Serving as a center of government, education, healthcare, and culture, the leading city of Newnan is home to two major hospital campuses, two centers of higher education, a number of historic districts, and a bustling downtown retail district. Harmonizing strong traditions with a progressive attitude, the community has long been known as a "City of Homes." In fact, the motto is well-lit on the old Carnegie Library building in downtown Newnan. Many of the historic homes that were built in the city's age of prosperity prior to the Civil War have been lovingly preserved and faultlessly maintained. In the early 1900s, another economic boom added lovely Victorians to the cityscape. Later, handsome new storefronts with ornamental trim and friezework harmonized with the town's other elegant structures to make Newnan one of the South's most charming and visually appealing communities.