Newton County: Culture, Film History, and Nature

Newton County covers 279 square miles in north-central Georgia, east of Atlanta. Interstate 20 runs through the area, connecting it with Atlanta and the Port of Savannah. Historic sites, film history, and nature activities each offer a distinct focus in the county.

Historic Sites and Film History

The Covington Historic District includes the downtown square, adjacent commercial, government, and institutional buildings, and historic residential neighborhoods to the east, south, and west. Much of the district dates from Covington’s original town plan of 1822. The original courthouse square and regular street grid remain intact. This means the focus is not only on individual buildings, but also on the historic district’s preserved layout.

Oxford’s historic heritage can also be explored. A self-guided tour leads to more than twenty preserved 19th-century buildings and sites associated with Methodism. The entire city, including Oxford College, was recognized as a Shrine of the United Methodist Church in 1972; it was the first city in the country to receive this recognition. The tour and the designation offer different perspectives: the tour focuses on preserved sites and buildings, while the recognition applies to the city as a whole and Oxford College.

A visitor walking tour of the Oxford Historical Cemetery is listed, spanning the period from 1837 to the present. Check current information about the tour before visiting.

Porterdale Historic District is one of the best-preserved mill villages in Georgia. A group of five historic water towers is another distinctive feature of the district. Porterdale also has more than 500 original mill workers’ houses, all listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The houses and water towers give this historic site a distinct place in the region’s industrial history.

Film history can be traced through specific locations. First United Methodist Church in Covington served as the exterior of a church in an Oscar-nominated film. The self-guided Covington On Location Tour leads to filming locations for The Dukes of Hazzard, In the Heat of the Night, Remember the Titans and other television and film productions.

Nature, Parks, and Activities on the Water

Factory Shoals Park is located on the Alcovy River in the southern part of Newton County. The nature park covers more than 450 acres and has an 18-hole disc golf course. Each hole has two tee boxes and two baskets. These details make the course’s layout especially clear: each hole offers a choice of two tees and two baskets. Fishing is also available at Lake Varner Park.

Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center is a 6,700-acre wooded area near Mansfield, managed by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Its hands-on educational programs are designed for students in grades K–12, Scouts, families, and adults. The program therefore caters to a range of age groups and visitor interests. The Charlie Elliott Visitor Center provides information about available activities and offers trail maps and regulations. For visitors getting oriented, it combines activity information with practical maps and rules.

Near Porterdale is the seven-mile Yellow River Water Trail. It is suitable for kayaking, stand-up paddling, fishing, and canoeing. These activities range from paddling to fishing; the trail offers a different way to experience the area’s water activities than the disc golf course or the educational programs at Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center.

Discover more destinations: Covington, Terrell County, Bacon, Butts, Richmond, Gwinnett, Greene, Bryan.

For the broader travel overview: Georgia.