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DOWNTOWN NEWNAN! This Place Matters.....

Downtown Newnan would like to invite our community to participate in a Place Making project, and we are asking YOU to make and share history! All that you need to get started is a cell phone and a memory that took place in Downtown Newnan. This Place Matters is national campaign that encourages people to celebrate the places that are meaningful to them and to their communities.This Place Matters was founded by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and has trickled into communities across the United States, including Newnan, Georgia!

Please click here for more information about participating, and to submit a story!

This Place Matters!

Scott's Bookstore Mural - 1998

Submitted by Sue Beard

I was the director of the Main Street Newnan program also a shop owner in downtown Newnan. The program was instrumental in the idea, the history to be depicted and finding someone to paint the Mural on Scott’s Bookstore building on the Court Square. It was a wonderful project that involved so many community members. It was and is so beautiful and part of what downtown Newnan memories are to me. I stop and see it every time I visit!

Court Square

Submitted by Kathy Bohannon

We have just moved back to Newnan after 20 years away. The court Square is and has always been dear to my heart. When we were raising our children in Moreland, we would take a trip to Kessler‘s to see what was new, and we would always stop at the candy counter for popcorn and chocolate stars. We enjoyed sitting on the benches around the court house, and even enjoy the occasional trip inside that historic place. I have always loved Newnan and I could not wait to return and one of the first things I did upon our return was walk the Court Square once again.

Court Square & Old Newnan Hospital

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Submitted by Chafin Beckom Pitts

I am a second generation Newnanite, born in Newnan and grew up in and around the city. I moved away when I married my husband, Justin Pitts, who is from Griffin, to accompany him during his time in service. Other than being “home”, The City of Homes means many things to me. I could go on for days about the memories! My late grandfather W.L. Beckom owned B&C Amoco, my grandfather Rev. D.L. Moody preached for many years in Newnan, and much of my family still lives in and around the city. When I think of downtown Newnan, my mind immediately jumps to Christmas. Christmas was the favorite holiday of my late grandmother, Peggy Moody. I vividly remember the lights of the buildings illuminating the foggy backseat window where I’d sit with my face pressed to the cool glass. My grandfather would drive us all over Newnan to see the lights but my favorite was always the lit magnolias that stood in front of the old Newnan Hospital (both I and my older brother were born there) on the corner of Jackson and Clark streets. The magnitude of those trees always amazed me. Memories of Christmas in Newnan are some that I hold nearest and dearest to my heart; the anticipation of Santa’s visit and spending time with one of my most favorite people on Earth, my Nana. When coming home, I think of her and the welcoming feeling I always felt at her house when I enter the city limits. Whether I’m in Texas, North Carolina, New Hampshire, or now Oklahoma, Newnan is and will always be home to me and every visit makes it harder and harder to leave. I love coming home to something new, but I love even more that Newnan honors it’s past. Everything about Newnan is what I carry with me in my heart when I’m away: the pride of being a southerner, the pride of being a small towner, and the love of the family there waiting for me to return.

1978 Belk Gallant Department Store

Belk Gallant Department Store
3 East Court Square

Back in the late fall of 1978, I was working in the men's department at the Belk Gallant Department Store. One evening, a gentleman came into the store to buy some clothes for himself. I remember him spending well over $100.00 which at the time was a lot of money for clothes. Other than remembering the large sale, (I was part time, so didn't get to have many "large" sales), the transaction really didn't stand out in my mind. The next year, I was at Power's Crossroads, working for the festival, my mother was on the board of directors, so Power's was a huge event in our family. That year, I spent a lot of time at the Jaycee's hamburger stand. You see there was this guy that I had my eye on. Three days after Power's, this guy, Ricky Marchman asked me out. We hit it off, and became a quick couple. Approximately 3 weeks into our dating, we were getting to know each other a little better by talking about our past. I mentioned that I worked at Belk's. He was quick to tell me that he knew! You see, the gentleman that I sold all those clothes to back in the fall of the previous year was Ricky. He told me that he was so impressed by the excellent customer service, that he had kept the credit card receipt. He did not hesitate to show me and sure enough, that was my writing on the receipt.

While Belk has since moved to other locations, I will always remember it on the Court Square because it's the location that I first met my husband of now 38 years!


Submitted by Deborah Marchman

Main Street Newnan Program

As one of Georgia’s elder Main Street programs, Main Street Newnan has served as a liaison between the City of Newnan and the business community, local and regional economic development groups and the non-profit sector for three decades! Our inception as an accredited Main Street Program occurred 32 years ago on April 4, 1986. The efforts to receive this designation were organized by a group of local volunteers, businesses and partnering organizations, who invested countless hours of personal time and financial resources to safeguard the fate of our downtown. Their commitment to preserve our city’s cultural identity through the redevelopment of our downtown district served as an example that continues to move our program forward in 2018.


Submitted by Main Street Newnan
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