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BFMV's New Office
- Melanie Rosebrock, CVA
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
BFMV has a new home base in the Newnan historic district at 29 Jackson Street. The Folk Victorian, Reconstruction Era house was constructed in 1870, with an addition built on later in the twentieth century to update the home with a modernized kitchen and bath. The original craftsmanship and charm have been preserved and maintained for generations to come. We are enjoying this new chapter of BFMV’s shared history with Newnan.
Some Newnan History Around the Time of our New Office Construction
By 1860, thanks in large part to its location along the Atlanta & West Point Railroad, Newnan had a courthouse, a women’s college, a bustling cotton warehouse, and a busy sawmill. The town population had reached 946, nearly evenly divided between whites and enslaved black people. Predominantly financed through agricultural commerce and the cotton trade, Newnan distinguished itself with relatively large and fine homes, mainly of the Victorian style, along Jackson Street and nearby. During the Civil War (1861-1865), many of these homes, as well as nearby historic churches and schools, were spared from the destruction of war because they served as hospitals for thousands of wounded soldiers from both the North and South armies. In the years immediately following the Civil War, the Southern economy underwent significant changes. As early as 1866, manufacturing and textile industries in Newnan were laying a restored foundation for growth and reconstruction in the South. In 1870, the year our office was constructed, Georgia was readmitted to the Union as the last former confederate state. As a condition for readmittance, the Georgia General Assembly ratified the fifteenth amendment, which prohibits denying the right to vote based on race, color, or previous servitude. BFMV’s new address embodies the resolute hope of a people after loss, a witness to the resilience of people moving forward in the wake of division and breaking.
Extra Credit: Early Newnan History
Newnan, the county seat of Coweta County, was incorporated in 1828 after the land between the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers was ceded by the Creek (Muscogee) people in the controversial 1825 Treaty of Indian Springs. It ceded around 3 million acres, including what is now Coweta, Carroll, Meriwether, Troup, and Heard counties, to the state and federal governments. The treaty was controversial at the time because it was not authorized by the full Creek National Council, only by the faction led by Chief William McIntosh and a small group of Lower Creek leaders. Around a month after the signing of the treaty in 1825, 200 Upper Creek warriors assassinated Chief McIntosh for profiting from the sale of tribal land and set fire to his home. McIntosh had constructed the Indian Spring Hotel in 1823, near Flovilla, Butts County, Georgia, which still stands as a museum that features “The Treaty Room”.
