Coweta’s Questionable History by Jackie Kennedy

Think you know Coweta County history? Maybe you do, maybe you don't! Check out these facts that are often questioned and sometimes mistaken, even by longtime locals.

Q. How is Coweta properly pronounced?

A. Since its establishment 200 years ago, Coweta County has been pronounced as both "Cow-eet-uh" and "Ky-eet-uh," while the former is considered the correct pronunciation nowadays. Remember it by asking yourself what does a cow eat: "Cow eat a what?" In no form or fashion is "Cow-et-uh" appropriate!

Q. For that matter, how is Senoia pronounced?

A. Don't let that "a" at the end fool you. It begs to be pronounced, but when you do, you're mispronouncing the name of this East Coweta town. It's not "Suh-noy-uh." It's simply "Suh-noy." Remember it with this rhyme: "The Boy from Suh-noy." Good job.

Q. Speaking of Senoia, what's the irony regarding its earliest name?

A. It's a name any real estate agent would love. The first settlement in the area of Senoia was named: Location. Pretty ironic considering the town would eventually become known for films and TV shows shot "on location."

Q. Is Newnan's famous Booger from Belt Road or Belk Road?

A. Folks will come to fisticuffs over this, but both names are correct: Belt Road Booger and Belk Road Booger. The road is the same but named differently. Inside Newnan city limits, it's Belt Road; outside the city limits, Coweta County's name for this stretch of asphalt is Belk Road. Therefore, it depends on where the Booger is sighted as to which name is appropriate. The Booger reportedly was first spotted in 1979 and is said to have been seen several times since then. With bared fangs and pointed horns, it supposedly killed neighborhood chickens and at least two dogs. Don’t know about the Belk/Belt Road Booger, read all about Coweta’s own urban legend here.

Taxidermist Steve Bradley’s “Belk Road Booger” hung on the wall of the Ace Hardware on Belt Road for several years!

Q. What historic part of their establishments do Sharpsburg and Moreland have in common?

A. Both the towns of Sharpsburg and Moreland were originally laid out in circular patterns. Sharpsburg's original city limits were drawn as a circle and extended a quarter-mile around the train depot. Moreland also was laid out as a perfect circle, but its town lines were drawn extending one-half mile in all directions from the train station.