COWETA COUNTY
MERIWETHER COUNTY
Coweta County Courthouse:
Red Oak Covered Bridge:
Those who love stunning architecture will want to visit this 1904 Neoclassical Revival courthouse that commands the square in historic downtown Newnan. The building reflects the Italian influence of architect Andrea Palladro and the symmetrical classicism of English architect, Christopher Wrenn. The signature feature is the impressive copper-covered dome that rises 100 feet above the square, featuring a clock on all four sides. Recently a detailed renovation was completed to restore the original features of the building.
According to the Georgia Department of Transportation, our state once featured over 250 covered bridges, but today you will find less than 20. The most renowned bridge builder in Georgia was Horace King, born into slavery in 1807, but later freed in 1846 by his former master, mentor and building contractor, John Godwin, who understood King’s construction talents. Using the Town’s Lattice Truss design, King built over 100 covered bridges in Georgia and throughout the South. Later his sons joined him in the family business. After the Civil War, King served in the Alabama legislature, before moving to LaGrange, where he died in 1885. His unmarked grave was discovered in 1978, and a headstone was placed there with the inscription, “Horace King, Master Covered Bridge Builder.”
Did you know? Coweta County Courthouse is the site of the 1948 trial of John Wallace, a wealthy landowner in Meriwether County who murdered his sharecropper, Wilson Turner, across the county line in Coweta County, making the crime under the jurisdiction of Coweta County. A book and movie, both titled “Murder in Coweta County,” tells the story of the crime that occurred in 1948 and is significant because it was the first time in the history of the state of Georgia that a white man was convicted and sentenced to death on the testimony of two black men who were forced by Wallace to help him dispose of the body.
Oak Hill Cemetery: Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, you can find this majestic, 60-acre cemetery at 96 Jefferson Street in downtown Newnan. According to a historic marker at the site, a section of the cemetery is the final resting place of 269 Confederate soldiers who died during the Civil War. Men from every state in the confederacy are represented in the burials and only two were not identified. Other notable burials include soldiers of the Revolutionary War and two Georgia governors – Ellis Arnall and William Atkinson. Did you know? There are over 12,000 grave sites at Oak Hill Cemetery.
house unty Court Coweta Co nan New
As you head south on GA Hwy 74/85 past Senoia and Haralson, and four miles before you reach the town of Woodbury, look for signs for the Red Oak Covered Bridge, sometimes called the Imlac Covered Bridge. It spans Red Oak Creek in the tiny community of Imlac. Built in the 1840s by Horace King, the bridge is the oldest and longest wooden bridge still in use in Georgia, and you can drive (slowly) over its bumpy, wooden expanse! There is a picnic area across the bridge next to the creek. The bridge was featured in the 2012 film, “Lawless.” Did you know? Why cover a bridge? Back in the day, bridges were built of wood, and harsh weather conditions deteriorated the wood quickly. It was determined that covering a bridge to protect the roadway timbers increased its life-expectancy by 40 years! Covering a bridge proved serendipitous in other ways as well, providing shelter from the rain and shade from the hot sun. A covered bridge kept horses from shying as they crossed a body of water, and it offered a private place for young lovers to meet and steal a kiss – hence the name often given to covered bridges – “kissing bridges!”
Red Oak Covere d Bridge Imlac
