Newnan's business district and Coweta County Courthouse overhead
Newnan is a city in Coweta County, Georgia, 39 miles (63 km) southwest of Atlanta. In 1900:
3,654 people lived in Newnan, Georgia; in 1910: 5,548, and in 1940: 7,182. The population was 16,242 at the 2000 Census. Newnan
is one of the fastest growing cities in Georgia, with an estimated population of 24,654 in 2005. The city is the county seat of Coweta County6.
History
Newnan was first established as county seat of Coweta County (replacing the currently nonexistent town of Bullsboro) in 1828
and was named for North Carolinian General Daniel Newnan. Newnan quickly became a
prosperous magnet for professionals such as lawyers and doctors, as well as various 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 is still home to much antebellum architecture. 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. Newnan is also home of Atlanta
Falcon Keith Brooking. The Newnan/Sharspburg area is home to three high schools, Newnan High
School (founded in 1918), East Coweta High School (founded in 1946), and Northgate High
School.
Geography
Newnan is located at 33°22′35″N, 84°47′19″W (33.376411,
-84.788648)1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area
of 46.9 km² (18.1 mi²). 46.4 km² (17.9 mi²) of it
is land and 0.5 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (1.05%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 16,242 people, 5,939 households, and 3,973 families residing
in the city. The population density was 349.9/km² (906.4/mi²). There were 6,464
housing units at an average density of 139.3/km² (360.7/mi²). 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.
Citizens of note
Television and movie
External links
Coordinates:
33.376411° N 84.788648°
W
References
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