City of Newnan Website

Interesting Facts About the City of Newnan                                                                                              

Geography: 

• Approximately 19.5 square miles (640 acres per square mile) 
• Approximately 35 miles south west of Atlanta on Interstate 85
• County seat for Coweta County, Georgia
• A settlement known as Bullsboro was the first county seat 
• Newnan is home to an estimated 25,000 people

• Council/Manager Form of Government
• Mission Statement: to provide cost effective programs and services, while continually focusing on preserving and enhancing the quality of life that is enjoyed by all our citizens
• Mayor elected citywide and six council members from four districts and two superdistricts who all serve four year terms; Elections held in odd years
• Official policy for the city is set by this elected body
• City Manager runs the daily operations of the city

• Certified City of Ethics                             ●  City of Excellence
• Tree City USA                                        ●  Distinguished Budget Awards

• Sister City:  Ayr, Scotland
• Six Historic Districts:  Cole Town, Platinum Point, Greenville-LaGrange, College-Temple, Cotton Mill and Mill Village, Downtown Business
• In the mid 1800’s, Newnan was known as one of the wealthiest cities in the country!
• College Temple was the first college to offer a Master of Arts degree to women
• Two Georgia Governors were from Newnan:  Ellis Arnall and William Atkinson
• The Coweta County courthouse is well known to visitors as the site of the murder trial of John Wallace, which is immortalized in the book Murder In Coweta County by Margaret Ann Barnes
• Civil War General Joe Wheeler’s headquarters can still be found at 87 LaGrange Street
• Hometown to many famous people:  Writer and Humorist Lewis Grizzard, Illustrator David Boyd, International Classical Pianist Charles Wadsworth, Country Music Superstar Alan Jackson, Novelist Erskine Caldwell, Country Music Star Doug Stone, Author Margaret Ann Barnes, Medal of Honor winners Joe Jackson and Stephen Pless, and many others!

• Newnan became a city in 1828
• Newnan is named after General Daniel Newnan, a Georgia Secretary of State and United States Congressman; General Newnan never set foot in Newnan, Georgia!
• The passenger railroad line to Newnan was opened in 1851 and the Railroad Depot is now an exhibit hall of the Newnan Coweta Historical Society
• Newnan is known as “the City of Homes” because many historic homes still line the city streets
• Land Lot 25 of the Fifth Land District was purchased for $100 for the courthouse location
• The Civil War came closest to Newnan in July 1864, when the Battle of Brown’s Mill occurred three miles south of town