Georgia Natural Wonder #235 - Chattahoochee Bend State Park - Coweta Co. (Part 1)

[Top Row Dawg]

Georgia Natural Wonder #235 - Chattahoochee Bend State Park

We move from the Northern Suburbs of Atlanta up in Gainesville, where we explored another State Park, the Don Carter State Park. This is Georgia's newest State Park from 2013. We found two more Natural Wonders and we made a post on the two Tornado incidents in Gainesville, to finish our 4 part tangent on Hall County. Now we move to the Southern Suburbs of Atlanta, down to Newnan where we find a State Park established in 2011, the Chattahoochee Bend State Park. 



Newnan is the City of Homes and there are 26 National Register of Historic Places listings, and 26 Historical Markers and War Memorials in Coweta County, Georgia. There are 13 Communities and a whopping 45 Notable People from Coweta County. This post will focus on the Natural Wonder of yet another (17th by my count) visit to the Chattahoochee River, and the National Register of Historic Places listings for Coweta County. Plus we have some obvious GNW Gals for any Coweta County Post.

Chattahoochee Bend State Park

Now the first thing we want to mention, is that there is a ParkPass required for all vehicles to visit this State park, as there is with any State Park, that is $5. 



From the official State Park site we find the following write up .....

"Chattahoochee Bend State Park allows you to maneuver through the shoals of the riveting river, explore wooded trails teeming with unique plant and wildlife and embark on a natural journey that refreshes and revitalizes the spirit."

Chattahoochee Bend State Park showcases a spectacular tract of wilderness in northwest Coweta County. Located in a graceful bend of the Chattahoochee River, the park is a haven for paddlers, campers and anglers. At 2,910 acres, Chattahoochee Bend is one of Georgia’s largest state parks, protecting five miles of river frontage. 



A boat ramp provides easy access to the water, while more than six miles of wooded trails are open for hiking and nature photography. 



An observation platform provides nice views of the river and forest.



Although most of the park has been left in its natural state, campers have many options for staying overnight within park boundaries. RV owners will enjoy the camping section with sunny pull-through and back-in sites. Tent campers can choose from riverfront platform sites, walk-in sites and traditional developed campsites. 



The park even offers screened Adirondack-style shelters for families and groups who want a unique camping experience.



There are cabins too.

  

Bathhouses with hot showers are a short walk from most campsites. Covered picnic shelters may be rented for birthday parties, reunions and other gatherings. 



There are nearly 15 miles of hiking trails at Chattahoochee Bend State Park.


History

Chattahoochee Bend State Park is Georgia's second-newest passive recreation facility, and was developed with support from Coweta County with $7 million in bonds approved by the state in 2006.  Phase 1 construction began in autumn of 2009 and was completed in early summer of 2011. Opening on July 1, 2011, it is Georgia's seventh largest state park.



Hiking

There are nearly 15 miles of hiking trails at Chattahoochee Bend State Park. Most of these images are from Atlanta Trails.

Flat Rock Trail

Trek through a granite outcrop like others found in Georgia’s Piedmont Region. 



After passing through a pine-oak forest, the trail leads to the exposed granite rock. 



Along the way, you will see some of the plants found in this unique ecosystem; many that allow them to survive on the bare rock face.



Bobcat Trail / Wild Turkey Trail

These trails follows along a pine-oak forest on the outskirts of a granite outcrop.



This trail connects with the Flat Rock Trail and was built to add multiple loop options and hiking lengths in this area of the park.

Riverside Trail

Walk along the Chattahoochee River on this 2.6-mile hike. You may encounter a variety of birds, and a mixture of coniferous and deciduous trees along with all kinds of different plants that thrive near waterways. 



The adventure climbs over two boulder-strewn peaks, 

 

and passes through several grassy clearings with great wildlife-spotting opportunities. 



Pass by small streams,



cross over bridges, 



and see the famous 2-story Chattahoochee Bend Tower, 



a wooden observation tower with beautiful river views. 

View from Tower.

This trail transitions from easy to strenuous around the scenic overlook at the 3-mile mark and becomes the Bend Trail.

Chattahoochee Bend State Park River Trail: the hike

All trails provides a write up of the actual Hiking Experience of the Riverside Trail. 



The adventure begins at the day-use trailhead on the banks of the Chattahoochee River, following the white-blazed trail along the wide-flowing river toward the park’s observation tower. Old-growth, broad-trunked trees dot the trail, towering over the surrounding younger deciduous forest and patches of native bamboo grasses.



Vines climb skyward along the trail, stretching to reach sunlight in the forest canopy. The trail crosses a bridge spanning a Chattahoochee tributary, Turkey Creek, before reaching a recently-constructed wood observation tower at 1 mile.



The hike departs the tower, following white trail blazes, catching views of the Chattahoochee River sporadically on the trail’s left side. The Riverside Trail turns eastward, diving deeper into Chattahoochee Bend’s forest and crossing a bridge. The hike loops westward to return to the river banks, circling a massive-trunked old-growth maple tree and crossing the river’s sandy, compacted floodplain.



The hike passes a rocky ridge dotted with fern and lichen-covered rock outcrops that rise from the surrounding river flats. 



The trail darts away from the river to cross a small tributary creek before looping westbound back to the Chattahoochee’s banks. Views stretch up and downstream from this raised vantage point on the riverine shore, and a bench offers a mid-hike refueling spot with a view. The hike departs the river, following the white-blazed Bend Trail and rising elevation to climb a small ridge. Fern and grass line the trail sides, carpeting the forest floor in shades of vibrant green.

 

Armored armadillos are a common sight here on the trail, often oblivious to the presence of hikers presence as they dig and forage for grubs.



The trail reaches the ridge summit at 2.6 miles, turning to roll elevation in a wide meander past two large, slab rock outcrops. 





The trail approaches the Chattahoochee River once again. A diamond-blazed side trail offers excellent river views, some of the best at Chattahoochee Bend, at 3 miles.



The Bend Trail departs the river to roll over several small knobs, continually changing elevation. The hike dives through a fragrant, young evergreen forest at 3.8 miles before reaching a grassy clearing at 4 miles. The clearing’s golden grasses contrast brilliantly with the blue sky overhead and the green pine sprinkled throughout the open expanse.



The Bend Trail flanks the clearing’s edge, crossing two wooden bridges. The trail tramples the long needles carpeting a pine grove’s floor before crossing a narrow, grassy clearing. The forest is rigidly linear and regularly spaced, comprised entirely of pine. The trail playfully weaves through the linearly-spaced pine forest, darting between rows among the trees.



Exiting the pine grove, the trail curves northward, meeting a gravel road and reaching its end at 5 miles.



Biking

There are 3 miles of mountain bike trails on the park. Per GA State law, any child under 16 must wear a helmet while riding. Bikes must stay on the bike trails and are not permitted on the nature trails.

Hard to find Mountain Biking images for Park. This is a clean up.

Black Racer Trail: ¾ mile

The Black Racer Trail begins directly across from the Trailhead 2 parking area. This relatively flat trail follows an old roadbed and ends downhill at the intersection with the main park road, Bob White Way. This trail is easy on the outbound but tougher on the return. This trail also intersects the Hognose, Coachwhip, and Rough Green trails.

There are some videos. Looked intense.

Hognose Trail: ½ mile

The Hognose Trail begins directly across from the Trailhead 2 parking area. This slightly technical trail includes uphill and downhill turns. This trail leads into the Coach Whip Trail after crossing the Wild Turkey Hiking Trail and ending at the intersection with the Black Racer Trail.



Coachwhip Trail: ½ mile

The Coach Whip Trail begins and ends at intersections with the Black Racer Trail. Both up and down hill runs make this a challenging section of trail. At either end one can turn right to return to the trailhead or left to continue riding the Black Racer.

Rough Green Trail: ¼ mile

The Rough Green Trail branches off to the left of the Black Racer Trail just after crossing the powerline right-of-way as one rides outbound from the trailhead. This short run brings riders back to the Black Racer Trail just before it ends at the main park road. Easier outbound than on the return.

Mountain Bike Trails at bottom of this fuzzy image.

Ringneck Trail: 2 ¼ mile

The Ringneck Trial begins at the information kiosk on the right as you enter Campground 1. This loop will intersect the Wild Turkey hiking trail at several points as well as crosses the main park road at two points. This loop is considered a beginners’ trail, but still offers excitement with numerous “whoop-dee-doos” and tight turns.

Fishing

Positioned on the Chattahoochee River just upstream of West Point Lake, the park has access to species of fish found in the lake, such as largemouth, spotted, hybrid and striped bass, crappie, bluegill, redbreast sunfish, shellcrackers and blue and channel catfish. A notable catch was a 35-pound striped bass caught in 2000. 



Seven miles of the Chattahoochee River run within the park, and shoreline fishing is at the boat ramp and observation tower. Anglers may prefer to use boats, canoes or kayaks. Fishing is best when the river is running at a lower level. Targeting structures such as downed trees along the shore is a good option.

Boating

There is a boat ramp located in the Day Use area to access the Chattahoochee River. Kayak and canoe rentals are not available at Chattahoochee Bend State Park except for guided Hike and Paddle programs.



Picnicking

Picnic tables are first come first serve and free to use. Small grills are located throughout the park. Visitors are welcome to bring their own grills/smokers.



Chattahoochee Bend has two picnic shelters available for reservation. Picnic shelters include picnic tables, water, electricity and large grills nearby. 



Our shelters accommodate up to 40 people and can be reserved for the day at $35.

Coweta County gets a State Park, oh Dear!



Coweta County

Chattahoochee Bend, more exciting than I thought it would be. It had boulders, and you know I like boulders. Gonna be worth a visit down the road to add some TRD images. Now we do our first tangent on Coweta County. Most of this information comes from Wikipedia and New Georgia Encyclopedia. Coweta County is a county located in the west central portion 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.

1911 map Coweta County.

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.

Ceded land.

Georgia’s sixty-fourth county, encompasses 443 square miles in west central Georgia, bordered by Carroll, Fayette, Fulton, Heard, Meriwether, and Troup counties.

It was one of five counties created by the 1825 Treaty of Indian Springs, when Chief William McIntosh relinquished Creek Indian lands to the United States. Coweta was named after McIntosh’s tribe and their town, one of the largest centers for the Creek Nation. McIntosh was slain by an irate group of fellow Creeks at his home on the Chattahoochee River. Legend has it that McIntosh received gold in exchange for the lands and that the gold was buried and never found.

We covered this in GNW #23

The new county established its seat in the settlement of Bullsboro in 1826, with Walter Colquitt as the first superior-court judge.  Because no clearly defined roads led to the settlement, a new site was located roughly two miles west. It was named for General Daniel Newnan, a Revolutionary War (1775-83) hero and Georgia’s secretary of state at the time the county was established. Newnan was most famous for Newnans Raid against the Seminole Indians. The city of Newnan ultimately became the main economic center for the county, although smaller communities were scattered throughout the region.

Newnan.

Early settlements in Coweta included Calico Corner (Grantville), Willow Dell (Senoia – named after William McIntosh’s mother,) and Bullsboro.

Early Coweta image village of Handy.

By 1840, the beginning of the golden era in the South, orderly streets lined with mansions and cottages reflected the growing prosperity of Coweta County.


Vintage images of Newnan.

By mid-century the railroads brought greater fortune and sophistication to the community. The Male Academy and College Temple -- a prestigious school and the first to offer a Master of Arts for women -- were providing educational opportunities in Newnan.


Images of College Temple.


Male Academy then and now.

By 1860 the county had grown to almost 15,000 people, evenly divided between whites and Blacks, with plantations and farms the main means of income. The Civil War (1861-65) brought changes to Coweta County. Although the county had some war activity (the Battle of Brown’s Mill was fought outside Newnan in 1864), 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 Coweta was selected to host a hospital for treating the wounded. Eventually Newnan would have seven hospitals and treat more than 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.


Image inside a Union Civil War hospital shed (Note US flag) and a painting that shows the Newnan GA Court House, along with several of the "Hospital sheds" which were built in Newnan.

The beautiful antebellum homes found throughout Coweta County are said to have survived because of superb craftsmanship, tireless restoration efforts and the strategies of Confederate General Joe Wheeler who routed brigades of Union troops in the July 1864 Battle of Brown's Mill, just southwest of Newnan. Local churches, private homes, College Temple and the courthouse were turned into makeshift hospitals with wounded from both armies being treated.


More vintage images of Newnan.

Before the war, one in four county white farmers had land and enslaved workers. After the war the southern economy changed. The textile industry found its way to the South and Coweta County. In 1866 the Willcoxon Manufacturing Company was the first cotton plant built in the county. By the early 1900s more cotton factories had opened. Textile mills continued to be built in the county. 


Workers on RD Cole Water Tower being transported by train and 1905 view of company, the 50th anniversary of company.

Together with such manufacturing firms as R. D. Cole, they made the county quite prosperous. The R.D. Cole Manufacturing Company, Newnan, Georgia, began in 1854 as Cole and Barnes, a saw mill. In 1877 the business moved to front the Atlanta and West Point Railroad. It produced saw-mills, corn mills, boilers, engines, and eventually became a manufacturer of steel, aluminum and alloy. The firm was the second largest water tower manufacturer in the United States in the 1890s.


RD Cole Today.

In the twentieth century Newnan became known as “the City of Homes.” Many of the historic homes that line the streets of the town are listed on the National Register. Historic preservation has become an important part of life in Coweta County, and other communities, including Grantville, Moreland, Roscoe, Senoia, and Sharpsburg are involved in efforts to preserve regional heritage.



Warts of Coweta Couty

Someone does a good job of amending these Wikipedia Post with the information about past racial atrocities that may well be forgotten and swept under the rug otherwise. It is important to bring these in to the light, "Say Their Names". In the city of Newnan, on April 23, 1899, a notorious 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 tortured and burned alive by a lynch mob of approximately 2,000 citizens of Coweta County.


Tom Wilkes and Newspaper recount incident. History shows Hose acted in Self Defense.

On August 9, 1882, Aleck Brown was lynched according to the "CSDE Lynching Database". My Internet search came up empty on details.

National Register of Historic Places listings in Coweta County, Georgia

We spend the rest of this post on the 26 National Register of Historic Places listings in Coweta County, Georgia.

W. A. Brannon Store-Moreland Knitting Mills

The W. A. Brannon Store/Moreland Knitting Mills in Moreland, is significant in architecture as a good example of a late 19th-century general store in a small commercial center. 



It was the small town of Moreland's only manufacturing plant for forty years.

Cole Town District

Cole Town is significant as a historic residential neighborhood which developed around a major local industry in Newnan.



The district's residential architecture is distinguished by the presence of houses designed by Lelia Ross Wilburn, Atlanta's foremost early 20th century woman architect, and by the noted Atlanta architect Edward E. Dougherty.

 

Coweta County Courthouse

The Coweta County Courthouse was constructed in 1904. It is a Classical Revival-style building designed by architect James W. Golucke. 



It has an Ionic tetrastyle main entrance and at the side entrances too, all with full entablatures and pediments.

William Leonard Crowder Home Place

The William Leonard Crowder Home Place, at 1615 Handy Rd. was built in 1880. It represents a good example of a late 19th-century, vernacular Piedmont Georgia farmhouse with outbuildings. 





The Crowder General Store was an important facility in the area known as the "Handy Community" or "Handy Crossroads" because it served as a place where the citizens of western Coweta County could purchase household and farming items, pick up their mail, and vote.

Goodwyn-Bailey House

The Goodwyn-Bailey House at 2295 Old Poplar Rd. in Newnan, Georgia was built in 1835.  Also known as Catalpa Plantation, it includes Greek Revival architecture.



The house contains fine design and workmanship exemplified by the Doric columns supporting the front central portico, the original mantels, chimneys, and other details.

 

Gordon-Banks House

A massive, two story house of white clapboards, built in Haddock, Georgia circa 1827. The style is classical revival - rather Roman than Greek - with a pair of attenuated, fluted Tuscan columns rising from an entrance porch to a balcony and simple pediment. The house was moved to Newnan in 1969. The house now commands a terrace overlooking a tapis veranda small lake. Surrounding the house are gardens which have been developed since the late 1920's.



A circular stair ascends three flights to the attic. Flanking the fireplace in the drawing room are a pair of Adamesque niches defined with gilt acanthus leaves and Corinthian pilasters. (Frederick Nichols has described this room as "certainly one of the handsomest Federal rooms in Georgia.") In the downstairs hall acanthus leaves also decorate an arch which has unusual plaster panels.



Grantville Historic District

The Grantville Historic District consists of the historic commercial, residential, institutional, industrial, and transportation-related resources of the city of Grantville. The district encompasses virtually the entire town. Brick buildings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries with fine brick details such as corbeling and round-arched openings.



The Romanesque Revival style is illustrated by a house known as "Bonnie Castle". The building is a large, red brick, two-story house with a wrap-around porch on the first floor, arches, a tower with battlements, and a multi-gabled roof.



The mill houses are one-story, wood-framed buildings.



Wood framed Victorian-era houses with gabled roofs and asymmetrical plans are numerous.



Greenville Street-LaGrange Street Historic District

The Greenville Street-LaGrange Street Historic District is a historic residential neighborhood, dating from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, located just south of Newnan's central business district. They date from the late antebellum period to the early twentieth century.



Included in the district are good examples of the antebellum Greek Revival style and the mid-nineteenth Victorian cottage.



The district is significant for containing the homes of many of Newnan's prominent local citizens, including planters, merchants, businessmen, professionals, educators and politicians. Many of the district's residents were involved in enterprises on the nearby downtown square. 



Others, who served as legislators and judges for the state, had influence on a wider scale.

Henderson-Orr House (Say that fast three times)

Phillip Orr, (who was originally from Wilkes County where he served on the Grand Jury as late as 1826), lived in Coweta County with 45 people in this household - Phillip and his 2nd wife, Niah Rucker Orr, 10 children, and 33 slaves.



In 1869, W. T. Stallings acquired the land. For many years the property was known as the "old Stallings Place." It is believed that during the Civil War the house was nearly burned to the ground. Federal troops were passing through the area and when they stopped at the house they took the picket fence and porch railing to use for firewood. They also burned the outbuildings, and even attempted to burn the main house, which was saved when the family smothered the fire with corn meal, they had hidden from Federal troops.



Hollberg Hotel

Hollberg Hotel is a historic hotel in Senoia, Georgia that is now operated as The Veranda Historic Inn. It was built 1906 in a Greek Revival architecture style and includes nine guest rooms, heart pine floors, tin ceilings, ornate light fixtures, chandeliers, 11 fireplaces, gardens, rocking chairs and a large veranda with porch swings.



Many Confederate soldiers had reunions at the hotel; Margaret Mitchell interviewed Confederate Veterans as she prepared her notes for her novel "Gone With the Wind" at the hotel. The Hollbergs entertained several Georgia governors - Joe Brown, Hoke Smith and Gene and Herman Talmadge.



William Jennings Bryan was a guest in 1908 while running for President and the movie Broken Bridges featured the hotel in 2006.

 

The stained glass windows and pressed tin ceilings are exceptional examples of turn-of-the-century craftsmanship.



Newnan Commercial Historic District

The Newnan Commercial Historic District is the historic downtown business district of Newnan and includes a commercial core of nine square blocks with a central courthouse and intact historic buildings in surrounding blocks.



Many of these buildings have elaborate brick, stone, pressed-metal, terra-cotta, and cast-iron details. The 1904 Classical Revival courthouse dominates the commercial area.



A number of these buildings are the work of architects R. Kennon Perry, Butt and Morris, J. W. Golucke, and the Rev. Charles M. Lipham. The district is an example of the "Washington-type" plan in Georgia which includes a grid layout with wide major avenues and a public square.



Newnan Cotton Mill and Mill Village Historic District

The Newnan Cotton Mill and Mill Village Historic District is a late 19th century and early 20th century mill and mill village located east of downtown Newnan, only two blocks from the courthouse square.



In 1888, the Newnan Cotton Mills corporation built a two-story, stone-and-brick mill along the Atlanta and West Point Railroad.



During World War II, the Newnan Cotton Mills developed and produced yarns for parachute and harness equipment, sometimes operating twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.



Like most mill operations in the South, the Newnan mill was segregated by sex and race. African-American men worked in the dye house, opening room, or the yard. They were never employed as spinners, a job usually reserved for women. Women were sometimes twisters and boys were sometimes hired as winders. White men worked in the carding room doffing or twisting and old men were hired to sweep the floors of lint, which constantly accumulated. One day's shift lasted eleven hours, Monday through Friday. Saturday shifts ended at noon. Workers were paid on Saturday mornings in cash.


Newnan Lofts now.

Northwest Newnan Residential Historic District

The Northwest Newnan Residential Historic District is located to the west and north of the courthouse square in downtown Newnan. This neighborhood had the first Church and first Hospital in town. The most significant event to the Northwest Newnan Residential Historic District before the Civil War was the opening of a college on College Street in 1853.



The District is unified with sidewalks throughout. Most houses have central walkways from the front door to the street boarded by flowers or shrubs.



The R.D. Cole Woodworking Shop operated in Newnan from 1854-1960, and nearly all the sawnwork found in this District was made at the Cole shop. Sawnwork offered by R.D. Cole ranged from mantels to doors to gable ornaments in any woodfrom white pine to mahogany.



The Northwest Newnan Residential Historic District has historically been a neighborhood composed of town merchants, politicians and professionals.



Oak Grove Plantation

Oak Grove Plantation is located in a rural section of northeast Coweta County, approximately six miles from Newnan and just north of the community of McCollum.



The main house, built c. 1842-1847, is a wood-framed, two-story, Georgian-type house with a one-story, rear, non historic addition.



Charles Arnold acquired this part of Land Lot 44 from the 1827 Land Lottery. It went through a few hands before going to him for $1,400. He grew Cotton and had 33 slaves as per 1859 census. He became disappointed in the quality of land in Coweta County and moved his family on to Texas sometime in 1858.


Slave Quarters, and a few interior images from the 27 images on file.



The house and land transferred to his brother Samuel who married Mary Barbara Cosby White, nicknamed "Babbie". She was the valedictorian of her class at Madison Female College in Madison, Morgan County and lived a long time at the house. Long story, read the NFS Form 10-900, it remained in the Arnold family until 1980.

Oak Hill Cemetery (Newnan, Georgia)

The Oak Hill Cemetery was founded in 1833. 268 Confederate Army soldiers are buried at Oak Hill and two are labeled as "Unknown". The cemetery covers 60 acres and has over 12,000 grave sites.



It is the final resting place for some of Coweta county's most prominent citizens, including two Georgia governors and several congressmen. Oak Hill is also the final resting place for soldiers from the Revolutionary War (James Akens and William Smith).


Graves of Governors Ellis Gibbs Arnall and William Yates Atkinson.
   
Platinum Point Historic District

The Platinum Point Historic District is located on the northern edge of the city limits of Newnan.



The Platinum Point Historic District is significant as an early 20th century residential suburb with a collection of fine houses built by prominent Newnan citizens, hence its name.



The Platinum Point Historic District provides an excellent intact example of an upper-class automobile suburb found in Georgia during the early 20th century.


Sprayberry's Bar B Que in this neighborhood.

Powell Chapel School

Powell Chapel School is a historic school in Newnan, Georgia. 



It began as a school for black students at Powell Chapel Church. A one-room schoolhouse was built in 1937 and it was expanded with a second room in 1942. 



It served the surrounding rural African-American community north of Newnan until the mid-1950s.

Mary Ray Memorial School

The Mary Ray Memorial School, now the Raymond Community Center, is located on Raymond Sheddan Avenue in Raymond, Georgia.The school was founded in 1908 as a one-room schoolhouse. When it opened, it had around 30 students. In 1909, there were around 70 students, and a wing was added. In 1910, it had over 100 students, and a second wing was built. The school was closed in 1948, and in the early 1950s the building was given to the community for a community club.

  

Roscoe–Dunaway Gardens Historic District

The Roscoe–Dunaway Gardens Historic District is a rock and floral garden located south of the historic town of Roscoe in Coweta County, Georgia, and the adjacent Dunaway Gardens. Part of the district is located in Fulton County.



Hetty Jane Dunaway spent eighteen years overseeing construction of Dunaway Gardens, a "theater-garden" on her husband's family's former plantation in rural Georgia. She employed architects and a full-time stone mason for a decade. The gardens included twelve spring-fed pools, a waterfall, sunken and hanging gardens and a thousand-seat amphitheatre. The swimming pool was created by using explosives to make a hole in granite.



There was a Honeymoon House where visitors could stay and the Blue Bonnet Tea Rooms served up meals. The customers included Roy Disney and Walt Disney and Tallulah Bankhead. A few years after Dunaway's death, the gardens closed and they deteriorated under an overgrowth of kudzu and an outbreak of arson.



The gardens were rediscovered by Jennifer Bigham and she and her family bought the gardens in 2000. After the Bighams gradually uncovered the lost attractions of the former gardens, theaters and swimming pool, they restored and reopened the site in 2003 to tourists and for weddings.



Sargent Historic District

Sargent is located five miles northwest of Newnan. The Sargent Historic District encompasses the intact and contiguous historic residential, commercial, and industrial-related resources associated with the development of the Willcoxon and Arnall mills and the associated mill housing.


Colonel John B. Willcoxon built this house around the time he opened a grist mill near Wahoo Creek in the Lodi community. The grist mill opened in 1861 and remained in operation for five years.


In 1866, with partners H. J. and George Sargent of Massachusetts, Colonel Willcoxon established the Willcoxon Manufacturing Company to produce cotton rope. The large four-story factory attracted many rural families to the area and primarily employed women and children. This was long before child labor laws prohibited such employment.


One of the simplest house forms in Georgia, the pyramid cottage, consists of a square main mass, typically with four principal rooms and no hallway. The most distinctive feature of the type is the steeply pitched pyramidal roof. Sargent was an active textile mill village until 1986. Ghost Town now.

Senoia Historic District

Senoia is an intact, late nineteenth to early twentieth century small community which developed around the railroad. 



The district consists of approximately one hundred fifty historic structures, generally one and two story frame and brick dwellings.



There is a small central business district on Main Street. The commercial area is densely developed, many buildings being attached.



 
These three story Buildings are evidently new since 1982 National Register of Historic Places black and white images.

Also, four churches are represented in the district.



George R. Sims House

The George R. Sims House is located approximately four miles east of Palmetto. It is a two-story, wood-framed Greek Revival house built around 1850. The design of the house is a modified Georgian plan. Sims was one of the largest antebellum land owners in the county at 1,000 acres. In the Tax Digest of 1864, G. R. Sims owned 48 slaves valued at $115,000.



The portico consists of two-story fluted Doric columns supporting a plain entablature.



The interior's original Greek Revival character is evident in the moldings, mantels, doors, and other features that remain intact.



In December of 1939, Gene Brown, a senior pilot for Eastern Airlines, bought the house after spotting it from his airplane. Someone else owns it now.

Dr. Robert L. and Sarah Alberta Smith House

The Dr. Robert L. and Sarah Alberta Smith House is a two-story, three bay, double-pile dwelling, with exterior gable-end chimneys and side and rear additions. Constructed c.1835, the Smith House is located on Bob Smith Road approximately three miles north of Sharpsburg in Coweta County. During the mid-19th century, the Smith House may have served as a tavern, inn, or some other form of accommodation for travelers before the area was fully occupied by white settlers.



Dr. Ira E. Smith was an important figure in state politics in the early days of Coweta County. In 1832, Smith was elected to represent Coweta County in the State Legislature. He served as a Representative from 1832 to 1837, and in 1851. In 1838, he was first elected to the State Senate, which he served in 1838-39, 1841-42, 1849, and 1853. In 1865, Dr. Smith was sent to Milledgeville to serve as a delegate at the Convention of 1865 to "abolish slavery, repudiate war debts and the state currency for support of the war. . ."



The interior woodwork, which includes hand-planed, heart-pine ceilings, walls, floors, stairs, chair rails, wainscoting, baseboards, Federal-style mantels, paneled doors, and window and door surrounds, remains largely intact.



The Smith House is brace framed with massive, hewn pine timbers that are inscribed with Roman numerals indicating their order and location of assembly. The house remained unoccupied from 1972 to 1993.In 1989, the house, which had fallen into disrepair, was purchased by its current owners, Rodney and Renae Smith .

Tidwell-Amis-Haynes House

Located in a rural setting of large oak trees, the Tidwell-Amis-Haynes House is a one-story brick, Federal-style, Georgian cottage. It features a hipped roof of wood shingles, dentils along the cornice, four exterior brick chimneys, and a brick-on-granite-block foundation.



The house retains original Federal-style mantels, crown moldings, ornate entrance with leaded glass semi-elliptical fanlight and leaded-glass sidelights, fluted pilasters, and dentils along the cornice. 



It is also unusual for its brick construction.

Vinewood (Newnan, Georgia)

Built in 1852, this historic Georgia homestead complete with a 16 stall horse barn has been fully renovated. The National Register Record has not been digitized.



Voted one of the top 13 Wedding venues in Georgia. 



Vinewood Stables has grown to become the most coveted of wedding venues in Newnan, GA., being featured in several luxury magazines such as Southern Living, Modern Luxury, Atlantan Brides, Occasions, and Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles.

Willcoxon-Arnold House

The Willcoxon-Arnold House is located on the east side of Newnan. The house is in the Greek Revival style, two stories high, and its plan is four-over-four with a central hall. It has full-width, two-story porticos with Doric fluted columns on the front and rear.



During twenty years of his near half-century of ownership of this house, John B. Willcoxon was the owner/manager of one of the largest industries in Newnan and thus was a major factor in the post-Civil War recovery of the town. Willcoxon served with distinction through the Civil War, heading a company of cavalry from Coweta. He also served as a member of the House of Representatives from 1875-1876.



A funeral home was opened in the house in 1953. The property is now known as Hillcrest Chapel.

Holy Cow 261 images, that took ALL week. As promised, some obvious GNW Gals for Coweta County, a trio of Cow Eater Women.