Carved from portions of Henry, Jasper, and Walton counties in 1821, Newton County was once part of the Creek Indian Nation. In December of 1821, Newton County was created by the Georgia General Assembly and was named for Sergeant John Newton, a revolutionary war hero.

The county seat of Newtonsborough would later become the city of Covington in 1822. Covington, located minutes from I-20 and metro Atlanta cities, is most noted for its many ante-bellum estates and has become a regular tourist attraction thanks to the many Hollywood productions that have been filmed in numerous locations in Covington and other Newton County landmarks. The most notable landmark would be the Historic Newton County Courthouse, which has been used in filming many Hollywood productions.

Newton County's first courthouse, built in 1822, was a modest timber structure built in the center of the town square and was used as a meeting Newton. On December 31, 1883, Covington witnessed its "great fire" which actually started from the saloon next door and quickly spread to surrounding buildings. Construction on the new courthouse began in August of 1884 and was completed in September of 1885. Since then, the Newton County Courthouse has been seen in television and movie films such as "In the Heat of the Night", "Dukes of Hazzard", and "Flash."

back to home page