"Newnan" redirects here. For the politician and military commander, see Daniel Newnan.
Newnan, Georgia
City
CountryUnited States
StateGeorgia
CountyCoweta
Incorporated (city)December 20, 1828
Unit prefImperial
Area total51.34 km²
Area land50.44 km²
Area water0.90 km²
Area total19.82 sq mi
Area land19.48 sq mi
Area water0.35 sq mi
Population as of2020
Population total42549
Population density843.58 km²
Population density2184.80 sq mi
Time zoneEastern (EST) (UTC−5)
Time zone (DST)EDT (UTC−4)
Coordinates33°22′35″N 84°47′19″W
Elevation296 m
Elevation971 ft
ZIP Codes30263–30265, 30271
Area codes770, 678
FIPS code13-55020[1]
GNIS feature ID0332499[2]
Websitenewnanga.gov

Newnan is a city in and the county seat of Coweta County, Georgia, United States, about 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Atlanta. Its population was 42,549 at the 2020 census,[3] up from 33,039 in 2010.

History

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. It quickly became a prosperous magnet for lawyers, doctors, other professionals, and merchants. Much of Newnan's prosperity was due to its thriving cotton industry, which relied on slavery.

Newnan was largely untouched by the Civil War due to its status as a hospital city (for both Union and Confederate troops), and as a result still features much antebellum architecture.[4] During the Atlanta campaign, Confederate cavalry defeated Union forces at the nearby Battle of Brown's Mill. Subsequently, architect Kennon Perry (1890–1954) designed many of the town's early 20th-century homes.

On April 23, 1899, a lynching occurred after an African-American man by the name of Sam Hose (born Tom Wilkes) was accused of killing his boss, Alfred Cranford. Hose was abducted from police custody, paraded through Newnan, tortured, and burned alive just north of town by a lynch mob of roughly 2,000 citizens of Coweta County.

Newnan was also 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.

In 1968, Kmart opened a warehouse in Newnan, which slowly established it as a major hub for distribution in the area.[5] The International Brotherhood of Teamsters attempted to unionize the warehouse, but the attempt was defeated when the employees voted 329 to 201 in favor of remaining union-free.[6] In 2015, the distribution center closed, resulting in a loss of 164 jobs.[7]

2021 tornado

See also: List of F4 and EF4 tornadoes (2020–present)

In the early morning hours of March 26, 2021, Newnan was directly impacted by a violent EF4 tornado, which caused substantial structural damage and indirectly killed one person. The tornado was one of the strongest on record in Georgia since 1950, and directly impacted the historic downtown area.[8] Newnan High School was re-built after sustaining serious damage.[9]

Geography

Newnan is located in the center of Coweta County. U.S. Route 29 passes through the center of the city, leading northeast 13 miles (21 km) to Palmetto and south 7 miles (11 km) to Moreland. Interstate 85 passes through the eastern side of the city, with access from exits 41, 44, and 47. I-85 leads northeast 40 miles (64 km) to downtown Atlanta and southwest 125 miles (201 km) to Montgomery, Alabama. U.S. Route 27A leads northwest from the center of Newnan 22 miles (35 km) to Carrollton.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Newnan has a total area of 18.6 sq mi (48.3 square kilometres), of which 0.35 sq mi (0.9 square kilometres), or 1.88%, is covered by water.[10]

Climate

The climate is moderate with an average temperature of 64.3 °F (45.8° in the winter and 79.1° in the summer). The average annual rainfall is 51.84 inches.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Newnan had a population of 42,549. The median age was 35.7 years. 25.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 13.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 87.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 84.1 males age 18 and over.[11][12]

99.9% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.1% lived in rural areas.[13]

There were 16,618 households in Newnan, including 10,013 families; 35.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 43.3% were married-couple households, 16.6% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 34.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[11]

There were 17,771 housing units, of which 6.5% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.1% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.3%.[11]

Racial composition as of the 2020 census[12]
RaceNumberPercent
White22,00851.7%
Black or African American13,22631.1%
American Indian and Alaska Native1470.3%
Asian1,8984.5%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander240.1%
Some other race2,0804.9%
Two or more races3,1667.4%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race)4,52110.6%

Arts and culture

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 Street on an old, unmarked slave cemetery. It has collected hundreds of family genealogical records by interviewing residents and going through the census records.[14] The museum also houses the Coweta Census Indexes from 1870 to 1920.[15]

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.[16]

The Farmer Street Cemetery is the largest slave cemetery in the South. It is within the city limits of Newnan.

The Boots On the Ground (song) is strongly associated with the Boots On the Ground soul line dance created by Newnan native Jaterrious Trésean Little, aka Trè Little.[17]

Education

Coweta County School District

The Coweta County School District holds preschool to grade 12, and consists of 19 elementary schools, seven middle schools, and three high schools.[18] The district has 1,164 full-time teachers and over 18,389 students.[19]

Elementary schools

  • Arbor Springs Elementary
  • Arnco-Sargent Elementary
  • Atkinson Elementary
  • Brooks Elementary
  • Canongate Elementary
  • Eastside Elementary
  • Elm Street Elementary
  • Glanton 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
  • The Heritage School (private)
  • Trinity Christian School (private)

Middle schools

High schools

Higher education

Mercer University has a regional academic center in Newnan. The center opened in 2010, and offers programs through the university's College of Continuing and Professional Studies.

The University of West Georgia has a campus located in Newnan, near downtown. This campus currently has two undergraduate programs - Bachelor of Science in nursing and early childhood education.[20]

Newnan is also home to a campus of West Georgia Technical College.[21]

College Temple, a non-sectarian women's school, operated during the period of 1854–1888.[22]

Transportation

Major roads

Public transit

The public trolley operates between downtown and The Forum at Ashley Park.[23] In addition, the city is served by route 453 of the GRTA Xpress bus service, which operates between the Newnan Park and Ride and the Lakewood/Fort McPherson MARTA rail station.[24]

Airports

Railroads

Until the mid-1950s the Central of Georgia operated two trains daily in each direction, through Newnan from Atlanta to Columbus, in its Man O' War service. The Central continued a single Man O' War train until 1971 when Amtrak took over most interstate passenger service.[26][27][28][29] Until 1970, the city was a stop on the Southern Railway's Crescent from New Orleans to New York City, via Atlanta.[30][31] Into the mid-1960s, the Southern's Crescent and Piedmont Limited made stops in both directions in Newnan.[32]

Notable people

Television and movies

References

  1. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  2. ^
  3. ^ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Newnan city, Georgia". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
  4. ^ "History". www.ci.newnan.ga.us. City of Newnan. Retrieved 2019-04-12.
  5. ^ Mike Clary (March 31, 1992). "Workers Say Kmart Short-Changed Them". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  6. ^ Kmart Corp, 316 N.L.R.B. 1175 (N.L.R.B. 1995)
  7. ^ Aaron Hutchins (February 25, 2015). "Sears & Kmart closing update, 25 February 2015". blindbatnews.com. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  8. ^ "Tornado emergency leaves extensive damage across Newnan". WSB-TV Channel 2 - Atlanta. 26 March 2021. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
  9. ^ Leftwich, Rebecca (January 16, 2022). "A new start: Initial plans for rebuilding Newnan High School unveiled". Newnan-Times Herald. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  10. ^ "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Newnan city, Georgia". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  11. ^ "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2026.
  12. ^ "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2026.
  13. ^ "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)". United States Census Bureau. 2023. Retrieved April 7, 2026.
  14. ^ Schindler, Madeline (July 24, 2017). "African American Museum remains open". The Newnan Times-Herald. Retrieved 2019-04-12.
  15. ^ Dianne (30 March 2008). "The Coweta County Museum, Newnan Georgia: Black Firsts in Coweta County". thecowetacountymuseum.blogspot.com. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  16. ^ "The Coweta County Museum, Newnan Georgia". thecowetacountymuseum.blogspot.com. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  17. ^ "Newnan choreographer's dance becomes national sensation". 11Alive.com. 2025-05-09. Retrieved 2025-05-24.
  18. ^ Georgia Board of Education[dead link], Retrieved June 5, 2010.
  19. ^ School Stats, Retrieved June 5, 2010.
  20. ^ "University of West Georgia- Newnan." University of West Georgia. N.p., 2011. Web. 24 Aug 2011. <http://www.westga.edu/newnan/>.
  21. ^ "Coweta Campus Central Educational Center." West Georgia Technical College. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Aug 2011. <http://www.westgatech.edu/locations/coweta.htm Archived 2011-08-17 at the Wayback Machine>.
  22. ^ Godey, Louis Antoine & Hale, Sarah Josepha Buell (1856). "COLLEGE TEMPLE, NEWNAN, GEORGIA". Godey's Magazine. 52-53: 154–55. Godey Company. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  23. ^ "City Trolley | Newnan, GA". 1 October 2024.
  24. ^ Holborn, Jonathan (2024-01-30). "453 – Newnan to Lakewood / Ft McPherson". Xpress. Retrieved 2025-11-05.
  25. ^ "LINC construction set to begin". 11 May 2018.
  26. ^ "Central of Georgia Railway, Table 6". Official Guide of the Railways. 88 (4). National Railway Publication Company. September 1955.
  27. ^ "Central of Georgia Railway". Official Guide of the Railways. 99 (7). National Railway Publication Company. December 1956.
  28. ^ "Central of Georgia Railway, Table 3". Official Guide of the Railways. 102 (12). National Railway Publication Company. May 1970.
  29. ^ "Passenger Trains Operating on the Eve of Amtrak" Trains magazine http://ctr.trains.com/~/media/import/files/pdf/f/7/7/passenger_trains_operating_on_the_eve_of_amtrak.pdf Archived August 26, 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  30. ^ "Southern Railway, Table A". Official Guide of the Railways. 102 (5). National Railway Publication Company. October 1969.
  31. ^ "Southern Railway, Table A (rerouted west through Birmingham)". Official Guide of the Railways. 102 (12). National Railway Publication Company. May 1970.
  32. ^ "Atlanta and West Point Rail Road". Official Guide of the Railways. 98 (2). National Railway Publication Company. July 1965.
  33. ^ "Lynn Smith's Biography". Vote Smart. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  34. ^ "Filming in Coweta". Coweta County. Archived from the original on 2017-05-10. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  35. ^ "Good Reads Page for Murder in Coweta County book"
  36. ^ "Murder in Coweta County IMDB". IMDb. 15 February 1983.
  37. ^ "Movies". The New York Times. 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-11-04.
  38. ^ "Newnan Archives – The Walking Dead Locations". The Walking Dead Locations. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  39. ^ Campbell, Sarah Fay (March 24, 2017). "Two productions filming in downtown Newnan Wednesday". Newnan Times-Herald. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  40. ^ Dennis, Ryan (February 5, 2019). "Filming for 'Jumanji 2' starring Dwayne Johnson kicks off in Newnan with snow scene". www.11alive.com/. 11Alive News. Retrieved October 1, 2024.