, Los Angeles Rams, and Atlanta Falcons
• Alan Jackson, CMA award winner
• Joe M. Jackson, United States Air Force colonel, Medal of Honor recipient
• Calvin Johnson, First Team All-Pro NFL wide receiver
• Alec Ogletree, current National Football league linebacker with St. Louis Rams
• Stephen W. Pless, Marine Corps major, Medal of Honor recipient
• Rocky Roquemore, international golf course designer
• Jefferson Randolph "Soapy" Smith II, (1860–1898), infamous 19th century gambler, confidence man and crime boss
• Will Smith (baseball), current Major League Baseball pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers
• Doug Stone, country music singer-songwriter
• Jerome Walton, former Major League Baseball player and 1989 Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award winner.
• William C. Wright, Congressman (1918-1933)
• Steve Young, pioneer country rock musician

Television and movie

• The ABC television series October Road was filmed in Newnan,^{[citation needed]} though it is actually set in the fictional town of Knights Ridge, Massachusetts.
• In the 1978 feature film The Sheriff and the Satellite Kid (original Italian title: Uno Sceriffo extraterrestre - poco extra e molto terrestre) featuring Bud Spencer his character is depicted as being the Sheriff of Newnan and the plot to take place in said city.^{[citation needed]}
• The TV movie Murder in Coweta County (1983), based on the eponymous book^[11] by Margaret Anne Barnes, chronicles actual events that occurred around 1948. Lead actors in the movie are Johnny Cash, Andy Griffith, and Earl Hindman.^[12]
• The NBC series I'll Fly Away was filmed in Newnan from 1991–1993.^{[citation needed]}
• The 1995 movie Fluke was filmed in Newnan.^{[citation needed]}
• Significant portions of Fried Green Tomatoes were filmed in Newnan and Senoia.^{[citation needed]}
• The movie Zombieland released October 2009. The court square in Newnan, GA was transformed into a battlezone on Sunday, March 29, 2008. The Newnan set (Downtown 'Old' Newnan) has been depicted as a Texas town that was a U.S. Army outpost which fought off zombies before being overrun.^{[citation needed]}
• Many scenes from the Lifetime Channel series Drop Dead Diva are filmed in Newnan.^{[citation needed]}
• Pet Sematary Two (1992).^[13]
• The popular AMC series, The Walking Dead, filmed scenes for its second season in the city.^{[citation needed]}
• The Fat Boy Chronicles, a movie about overcoming obesity, was filmed in Newnan High School in summer of 2010. Students were invited to take part as extras in the movie.^{[citation needed]}

Airports, major roads and highways

Major roads

• Interstate 85
• Outer Perimeter
• Georgia State Route 34
• Georgia State Route 34 Bypass
• Georgia State Route 16
• Georgia State Route 70
• Lower Fayetteville Road
• Newnan Crossing Boulevard East
• United States Route 29
• United States Route 27

Airports

• Newnan-Coweta County Airport which provides chartered air service and flight training.

References

External links

• Newnan City website
• The Soapy Smith Preservation Trust, Infamous badman born and raised between 1860-1876 in Newnan.
• Cowetanet Local website for Newnan and Coweta County Georgia.

v t e Metro Atlanta   Counties Barrow Bartow Butts Carroll Cherokee Clayton Cobb Coweta Dawson DeKalb Douglas Fayette Forsyth Fulton Gwinnett Hall Haralson Heard Henry Jasper Lamar Meriwether Newton Paulding Pickens Pike Rockdale Spalding Walton   Major city Atlanta   Municipalities and CDPs in Metro Atlanta 100k–250k Cumberland East Cobb Roswell Sandy Springs 25k–100k Alpharetta Brookhaven Candler-McAfee Duluth Dunwoody East Point Gainesville Johns Creek Lawrenceville Mableton Marietta Milton Newnan Peachtree City Peachtree Corners Redan Smyrna Tucker 10k–25k Acworth Belvedere Park Buford Carrollton Cartersville Chamblee College Park Conyers Covington Decatur Doraville Druid Hills Douglasville Fayetteville Forest Park Griffin Kennesaw Suwanee Lilburn Monroe Mountain Park North Decatur North Druid Hills Panthersville Powder Springs Riverdale Snellville Stockbridge Sugar Hill Union City Vinings Winder Woodstock   Topics Architecture Arts Climate Crime Colleges and Universities Demographics Festivals Government Historic Districts History Media Museums Neighborhoods Parks People Public Schools Religion Skyscrapers Sports Tourism Transportation Transportation Georgia

v t e Municipalities and communities of Coweta County, Georgia, United States County seat: Newnan Cities Grantville Newnan Palmetto‡ Senoia Towns Haralson‡ Moreland Sharpsburg Turin CDP East Newnan Unincorporated communities Arnco Mills Corinth ‡ Raymond Sargent Thomas Crossroads Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

v t e Historic Districts in Metro Atlanta Clayton County Jonesboro Cobb County Acworth Acworth Collins Ave. Clarkdale Clarkdale Kennesaw Cherokee St. North Main St. Summers St. Marietta Church St.-Cherokee St. North Marietta Washington Ave. Whitlock Ave. Coweta County Newnan Cole Town Greenville St.-LaGrange St. Newnan Commercial Newnan Cotton Mill and Mill Village Northwest Newnan Residential Platinum Point Other Grantville Roscoe-Dunaway Gardens Sargent Senoia DeKalb County Atlanta Candler Park Druid Hills (Atlanta) Inman Park-Moreland Kirkwood Avondale Estates Brookhaven Oglethorpe University Decatur Clairemont MAK (McDonough, Adams, King) Ponce de Leon Court South Candler Street-Agnes Scott College Winnona Park Druid Hills Emory Grove Emory University District University Park-Emory Highlands-Emory Estate Stone Mountain Douglas County Douglasville Fulton County Atlanta Adair Park Ansley Park Atkins Park Atlanta University Center Berkeley Park Brookhaven Brookwood Hills Cabbagetown Castleberry Hill Collier Heights Fairlie-Poplar Fox Theatre Historic District Garden Hills Georgia Tech Grant Park Hotel Row Howell Interlocking Knight Park-Howell Station Inman Park Inman Park-Moreland King Plow/Railroad Historic District (proposed) Knox Apts., Cauthorn House and Peachtree Rd. Apts. Lakewood Heights Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site Means St. Midtown Mozley Park Oakland City Peachtree Highlands-Peachtree Park Pittsburgh Reynoldstown Southern Ry. North Ave. Yards Sunset Ave. (proposed) Sweet Auburn Techwood Homes Underground Atlanta Virginia Highland Washington Park West End · Whittier Mills Other College Park East Point Industrial District Fairburn Hapeville Roswell Gwinnett County Norcross Hall County Gainesville Brenau College Chicopee Mill and Village Gainesville Commercial Green Street Green St.-Brenau Other Clermont Flowery Branch Gillsville Lula Newton County Covington Covington Covington Mills and Mill Village Floyd Street Other Newborn North Covington Oxford Porterdale Starrsville Rockdale County Conyers Commercial Residential