Coweta County, Georgia

Coweta County /kaʊˈiːtə/ is a county in the West Central region of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is part of Metro Atlanta. As of the 2020 census, the population was 146,158. The county seat is Newnan.

Coweta County is included in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metropolitan statistical area.

History

The land for Lee, Muscogee, Troup, Coweta and Carroll counties was ceded by the Creek people in the 1825 Treaty of Indian Springs. The counties' boundaries were created by the Georgia General Assembly on June 9, 1826, but they were not named until December 14, 1826. Coweta County was named for the Koweta Indians (a sub-group of the Creek people), who had several towns in and around the present-day county.

In 1882, Aleck Brown, an African-American man accused of raping a white woman, was lynched. In 1899, Sam Hose, an African-American man accused of killing his boss, was tortured and burned alive by a lynch mob of approximately 2,000 citizens of Coweta County.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a 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. The county is located in the Piedmont region of the state.

The eastern half of Coweta County, from Palmetto southwest to Newnan, then south to Luthersville, is in the Upper Flint River sub-basin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin). The western half is in the Middle Chattahoochee River-Lake Harding sub-basin of the same ACF River Basin.

Major highways

• Interstate 85
• U.S. Route 27 Alternate
• U.S. Route 29
• State Route 14
• State Route 16
• State Route 34
• State Route 34 Bypass
• State Route 41
• State Route 54
• State Route 70
• State Route 74
• State Route 85
• State Route 154
• State Route 403

Adjacent counties

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

Communities

Cities

• Chattahoochee Hills (partly in Fulton County)
• Grantville
• Newnan
• Palmetto (partly in Fulton County)
• Senoia

Towns

• Haralson
• Moreland
• Sharpsburg
• Turin

Census-designated place

• East Newnan

Unincorporated communities

• Corinth (partly in Heard County)
• Raymond
• Roscoe
• Sargent
• Thomas Crossroads

Planned town

In the federal government's National Urban Policy and New Community Development Act of 1970, funding was provided for thirteen "new towns" or planned cities throughout the country. One 7,400-acre location was set to be developed in Coweta County and was known as Shenandoah. The project was launched in the early 1970s and was foreclosed on in 1981, when it included 170 families and 108 residential lots.

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 146,158. The median age was 39.5 years. 23.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 15.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 93.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 91.4 males age 18 and over. 55.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 44.9% lived in rural areas.

The racial makeup of the county was 69.6% White, 17.7% Black or African American, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.3% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 3.2% from some other race, and 6.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 7.6% of the population.

There were 53,596 households in the county, of which 35.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 24.4% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 20.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 56,729 housing units, of which 5.5% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 73.4% were owner-occupied and 26.6% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.2%.

Education

The Coweta County School System holds pre-school to grade 12, and consists of nineteen elementary schools, six middle schools and three high schools. The system has 1,164 full-time teachers and more than 18,389 students. Private schools in the county include The Heritage School and Trinity Christian School.

Mercer University has a Regional Academic Center in Newnan. The center, opened in 2010, offers programs through the university's College of Continuing and Professional Studies. The University of West Georgia has a campus near downtown Newnan on the site of the old Newnan Hospital. This campus offers two undergraduate programs - Bachelor of Science in nursing and early childhood education.

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

Government

The legislative body of Coweta is the Coweta County Commission, which consists of five members elected from numbered districts. The chairmanship rotates among the members. Coweta County is the only county in Georgia that operates with a rotating chairmanship.

In the General Assembly, it is currently divided between State House district 70, 71, 72 and 132, and is within State Senate district 28 (currently held by Matt Brass). In Congress, it is in the 3rd congressional district, currently represented by Brian Jack.

Politics

Coweta County is a strongly Republican county, voting 68.4 percent for Donald Trump in 2016 and 69.9 percent for Brian Kemp in 2018.

For elections to the United States House of Representatives, Coweta County is part of Georgia's 3rd congressional district.

For elections to the Georgia State Senate, Coweta County is a part of District 6. For elections to the Georgia House of Representatives, Coweta County is represented by districts 65, 67, 70 and 73.

Notable people

• Ellis Gibbs Arnall, governor of Georgia, 1943–1947
• William Yates Atkinson, governor of Georgia, 1894–1896; founded Georgia State College for Women, now Georgia College & State University
• Steve Bedrosian, former Major League baseball player; National League Cy Young Award winner in 1987
• Eric Berry, football player for the Kansas City Chiefs
• Keith Brooking, football player for the Atlanta Falcons and Dallas Cowboys
• Erskine Caldwell, author of the novels Tobacco Road and God's Little Acre
• Lewis Grizzard, newspaper columnist, author and humorist
• Drew Hill, played for the pro football Houston Oilers, Los Angeles Rams and Atlanta Falcons
• Sam Hose, African-American man who was brutally murdered by a lynch mob after accusations of murder, assault and rape
• Alan Jackson, country music singer and musician
• 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
• Charles Wadsworth, retired director of the Chamber Music Society at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
• Jerome Walton, former Major League baseball player; Rookie of the Year in the National League in 1989
• Rutledge Wood, auto racing analyst and host of Top Gear
• Will Smith, professional baseball player for the Kansas City Royals

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Coweta County, Georgia
• B. T. Brown Reservoir
• Murder in Coweta County
• Murder in Coweta County 1983 film
• List of counties in Georgia

External links

33°21′N 84°46′W/33.35°N 84.76°W/ 33.35; -84.76