Covington, GA

Nine past citizens of Newton County “spoke” to visitors strolling through the historic Covington City Cemetery last Thursday evening during the Newton County Chamber of Commerce’s “Voices From The Past” tour.

Local residents dressed in period costumes portrayed notable past citizens of the county, providing vignettes of their lives and county history during the 1800s and early 1900s. Each presented their story standing beside the grave of the resident they portrayed.

Residents represented in the portrayals included Mahala Pitts Clark, born into slavery who died at the age of 100; George Thompson, a gypsy killed at Clark’s Grove as a result of a gambling altercation; Reverend Toney Baker, first pastor of the African-American Bethel Baptist Church; Dr. Luke Robinson, one of the county’s first physicians; Julia A. Camp Porter whose husband founded Porterdale and its textile mill, and after whom the Julia A. Porter Memorial Methodist Church is named; Martha Hood Dorsett, a young frontierswoman who died at the age of 20, but whose descendants still reside in the area; Frances Reynolds Brown Merritt whose husband and three children all died within a short seven-year marriage; Reverend Andrew Hamill, a Methodist circuit-riding preacher who served the spiritual needs of Georgians from Brunswick to Blairsville, and; General James Phillip Simms, Confederate General and state legislator.

Local resident Louise Adams portrayed Mahala Pitts Clark. Ernie Smith was the gypsy George Thompson. The Reverend Hezekiah Benton, current pastor of Bethel Baptist Church, portrayed Reverend Toney Baker. Chris Smith, descendant of Dr. Luke Robinson, portrayed his ancestor. Cynthia Millsaps became Julia A. Camp Porter. Amelia Thomaston, Oxford College student, portrayed Martha Hood Dorsett. Sandi Schein tugged your heartstrings as Frances Reynolds Brown Merritt. Reverend Brian Dale became circuit-rider Reverend Andrew Hamill. And Will Alisberg played General James Phillip Simms.

Tour guides led groups from the sold-out event through the cemetery, pointing out distinctive monuments, inter-relating the cemetery and county history, and explaining the meaning and significance of symbols and markings on the memorials and grave stones.

The Covington City Cemetery consists of five separate sections:

• The Old Methodist, Northwest Section
• The Confederate, Northeast Section
• The African American, Eastern Central Section
• The Memorial Garden, West central Section, and
• The City Cemetery, The Central and largest Section

Within the city limits of Covington, ten other cemeteries have been identified, bringing the total cemeteries in Newton County to 270, identified so far.

The Tourism Division of the Newton Chamber, in cooperation with the Newton County Historical Society should be commended for staging this unique event. "Voices From The Past" offered Covington residents a special opportunity to be both educated and entertained by our county’s history.

Covington Georgia September 2009 Real Estate Market Report

• Active Listings 1024
• Pending Sales 126
• Closed Sales 79
• Week's Inventory 56 (Absorption Rate)
  

The "Weeks Inventory" indicates the number of weeks it takes to sell the current inventory of homes on the market at the present rate of sales. Inventory level in a "good real estate market" is considered to be around 24 weeks.

Since Last Month's Report:

• Active Listings DOWN 26.3%
• Pending Sales DOWN 9.4%
• Closed Sales DOWN 15%

Foreclosures:

New foreclosures in the Covington and Newton County real estate market were DOWN in September by 9.4% from last month's figure. However, for the nine-month period, foreclosures are still UP 1.4% in the county over 2008.

The Average Sales Price of homes in the Covington real estate market in September was UP 31% over August to $141,031, and UP 7% from the same period in 2008. That's good news!

It's still taking longer to seel our homes in the Covington real estate market. The Average Days On Market of homes listed in Covington was UP 9.7% over August, and 12.9% over September 2008.

DISCLAIMER: All information, photographs & content contained within this blog is the property of Bill Blair and may only be used with express written permission of the author or via the Active Rain "reblog" function, posted in its entirity with attribution to the author.

All statistical information used to create this report was obtained from GAMLS. Information Deemed Reliable but not Guaranteed.

The Covington Georgia Real Estate Market Report - August 2009

If you enjoy history or want to learn more about Covington's history and that of the people who have lived here, here's something you won't want to miss.

On Thursday evening, October 15, the Tourism Division of the Covington/Newton County Chamber of commerce is sponsoring a guided walking tour of the historic Covington City Cemetery. The cemetery is located off Conyers and Church Streets just a couple of blocks off the historic square.

The tour will be conducted by people in period costumes representing several "residents" of the cemetery who will provide graveside commentary about their lives and history of Covington and the surrounding area.

For those unable to walk the route, golf carts will be provided.

The crisp fall weather, personal portrayals and rich history of Covington will make this an event not to be missed.

Tickets may be purchased at the Covington visitors center on Clark Street between now and the event. No tickets will be sold at the cemetery. Admission to the tour is $10 for adults and $5 for children. All proceeds will go to the Newton County History Center, being developed in Covington's historic jail building, and to the construction of the Newton County Miracle Field.

Come out for an enjoyable evening. Learn more about our history. And support our local charities.

This week begins the autumn season, and Colonel Cob’s Corn Maze in Oxford is open again with an all-new maze and several new attractions.

The pathways through Colonel Cob’s 7-acre cornfield this year is in the shape of a giant pirate ship. You should be able to navigate your way through the ship and safely back to the dock in about 30 minutes. But for the “directionally challenged,” it could take much longer. Co-owners Tommy and Emy Mitcham have also placed water-related trivia clues throughout the maze to help you navigate. If you answer the trivia questions about uses of water, large bodies of water, etc. correctly, they’ll point you to the next clue and out of the maze. Incorrect answers will send you in circles and ensure that you just wander about in the corn.

Other attractions at Colonel Cob’s include the traditional pumpkin patch, hayrides, bonfires, helicopter rides, pony rides, a corn cannon, inflatable slides and jumpers, a sand mountain full of treasure, and barbeque catered by Where There’s Smoke Barbeque and Catering from Mansfield. The Mitchams also provide educational activities for children and school groups such as movies and audios about farming and farm life.

At Colonel Cob’s, tickets are $8 for the maze and $4 for the hayride through the farm. Combined tickets are available. Helicopter and pony rides cost extra.

Other corn mazes in the area include Corn Dawgs in Loganville, Southern Belle Farm in McDonough, Washington Farms in Watkinsville, Cagle’s Dairy Farm in Canton, and Uncle Shuck’s in Dawsonville.

Even as the leaves begin to change their color, Covington’s Clark’s Grove is "going greener.”

The Clark’s Grove Homeowner’s Association and several individual homeowners in the neighborhood are applying for a solar power grant from the Georgia Environmental Facilities Agency (GEFA). GEFA will supply grants from a $4,000,000 pool provided by the Federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the “Stimulus Bill”) for alternate energy projects in the state.

The Homeowner’s Association portion of the grant would provide solar panels for power and hot water for the neighborhood swim club. Individual homeowner grants would provide power for normal electrical service, solar thermal water heating, or a combination of the two.

The grant, if approved, would provide 75% of the cost of each residential system, with the homeowner providing the remaining 25%. Homes must have proper sun orientation and exposure to participate.

Hannah Solar, who is submitting the grant on behalf of Clark’s Grove, says that the roof-mounted solar panels should cut electricity bills almost in half for the homeowners, providing a payback to the user in only two to three years. After the payback, everything is “savings” for the consumer. The system should be expected to operate without problems for at least 20 years.

Clark’s Grove is Covington’s premiere Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND). TNDs are an emerging national trend in land use planning, smart development, and environmental stewardship. Walkable communities where people live, work, shop and play, TND neighborhoods, such as Clark’s Grove, feature a town center, parks, plazas, commercial establishments, civic buildings, common green spaces, tree-lined sidewalks, narrow street grids, paths and trails throughout, and homes with front porches set close to the street on small lots.

Homes in Clark’s Grove are built to “EarthCraft” standards. EarthCraft House is a green building program that specifies building standards resulting in healthy, comfortable homes that reduce utility bills and protect the environment. The program is a partnership between the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association, Southface Energy Institute, the government and industry partners whose aim is to help home builders be leaders in smart growth management and environmental stewardship.