GeorgiaDunaway Gardens is a historic rock and floral garden set on roughly 25 acres northwest of Newnan in the Roscoe community. It was created by actress and theatrical producer Hetty Jane Dunaway Sewell, who spent some eighteen years shaping the grounds on her husband's family land and opened them in 1934 as a natural theater and training center for performers. In its heyday the gardens featured spring-fed pools, a waterfall, sunken and hanging gardens, a tearoom, and open-air stages, and hosted well-known figures reportedly including Minnie Pearl and Walt Disney. After Dunaway's death in 1961 the site fell into decades of neglect before being restored by later owners. The surrounding Roscoe-Dunaway Gardens Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996, and the grounds now operate as an events venue and retreat.
Dunaway Gardens
Georgia history, up close and curated.
Dunaway Gardens is a museum in Newnan, Coweta County. It is one of 128 historic sites cataloged in Coweta County on Georgia Roam.
The site sits at 33.4803, -84.8211 near Newnan. The nearest cataloged historic site is Oak Grove Baptist Church Cemetery (cemetery), about 0.7 miles away. Others within a short drive include Jones Cemetery, Andrews Chapel United Methodist Church Cemetery, and Macedonia Cemetery.
This record is drawn from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
Dunaway Gardens is a historic rock and floral garden set on roughly 25 acres northwest of Newnan in the Roscoe community. It was created by actress and theatrical producer Hetty Jane Dunaway Sewell, who spent some eighteen years shaping the grounds on her husband's family land and opened them in 1934 as a natural theater and training center for performers. In its heyday the gardens featured spring-fed pools, a waterfall, sunken and hanging gardens, a tearoom, and open-air stages, and hosted well-known figures reportedly including Minnie Pearl and Walt Disney. After Dunaway's death in 1961 the site fell into decades of neglect before being restored by later owners. The surrounding Roscoe-Dunaway Gardens Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996, and the grounds now operate as an events venue and retreat.
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