Covington Living Today: Covington Residents Hear "Voices From the Past"

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.