Coweta County Court House

Newnan- Coweta Historical Society

Dedicated to the preservation and conservation of the cultural, historical and architectural heritage of Coweta County.

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COWETA COUNTY COURT HOUSE
NEWNAN, GEORGIA

The earliest seat of government in Coweta County was Bullsboro, two and a half miles east of Newnan. In 1827-28 the Inferior Court of Coweta County selected the present site of Newnan to be the county seat. Identified as Land Lot 25, Fifth Land District, and containing 202 1/2 acres, this tract had been drawn by Charles Connally in the Land Lottery of 1827. The land was bought from him for $100 and a deed was executed to the county on March 20, 1828. County Surveyor Charles Cleghorn laid out the site for the court square and the streets.

Coweta County's first courthouse was built in 1829 by Captain W.H. Hitchcock. It faced east, was brick, two stories high, had a portico on its west side fronted by four white Doric columns and was surrounded by chinaberry and locust trees. During the War Between the States, it served as a hospital. Sheds 12 by 100 feet were built around it in the shade of the trees. The courthouse felt the fury of Federal guns - its walls were penetrated several times on July 30, 1864 by shots of the 18th Indiana Artillery, attached to the cavalry command of General E.M. McCook.

After much public discussion, the County Commissioners decided in 1903 to replace the courthouse. J.W. Golucke and Company, an Atlanta architect, was retained. R.D. Cole Manufacturing Co. of Newnan was awarded the construction contract. The old structure was demolished after the March term of the Superior Court in 1904. The present building was completed for $58,000 and formally opened on December 30, 1904.

The architect, James Golucke, was the son of a German immigrant who settled in Georgia. Having no formal architectural training, he learned his profession by apprenticeship, starting first as a woodworker.

The Coweta County Courthouse is an example of Neoclassical Revival architecture. Traditionally, cornices and pediments are of stone. But in this case, stamped and formed copper was used. The architecture reflects both the influence of Italian architect Andrea Palladro in its central crossing plan and English architect Christopher Wrenn in its symmetrical classicism. The entire interior has been coordinated with the exterior, ornamentation and rhythms being repeated throughout.

One of the most interesting features is the dome, reminiscent of the famed Gibbs' Radcliff Library. Rising more than 100 feet above the Court Square, it features clocks on all four sides. Originally hand wound, the clocks were switched to electricity in the 1960's. The dome is covered with copper to match the cornice, pediment and railings.

The architectural details of the courtroom are outstanding. Here Golucke did his finest woodwork and the room is almost Georgian. Ionic pilasters engaged to the walls reflect the exterior columns. The ceiling of formed metal is finely designed. Deep, carved cornices run the entire circumference of the room with dentils which echo the same details on the exterior pediments and cornices. French doors exit to the balconies in the Georgian manner. The entire room is formal, not at all typical of the average courtroom. Large portraits of Governor William Yates Atkinson and Governor Ellis Gibbs Arnall hang behind the judge's bench. The rare horseshoe-shaped table in the Grand Jury room is also worthy of note.

In 1974 and in 1990, the Coweta County Courthouse was refurbished under the direction of the County Commissioners. The interior offices were remodeled, facilities were modernized, and the courtroom was restored. The Coweta County Courthouse was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Additional information on this and other Coweta County attractions can be obtained from the Coweta County Welcome Center, 100 Walt Sanders Memorial Drive, Newnan, 770-254-2627, 800-826-9382, www.coweta.ga.us and the Male Academy Museum, 30 Temple Avenue, 770-251-0207.