Coweta officially became a county in Georgia in 1826 with Newnan named its county seat when it was incorporated in 1828. Other early Coweta settlements include Grantville, originally incorporated as Calico Corner in 1840, and Senoia, established as Willow Dell in 1864. The community of Sharpsburg was incorporated in 1871 and will celebrate its sesquicentennial in December.

For most of the past two centuries, Coweta County relied primarily on agricultural pursuits, including production of dairy, livestock, cotton and peaches. While farming continues in 2021, recent decades have brought a shift to more suburban and urban living here. Coweta has become the best of both country and city life as its population has increased and shopping and amenities have sprung up.

Out in the Country

John and Marcia Callaway own Callaway Cattle Company in southwest Coweta County with their operation on land that’s been in the Callaway family for more than 100 years. In the first half of the twentieth century, the main cash crop on the farm was cotton, but the family also grew corn, oats and wheat and raised livestock.

After retiring from a career as a county Extension agent, Callaway returned to his family land where he and Marcia raise Angus and SimAngus cattle.

“I wanted to go back to the farm and breed and raise cattle, and that’s what we’ve done,” he said. “I just like the outdoor life, breeding and raising cattle and selling them to other people to use in their herd. I had been to the office every day for 30 years. There’s something about getting up and the first thing you do every morning is feed some livestock. I just enjoy that life.”

John describes rural Coweta County as it appeared a half century ago: “Back then, it was much more rural with little country stores, one on every corner and at every crossroads. There were several dairies in the area, more row crop farmers and more livestock, and a lot of peaches back then. We’ve got one tract here that Daddy bought when I was young; it was 55 acres and it was all in peaches. Up Corinth Road towards Newnan, there were peach orchards everywhere.”

Callaway remembers accompanying his father, J.C. “Chad” Callaway, on trips to town in Newnan where they hauled cotton to the gin. Numerous small farms dotted the countryside. Today, much of that former farmland has been developed into subdivisions.

“A lot of the farms were sold and houses built on them,” says Callaway. “You go up Smokey Road and see all that development. We’re not quite that developed out here, yet.”

Callaway remembers when the area where Highways 54 and 34 intersect was all rural. The Candler family, who owned controlling stock in Coca-Cola, owned a farm called Rolling Meadows. Dr. C.A. Moody raised horned Herefords in pastures where Interstate 85 now passes under Highway 16, according to Callaway.

Today, along with horse farms, Coweta County’s remaining farms produce hay, dairy products, cut flowers and livestock. Residents are able to purchase local produce at various area markets.

Greenspace in Town

Many Cowetans were drawn here because of the rural appeal and the attention to preserving greenspace. The community offers many activities to get people outdoors to enjoy that greenspace.

New Leaf Community Garden in downtown Newnan has given residents an outdoor space to learn and grow food since 2011. Volunteers are encouraged to help pull weeds, water the garden and harvest the vegetables.

“Our purpose is to educate, feed and nourish the people of Newnan through a sustainable community garden,” says New Leaf Chairman Kim Bish. “In the sharing section, we grow fresh, organic food that is donated to Meals on Wheels and the Salvation Army. Over the years, we’ve donated thousands of pounds of produce back to the community. Our raised bed section provides a place for community members who may not have space at home to come together with other like-minded people to garden.”

The LINC multi-use path system is fun for those who want to enjoy a stroll, bike ride or alternate transportation route. Yoga in the Park, Music in the Park, and similar family-friendly events occur routinely in Newnan, like the monthly NewnaNights at Greenville Street Park. The Newnan Skate Park is nearing completion, and a new event, the Frayed Edges Festival, debuted on July 10.

Art is also important to the community, and local works are exhibited at MainStreet Newnan-sponsored Art Walks each spring and fall. Art on display ranges from painting and pottery to photography and performing arts. With more downtown lofts and townhomes being constructed, people have growing opportunities to live close to where these and other downtown events are happening.

Coweta County’s cities are much smaller than Atlanta, but they offer a wide variety of restaurants, shopping and entertainment options – all intertwined among scenic routes that showcase sprawling farms and pastureland. We have the small-town feel that so many yearn for and greenspace that’s been lost in metro areas, yet Coweta maintains a connection to modern city life, providing the best of both worlds.

Downtown living comes in many shapes and sizes and, at Newnan Views townhomes, it's large.

Located in downtown Newnan, the townhomes are four-story, elevator-equipped abodes with private rooftops and a long list of amenities and upgrade options with a homeowner’s association that takes care of all maintenance and groundwork.

“You own the land and the whole structure,” says Tommy Sweet, president of Cornerstone Commercial Contractors, who says this was his first project with rooftop terraces. “This was the ideal site for this particular type of home. It’s a great entertainment space, and you’ve got the beautiful sunset. You can look over downtown, you’ve got the First Avenue Park, Greenville Street Park, and so many of the owners are walking to dinner, inviting friends over, enjoying what’s happening over in the park.”

Resident Joy Brown Barnes hails from a family that goes back five generations in Coweta County. She and her husband built their first home in
the Welcome Road area and then moved to Newnan Pines where they lived for 26 years. 

Now empty nesters, they live in the new townhomes and even bought a golf cart, which they can take anywhere in town where the speed limit is 35 mph or less.

“Sometimes we just ride around the outskirts of Newnan to see what’s going on because you’ve got a lot of redevelopment going on with the LINC system,” she says.

The amenities of downtown life and community are perks for those moving to the townhomes, says Barnes, adding that her husband enjoys travel, so living where upkeep is handled for them frees up his time.

“There’s a lot that we do that is very modern looking, but we do it in such a way that it fits in with a traditional downtown,” says Sweet. “We still have a lot of masonry on the outside, primarily brick. These homes are about ownership and attracting people who want to get away from yard work or want to stay near friends and family in Newnan, while enjoying less maintenance and more of a downtown feel.”

Farmers markets in Newnan, Senoia and Sharpsburg enable citizens in those towns to routinely purchase farm-fresh vegetables. And they make it possible for growers to conveniently market their homegrown goodies.

Farmers Kim and Richard Littleton sell the produce grown at their family farm near Whitesburg at farmer markets in Newnan. They set up shop at the monthly Market Day, hosted by Main Street Newnan at Court Square, which runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on first Saturdays from April through December. The Littletons also sell at Coweta County Farmers Market, on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Asa Powell Expo Center on Temple Avenue. That market runs from June through mid-October.

Also in Newnan, the Farm to Main Street Farmer’s Market takes place each Monday through mid-October at Court Square.

In Sharpsburg, vendors sell produce and crafts at the Sharpsburg Market the third Saturday of each month at 105 Main Street. Local produce comes from farms like the Christopher family, who own a farm on Christopher Road, and Whitley Farms, who’ve been farming in Coweta County since 2011. Several plant nurseries also take part in the monthly market.

“Agriculture is certainly still in our blood and anything the town can do to promote it, we will,” says Sharpsburg Mayor Blue Cole.

“You have all those amenities right there, but then just minutes away, it’s quiet solitude,” Cole says of the close proximity of rural and town living.

A hop down the highway, the Senoia Farmer’s Market opens on Saturday mornings through Christmas in a century-old, open-air cotton warehouse at 40 Travis Street. About 30 vendors who set up shop each weekend are known as “the Farmily.”

“Senoia Farmers Market is the Saturday gathering spot, bringing farmers, artisans, Senoians of all ages and visitors together for real down-home community,” says Tracy Brady, who has helped run the popular market since it started about two years ago. “Scott Tigchelaar came up with the idea, and he owns the building. I thought it would be a great way to highlight local farmers, artisans and vendors and bring more people downtown.”

Country Gardens Farm, on Sharpsburg-McCollum Road in Newnan, opens its farm stand on Fridays and Saturdays, sells subscription boxes of fresh produce, and offers classes on topics like growing organically and preserving food.

In Newnan, Littleton Family Farm started selling at the Coweta County Farmers Market in 2015, but some vendors have been selling there for 30 years, according to Kim Littleton. Customers who visit the market at Asa Powell are bound to run into local farmers like John and Andy Hemphill, who sell plentiful produce and colorful zinnias, and Hoyt and Linda Copeland, who run a vegetable stand that includes farm fresh eggs

“The market is twice a week and that’s really important when you want to bring fresh produce to market,” says Kim. “We pick every Tuesday for Wednesday’s market and every Friday for Saturday’s market, so we always bring very fresh produce. Whatever’s left over goes in my freezer or canner. It’s not brought back for the next market.”

Over the past few years, Kim and Richard have developed friendships with their customers at the Asa Powell Expo Center, where vendors drive in, unload their trucks, set up tables and sell from under a covered roof, which makes the twice-weekly sales possible, rain or shine.

“Another thing we love about the market is that it’s run by Extension, partially funded by the county, and the price to set up is extremely reasonable,” says Kim, giving a shoutout to Cynthia Jackson, who manages the market. “Our customers just want good produce at a fair price, and the Coweta Farmers Market allows the vendors to provide that for them.”

Selections at farmer markets in Coweta County are plentiful, and that is thanks to the hard work and planning from farmers like the Littletons. Along with growing vegetables to sell at market, they are beekeepers and master gardeners, and Richard is an arborist and master naturalist

“So, we’re a great example of country living,” says Kim. “I even know how to treat a copperhead bite on our large outside dogs.” NCM