Senoia, Georgia

History

Around 1828, a large number of people traveled from Newberry, South Carolina, in covered wagons, oxcarts, on horseback, and by foot. In the group were preachers, farmers, masons, and most any other occupation of the day. The names read like a current register of the area, since these forerunners have numerous descendants still making their homes in Senoia. In the group from South Carolina were the Atkinsons, Addys, Pages, Youngs, Levells, Shells, Barnes, Falls, Moses and many others. They scattered across the countryside, each trying to find a new start. And find it they did in the rich land of eastern Coweta. Raising cotton, and livestock, the area was an agricultural Utopia.

Geography

Senoia is located in southeastern Coweta County at 33°18′7″N 84°33′12″W (33.301849, -84.553450). It is bordered to the north by Peachtree City in Fayette County.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Senoia has a total area of 5.4 square miles (14.1 km²), of which 5.4 square miles (13.9 km²) is land and 0.12 square miles (0.3 km²), or 2.03%, is water.

Demographics

At the 2010 U.S.census, there were 3,307 people, 1,175 households and 946 families residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 80.3% White, 14.5% African American, 0.3% Native American, 1.6% Asian, 1.1% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.6% of the population.

At the 2000 U.S. Census, there were 632 households of which 38.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.9% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.5% were non-families. 18.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 98.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.9 males.

The median household income was $50,080 and the median family income was $56,382. Males had a median income of $36,000 versus $27,900 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,819. About 5.6% of families and 7.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.9% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over.

Town name

Where the name "Senoia" came from is difficult to determine. There are four main theories:

1. Senoya He-ne-ha was the wife of Captain William McIntosh. Their son, also named William McIntosh, was a general in the army and a chief in his band of Creek Indians. Senoya was a member of the prestigious Wind Clan of the Creek Indians. This is what established the idea of "Princess Senoia".
2. From an edition of a one-time Senoia paper, the Enterprise-Gazette, comes this quotation concerning the naming of the town: "John Williams suggested the name Senoia for an Indian Chief of that name, a medicine man and philanthropist, noble, brave, and generous, who lived near the present location of Sargent."
3. Another newspaper account in 1873 held that Colonel William C. Barnes came up with the name in honor of a clever Indian who formerly resided in the community.
4. Others say that "Senoia" comes from Shenoywa, a Native American title for Chief William McIntosh.

Southern Living Idea House

Senoia is unique, as it has been chosen twice to host the Southern Living Idea House, in 2010 and 2012. The Idea Houses are designer showcases of the finest trends in home design and furnishings.

Notable people

Film and television

Riverwood Studios is located in Senoia. Such movies as Fried Green Tomatoes, Driving Miss Daisy and the 2011 remake of Footloose were partly filmed in the town.

Parts of season 3 of The Walking Dead were filmed in Senoia, which stood in for the town of Woodbury, Georgia, where survivors of the zombie apocalypse established a settlement. The fourth season of the series was also filmed in Senoia in 2013. Season 5 started filming on May 5, 2014. A neighborhood of the town stands in for the Alexandria Safe Zone near Alexandria, Virginia when the survivors are taken in by another group of survivors during season 6. The fact that Senoia serves as the filming location for multiple places in the show has led fans of the show to flock there, a development that has met with a negative reception from some town residents.