Newton

Formed December 24, 1821 (53^rd county)

Newton County (112,491), Covington (14,207)

The clock tower stands out on the 1884 Second Empire style courthouse.  It is located at Monticello and Clark streets.  Georgia State Highway 36 is Clark Street.  The red brick courthouse designers were Bruce and Morgan.  The building was renovated in 2003, a Judicial Center was added in 1998 and County Administration in 2007.  The courthouse features a tower with a working clock.  Veteran memorials are across the street.  The county was formed on December 24, 1821 from parts of Henry, Jasper, and Walton counties as the 53^rd county.  Covington has always been the county seat.  The county is named for Revolutionary War hero John Newton.  He also is the namesake for Baker County’s seat.  General Leonard Covington provided the inspiration for the county seat’s name.  The county center is 3.1 miles South of Covington. 

Newton County government consists of a sheriff, an administrator, a coroner, a clerk, and a tax commissioner (executive).  It has 6 Commissioners (legislative.)  Twenty-four Superior Court Judges serve Newton, Banks, Barrow, Burke, Clarke, Columbia, Elbert, Franklin, Glascock, Hart, Jackson, Lincoln, Madison, McDuffie, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Richmond, Taliaferro, Walton, Warren, and Wilkes counties and Three County Judges, court clerk, and county attorney serve Newton County (judicial.) The county is in north central Georgia to the southeast of Atlanta, Georgia and southwest of Athens, Georgia.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Walton, Morgan, Jasper, Butts, Henry, and Rockdale counties. 

The area of the county is 276 square miles.  It is 111 out of 159 counties in the state.  It ranks 23 out of 159 in population in the state.  It has a density of 407.6 persons per square mile making it 23 out of 159 in the state.  Newton County has 17.3% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 20 comes from the east, Walton County, and goes to the west, Rockdale County.  United States Highway 278 parallels Interstate Highway 20 from Walton County to Rockdale County.  The county is shaped like a diamond with Covington located in the northern third of the county.  Covington is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 12.6% of the county population.  This county is in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta Metropolitan Statistical Area.