The rehabilitation of Newnan’s landmark 1904 courthouse is about half way complete. Those familiar with the building prior to the rehab, along with the county’s newer residents who have never been inside, are in for a spectacular treat once the project is completed. Inside and out, the old courthouse will soon dramatically alter the downtown landscape.

Everyone who has passed through downtown Newnan in recent months has seen the changes to the building and the grounds. The first change was the removal of a number of the large trees that had stood for decades. Though unpopular with some in the community, their removal allowed for a more complete view of a building that is a truly unique landmark.

Particularly striking is the tall bell tower. The majority of the work planned for the dome involves repairing and replacing the trimwork and placing a waterproof barrier behind the copper sheeting, said Coweta Public Information Officer Patricia Palmer. Though hard to distinguish from ground level, all the copper and much of the wood supports required replacement. Also missing from the ground view is the intricate work that went into the tower and dome.

And inside the building, the completion of the project will allow those who enter to step back 100 years into the past.

“Preserving the courtroom and grand jury room, along with using historically accurate materials and colors has been a goal from the beginning,” Palmer said of what was and will continue to be the historic structure’s showcase area. It is nothing short of ornate, signaling back to the look of large courtrooms a century ago.

The floorplan of the building will remain essentially the same but with the addition of an elevator and additional restrooms. Original octagon tile will cover the first floor hallways and the pine floors in other areas is being re-worked to bring them back to the original finish. The walls in some of the office areas are undergoing major needed rehab and, once completed, will be restored with structural foam. Meantime, upstairs in the courtroom the floor will be outfitted with cork tile, as it was over 100 years ago.

Headley Construction Corp. project manager Albert “Bubba” Johnston last week explained that selective demolition of some areas of the courthouse began approximately two years ago in order to return the building to its original state. That work included the removal of boilers and the suspended ceilings on the first floor and the additional of new HVAC equipment.

“The rehab doesn’t change the basic structure of the building or the offices or courtroom,” Johnston said. “It’s reconfiguring some of the first floor offices to fit the needs of the tenants, along with the addition of the elevator and more restrooms.”

The first floor of the building will house the Convention and Visitors Bureau and Coweta County Probate Court. The large courtroom on the second floor will be used for Probate Court proceedings and might be used for other selected occasions, Palmer said.

The courtroom is huge and is itself a work of art. Similar to what appears on the first and second floors to be intricate cornice and molding is actually plaster from chair level to the ceiling.

Palmer said a conservator took finish samples of the plaster and trim in the courtroom and the hallways and was able to determine the original colors of those locations. The samples show the different shades of the walls and trim over the years. The palette for the hallway includes an off white/cream for the ceiling, a golden brown for the top of the wall and a milk chocolate brown for the lower part of the wall. The palette for the courtroom includes the same off white/cream for the ceiling and the brown for the lower part of the wall, but with a warm green for the top of the wall and a brighter gold for the plaster trim. 

Seating in the courtroom will feature the same type chairs in use just after the turn of the 20th century. The chairs will be theater style with metal frames and wooden seats and backs. The balcony, which along with large storage rooms and a new catering kitchen is part of the third floor, will be outfitted with a variety of 8-foot to 26-foot benches like those from 100 years ago, Johnston said.

And in the grand jury room visitors will find the large original horseshoe-shaped table that is currently being rehabbed.

Further up into the building are several levels ascending to the top of the bell tower. Amazing in detail, the entire bell tower assemblage is a structural engineer’s dream. And the exterior of the tower, with so much work now being done on it now, will result next summer in a blaze of copper that no one in the area could miss.

A bit of history about the original construction, said Johnston, was that the construction in 1904 required only 10 months to complete and at a cost of $60,000 for the exterior along with $72,000 in interior furnishings.

Palmer said a committee of 14 citizens from across the county had worked together to make recommendations on the future of the building.

Work on the $7.5 million Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax-funded (SPLOST) project was slated to take 12-18 months and is expected to be completed sometime next summer.

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