Coweta County, Georgia

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1700's-1800 Category:Coweta County, Georgia was named for the Creek tribe, Coweta Tribe which William McIntosh was part of and headed. McIntosh was 50% Scottish, and 50% Creek. ^[1]

1825 - McIntosh met with the US Government as representative of the Creeks. In the process he signed an agreement, giving the Creek lands to the US Government at the 1825 Treaty of Indian Springs. (A rumor says McIntosh received gold for the lands. If so the gold was never found!! The Creeks were upset, and killed McIntosh at his home on the Chattahoochee River in retribution. ^[1]

June 9, 1825 and Dec 11, 1826 - Category:Coweta County, Georgia was created by the Georgia legisature by Acts of June 9, 1825 and Dec 11, 1826. It was named Coweta Tribe for the Creek Towns. The land came from the Creek Indian cessions Jan 24, 1826 and Mar 31, 1826.^[2][3]

map of Coweta County within Georgia

Category:Coweta County, Georgia was formed by the Georgia legislature as #64 county, containing 443 sq. mi in west central Georgia. The counties of Carroll, Fayette, Fulton, Heard, Meriwether, and Troup surround Category:Coweta County, Georgia.^[2]

1826 - Bullsboro (now considered a lost town) was the Category:Coweta County, Georgia county seat. Judge Walter T Colquitt organized the county seat and presided over the courts until 1827. ^[4]

1828 Since there were no roads that were defined other than buggy trails, the new site for the county seat was 2 miles west of Bullsboro. Newnan, Georgia was named to be the county seat. Other settlements and towns were: Calico Corner (later renamed Grantville), Willow Dell (later renamed Senoia for William McIntosh's mother), and Bullsboro. ^[1][4]

Feb, 1828 The town of Newnan was laid out. Lots were sold Mar 25, 1828 with a price of $40.00 up to $611.50 depending on the size of the lot and locale .nd the lots sold on March 25th, prices ranging from $40.00 to $611.50, according to size and location. It was given the name of Newnan in honor of General Daniel Newnan..^[4]Revolutionary War (1775-83) hero who was the Secretary of state for Georgia when Category:Coweta County, Georgia was formed.^[2]

1829 Category:Coweta County, Georgia's first courthouse in Newnan was built, with churches and schools.^[5]

Newnan, the county seat is located 38 miles southwest of downtown Atlanta on I-85. Its population in 2010 was 33,039 people. It has large retailers, steel, plastic and motors warehouses. 'the University of West Georgia has an off campus facility in the city. The city contains 6 historic districts with many well mai

ntained antebellum houses.^[2]

1840 Streets in Category:Coweta County, Georgia were laid out in an orderly pattern. Soon mansions and homes were an indicator of the county's wealth and economy.^[5]

1850- Railways arrived in the county, which increased the community's economic prosperity. Two advanced education schools were begun: Male Academy and College Temple. College Temple offered a Master of Arts for women, in Newnan, Georgia. ^[1]Estimates are 1/4 farmers owned slaves prior to the Civil War.^[2]

1860 - Population in Category:Coweta County, Georgia was about 15,000 people, with about 50% whites and 50% African Americans. The plantations and farms produced most of the economy. There was a cane mill, saw mill, gristmill, cotton gin, and wheelbarrow factory.^[2]

Hist. District

Newnan became known as "the hospital city of the Confederacy." Because of its location on the Atlanta and West Point Railroad, and its distance from the heaviest battles, the largest town in Category:Coweta County, Georgiawas selected to host a hospital for treating the wounded. Within the 4 years, Newnan would have seven hospitals and treated over 10,000 soldiers from both sides. Many soldiers, including 269 Confederates who died in the town's hospitals, were buried in nearby Oak Hill Cemetery.^[2]

1862-65 - Civil War brought economic depression to Category:Coweta County, Georgia Cotton production was limited as the plantations did not have white males to supervise the fields and homes and decreased slaves present. The Railroads ceased running, which were necessary for the supplies transportation to the Confederate troops for the war effort. ^[1]

Category:Coweta County, Georgia's antebellum homes survived due to being built well. A great amount of restoration was done following the war. ^[1]

Here's an image.

July 1864 -Confederate General Joe Wheeler's strategy of leading the Union troops brigades southwest of Newnan, during the Battle of Brown's Mill, avoided as much loss within Coweta County. Makeshift hospitals in Newnan, Category:Coweta County, Georgia for the wounded of both armies were Coweta churches, private homes, College Temple and the courthouse.^[1]Newnan became known as "the hospital city of the Confederacy." There were 7 make-shift hospitals which treated over 10,000 soldiers of both sides.. Oak Hill Cemetery has 269 Confederates who died in Newnan's hospitals and are buried in the cemetery.^[2]

Oak Hill Cemetery

The South won the Battle of Brown’s Mill. It was a turning point for the Union armies. General Sherman changed his battle tactics due to the losses at Brown's Mill.^[1]

May-July 1864 -Major Gen William T Sherman and forces invaded northern Georgia, to destroy Atlanta. Strategy was to destroy the railroads which supplied the Confederates and did destroy 2 railroads. ^[6]Confederate President Jefferson replaced Johnston with Gen. John B Hood who led attacks against Sherman and the Union at Peachtree Creek and Decatur. Both sides suffered heavy casualties.

Here's an image.

Greenville House- LaGrange

July, 1864 Sherman wanted to avoid a siege of Atlanta, confidence, he sent all 9000 forces to destroy the 3rd railroad and force Gen. Hood to abandon Atlanta. Sherman assigned Gen Stoneman to approach Atlanta from the east, and McCook to approach from the west. Sherman led another force.. They also intended to free all prisoners at Andersonville.^[6][7] Gen. McCook's cavalry burned 1,000 Confederate supply wagons at Fayettsvlle and civilian properties. He reached Lovejoy’s station and destroyed the Macon and Western Railroad.. McCook stopped the raid when General Stoneman did not show up with his units. ^[7]McCook turned back across the river, but his division was attacked near Brown's Mill, 3 miles south of Newnan by Confederate Gen Wheeler. McCook was defeated, lost 1,285 men, 1,200 horses, ambulances, and spiked artillery. Confederate General Wheeler freed 300 Confederate prisoners that McCook had previously captured., losing only 50 men.

General Stoneman and Union army suffered a defeat in his battle, with many deaths.. General Stoneman was captured and ended up in Andersonville, Georgia Prison, the place where he was going to free Union prisoners.^[7]

1866-1870's Reconstruction -- Citizens were resilient, and worked hard to restore the homes, the county to begin recovering the county's economic development.. ^[1]

Apr 23, 1899 Newnan a lynch mob hung African American, Sam Hose (Tom Wilkes) was accused of murder of his boss Alfred Cranford. ^[8]

Corinth, Georgia

1900's Industrial development increased, more cotton factories had opened as well as more textile mills continued to be built in the county. R. D. Cole, built Newnan's first water tower and manufactured war supplies. Coweta County increased in population to classify it as one of the top 100 counties of the United States. ^[1]

Hauling cotton.

1904 Category:Coweta County, Georgia courthouse, located in Newnan, was built. J. W Golucke designed the building in neoclassical revival style.. The building was renovated in 1975 and again in 1989-90. ^[2]

Government Offices

Category:Coweta County, Georgia is the only county which has a rotating chairmanship. The Coweta County Commission, has five members elected from numbered districts. The chairmanship rotates among the members.

Coweta County Courthouse.

Geography

64th county to be created

Size- total area of 446 square miles (1,160 km2), of which 441 square miles (1,140 km2) is land and 4.9 square miles (13 km2) (1.1%) is water.

Location - west central Georgia.

Nearby counties -The counties of Carroll, Fayette, Fulton, Heard, Meriwether, and Troup

Sub-Basins--

Upper Flint River sub-basin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahooclhe-Flint River Basin) - eastern half of Coweta County, from Palmetto southwest to Newnan, then south to Luthersville

Middle Chattahoochee River-Lake Harding sub-basin of ACF River Basin -The western half

Adjacent counties

• Fulton County – northeast
• Fayette County – east
• Spalding County – southeast
• Meriwether County – south
• Troup County – southwest
• Heard County – west
• Carroll County – northwest

Protected areas

• Chattahoochee Bend Park

Demographics

In 2000, there were 89,215 people in the county with a population density of 202 people/sq. mi. The racial makeup of the county was 78.86% White, 17.97% Black or African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.68% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.22% from other races, and 1.02% from two or more races. 3.14% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. By 2010 there were 127,317 people in the county with a population density of 288.8 people/sq. mi. The median income for a household in the county was $61,550 and the median income for a family was $68,469. Males had a median income of $51,658 versus $36,535 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,161. About 7.7% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.4% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over. ^[9]

Highways

Education
Coweta County School System has pre-school to grade 12, (19) elementary, (6) middle schools and (3) high schools with 1,164 teaches for the 18,389 students.. There are 2 private schools-The Heritage School and Trinity Christian School. Mercer University opened a Continuing Ed and Professional studies in Newnan. University of West Georgia has campus near downtown Newnan with BS in nursing and Early Child Education. The West Georgia Technical College is in Newnan.^[10]

Cities

• Newnan County Seat

Towns

• Corinth

• East Newnan, Georgia

• Grantville

• Haralson

• Moreland

• Palmetto

Senoia Hist. Dist.

• Senoia

• Sharpsburg

• Turin

County Resources

• B T Brown Reservoir 300 acres water..

Notables

• Charles Wadsworth, New York classical musician and conductor
• Buford Boone, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist
• Alan Jackson, country singers Alan Jackson
• Doug Stone, country singer
• Lewis Gizzard, writer
• Erskine Caldwell, writer
• Ellis Arnall, Former Georgia governor
• William Y. Atkinson, Former Georgia governor
• Joe M. Jackson, colonel, U.S. Air Force, Medal of Honor recipient
• Warren Newson, played pro baseball for the Chicago White Sox
• Stephen W. Pless, major, U.S. Marine Corps, Medal of Honor recipient
• Jefferson Randolph "Soapy" Smith, confidence man and crime boss

Census

1830 --- 5,003 —

1840 --- 10,364 107.2%

1850 --- 13,635 31.6%

1860 --- 14,703 7.8%

1870 --- 15,875 8.0%

1880 --- 21,109 33.0%

1890 --- 22,354 5.9%

1900 --- 24,980 11.7%

1910 --- 28,800 15.3%

1920 --- 29,047 0.9%

1930 --- 25,127 −13.5%

1940 --- 26,972 7.3%

1950 --- 27,786 3.0%

1960 --- 28,893 4.0%

1970 --- 32,310 11.8%

1980 --- 39,268 21.5%

1990 --- 53,853 37.1%

2000 --- 89,215 65.7%

2010 --- 127,317 42.7%

Est. 2016 --- 140,526

Cemeteries

• Sharpsburg Baptist Church Cemetery
• Oak Hill Cemetery
• Tranquil Cemetery
• Emory Chapell Cemetery
• Senoia City Cemetery

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9} http://www.coweta.ga.us/our-county/history
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8} https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/counties-cities-neighborhoods/coweta-county
3. ↑ http://georgiahistory.com/ghmi_marker_updated/coweta-county/
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} http://genealogytrails.com/geo/coweta/pioneers.html
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/counties-cities-neighborhoods/newnan
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} http://www.coweta.ga.us/home/showdocument?id=6784
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2} https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Brown%27s_Mill
8. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coweta_County,_Georgia
9. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coweta_County,_Georgia
10. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coweta_County,_Georgia

• A History of Georgia: From Its First Discovery by Europeans to the Adoption of the Present Constitution in MDCCXCVIII, Vol 1, by William Bacon Stevens January 1, 1847 New York : D. Appleton