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Newnan, GA Area Guide

Newnan is one of the fastest growing cities in Coweta County, Georgia with a population of approximately 27,000. The city was originally named for General Daniel Newnan, who was a soldier and later became Georgia Secretary of State and a United States Congressman. The city is the county seat of Coweta County. Newnan is often described as a city with small-town charm, historic character, and friendly people. As the city continues to grow and prosper, the sense of community, uniqueness, and appeal is still alive and well. Newnan is an ideal environment for business, industry, and commerce. Newnan provides many of the amenities of a metropolitan area while retaining the small town charm and atmosphere of our heritage.

Newnan History

Newnan’s heritage plays an important role in every aspect of this city’s life from the way the town is set up to sharing a strong sense of pride in it’s past. Newnan 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, is located in a donated mill village house once owned by Ruby Caswell. The staff has collected hundreds of family genealogical records by interviewing residents and going through the census records.

Originally Newnan was laid out in a grid pattern with a nine-block central business district, the center of which was the Early Coweta County Courthouse which lasted from 1829 to 1904. Newnan gained prestige as one of the wealthiest towns per capita in the United States through its successful cotton industry and dealing with the railroads in the mid 1800s.

Newnan is also home to College Temple, which was the first college to offer a Master of Arts degree to women and was used in the Civil War as a hospital for wounded Confederate and Union troops. Newnan was spared some of the ravages of the Civil War because it was a hospital town, and as a result much of the antebellum architecture remains as well as many historic homes, including General Wheeler’s headquarters, which still line the streets of Newnan and are known today as the “City of Homes”. Celebrated architect Kennon Perry designed many of the town's 20th Century homes.

Newnan Parks & Recreation

Newnan Parks and Recreation is overseen by The Coweta County Parks and Recreation Department. The Coweta County Parks and Recreation Department helps provide service to countywide recreational facilities and offers many recreational activities and parks. Some of the diverse activities that the Coweta County Parks and Recreation Department provides include dancing, baseball, softball, soccer, tennis, pottery, karate, and yoga.

The following is just a short list of the numerous parks that Newnan has to offer residents and guests. Click here for more information about these parks

Greenville Street Park – Greenville Street Park is situated between Greenville Street, LaGrange Street, and Salbide Avenue. The park was originally designed as a gathering place for lunch time crowds, afternoon and evening musical concerts, and other events. The park features a 25 column colonnaded entrance, a terraced lawn area and stage that serves as a small amphitheatre, a water fountain, brick plazas, a covered pavilion, and plenty of tables and chairs. Meandering paths, secluded benches, and extensive landscaping compose the balance of the new park. Greenville Street Park also features two sculptures, one by prominent Atlanta artist, Martin Dawe, and the other by local renowned artist, Carol Harless.

First Avenue Park – First Avenue Park is a tract of property located just outside the historic Greenville/LaGrange historic residential district. First Avenue Park is a neighborhood park designed for play and fitness and includes covered pavilions, fenced playground area, multi-purpose grass fields, elaborate stonework, heavy landscaping, and a paved walkway trail system.

Temple Avenue Park – This community recreational park is located within the historic Temple Avenue residential district. The park contains a small gazebo that is often reserved for weddings, a large triangular water fountain, meandering paths that wind throughout the park, several small open grass areas for sitting, as well as benches scattered along the various pathways. A Veteran’s Memorial granite monument is also located on the east side of the park and is an annual gathering place for veterans and their families to celebrate Veteran’s Day.

Cranford Park – Located along Jackson Street, Cranford Park sits snuggly within a residential district and backs up to the City’s historic Oak Hill Cemetery. The rectangular park contains meandering brick and concrete walkways, spotted with benches that traverse the heavily landscaped park.

C.J. Smith Park – C.J. Smith Park is divided in half into two distinct sections, the lower half containing an adult size softball field and the upper half housing the Coweta County African American Heritage Museum and Research Center. The softball field is home to Coweta County sponsored adult softball leagues in both the spring and fall seasons. The park contains enclosed restrooms, spectator bleachers, and playground equipment. Several picnic tables, as well as grills and trashcans, are also available for gatherings.

Lynch Park - Located along Wesley Street and Richard Allen Drive, the park is named after former City Council member Willie Lynch and contains the Wesley Street Gymnasium, the Duncan Street Pool, and Pickett Field, a large baseball/softball field. There are several pieces of playground equipment, an open grass field, and a large covered pavilion nestled in among the park’s numerous large oak trees. Picnic tables and grills are available for all types of gatherings.

Ray Park - Ray Park contains 4 tennis courts and two small open grassy areas and benches for spectators.

Westgate Park – A small neighborhood baseball/softball field located at the end of West Park Court just off of Belt Road. The park contains a fenced in playing field, bleachers, and a small concession building.

South Street Park – A neighborhood park located off of South Street, South Street Park contains some small play equipment, a picnic table, and a small paved basketball court.

Verona Rosser Center – Verona Rosser Center is a community center located at the corner of Pinson Street and Savannah Street. The Little People’s Learning Center leases the property and building from the City. It serves the local community with a community center and a fenced in playground area.

Newnan Events and Attractions

Newnan Attractions cater to all ages and interests including the Newnan Coweta Historical Society, the Wadsworth Auditorium, the Newnan-Coweta Public Library, and the Centre for Performing and Visual Arts. Other attractions include:

The Newnan Theatre Company has been entertaining audiences for over thirty years with top quality shows for adults and children. Newnan Theater Company has an active year-round teen youth group and the area’s largest summer drama camp. The theatre is a completely volunteer-based organization and welcomes new talent in any form including directors, actors, backstage volunteers, and audience members. Young or old, experienced or not, they encourage everyone with an interest to get involved! For more information please visit their website at .

Oak Hill Cemetery became the final resting place of soldiers who did not survive the Civil War. During 1863 and 1864, 268 confederate soldiers were buried at Oak Hill and a section of the Cemetery honors these soldiers. Due to the efficiency of the local hospitals, only two men are unknown. Every state in the Confederacy is represented in these burials. Oak Hill also has graves of Revolutionary War soldiers and the two Newnan governors, Ellis Arnall and William Atkinson.

The African American Alliance is dedicated to the preservation and conservation of the cultural, historical, and architectural African-American heritage of Coweta County. The Alliance operates the Coweta County Heritage Museum and Research Center at 92 Farmer Street, adjacent to the Farmer Street Cemetery, which is believed to be the largest slave cemetery in the South.

The Coweta County Courthouse is the site of the trial of John Wallace, the first white man convicted and condemned to death in the South on the testimony of a black man. The murder trial was immortalized in the book, Murder In Coweta County, by Newnan native Margaret Ann Barnes. The book was later made into a television movie starring Andy Griffith and Johnny Cash.

The Newnan-Coweta Public Library
Newnan Coweta Historical Society
The Wadsworth Auditorium
The Centre for Performing and Visual Arts

Newnan has a wonderful variety of shopping, dining, and other entertainment for families, residents, and tourists looking for a good time. Newnan offers a unique assortment of shopping for residents and guests alike with specialty shops and clothing stores interspersed with major retail outlets such as department stores, home improvement centers, home décor shops, and discount stores. For your dining experience, Newnan is fortunate to have a wide variety of superb restaurants that offer both casual and fine dining experiences. The more upscale restaurants offer exquisite meals and a nice atmosphere, while Newnan’s more causal restaurants offer an array of choices from national chains, Steakhouses, bakeries, multiple nationality cuisines, family restaurants, Deli and Pubs, and good ‘ole home cooking. Other entertainment in Newnan includes a bowling alley, skating rink, and two movie theatres.

Newnan is home to many superb annual and circannual events including Market Day (held the first Saturday of every month), Wine About the Economy (an annual wine tasting festival downtown), Pickin’ on the Square (a gathering of musicians on the second Saturday of every month), Forth of July Parade and Rotary Celebration, and the Christmas Parade with Santa, as well as numerous others listed on Newnan’s Calendar of Events. The complete Calendar of Events can be found at the following link: http://www.mainstreetnewnan.com/calendar.php