Covington, Georia April 1, 2022

We are visiting Covington, Georgia, a lovely town east of Atlanta. It was the home of the father of my wife Beth Smith Ruyle, and she spent a good deal of time here in the summer.  Covington has been used in filming numerous tv shows and movies.

"In Covington alone, the real-life classic southern scenery has served as a backdrop for more than 100 feature films and television shows. The town’s historic square, with its iconic courthouse featuring a clock tower, is instantly recognized by many viewers as the fictionalized version of Sparta in the TV series In the Heat of the Night. To another generation, Covington is Mystic Falls, the imaginary small-town setting for The Vampire Diaries."

https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2019/august/30/go-on-location-in-the-hollywood-of-the-south

Covington has been featured in numerous TV shows and movies since the 1950s.^[16]

• A Man called Peter (1955)
• False Face (1977)
• The Dukes of Hazzard (1979, TV series, first 5 episodes)
• The Prize Fighter (1979)
• Little Darlings (1980)
• The Cannonball Run (1981)
• Coward of the County (1981, TV movie)
• Door to Door (1985)
• Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI (1986)
• Resting Place (1986, TV movie)
• A Fathers Homecoming(1988)
• In the Heat of the Night (1988–1995, TV series)
• Sudie & Simpson (1990)^{[citation needed]}
• Carolina Skeletons (1991)^{[citation needed]}
• White Lie (1991)^{[citation needed]}
• Stay the Night (1991)
• I'll Fly Away (1991–1992, TV series)
• Grass Roots (1992)
• The Secret Passion of Robert Clayton (1992)^{[citation needed]}
• My Cousin Vinny (1992)
• Kalifornia (1993)
• The Oldest Living Confederate Widow (1993)^{[citation needed]}
• A Passion for Justice: The Hazel Brannon Smith Story (1993)^{[citation needed]}
• Past the Bleachers (1994)^{[citation needed]}
• A Simple Twist of Fate (1994)
• Savannah (1996, TV series)
• Fled (1996)
• Flash (1997, TV movie)
• Miss Evers' Boys (1997 TV movie)
• Remember the Titans (1999)
• The Price of a Broken Heart (1999, TV movie)
• Wayward Son (1999)
• Run Ronnie Run (2000)
• The Accountant (2001, short film)
• Boycott (2001, TV movie)
• TV Road Trip (2002, documentary)
• Sweet Home Alabama (2002)
• Autorequiem (2002)
• The Fighting Temptations (2003)
• Turbulance! (2004)
• The Spy/Fancy Dress (2004)
• Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004)
• Three Wishes (2005, TV series, episode 3)
• False River (2005)
• Boxed In (2005)
• Madea's Family Reunion (2006)
• Dangerous Calling (2008)
• Get Low (2009)
• Halloween II (2009)
• The Family That Preys (2009)
• Fly By (2009)
• The Vampire Diaries (2009–2017, TV series)
• The Walking Dead (2010, TV series, episode 1)
• Footloose (2011)
• American Reunion (2012)^[17]
• The Odd Life of Timothy Green (2012)
• Selma (2014)^[18]
• Taken 3 (2014)
• Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors (2015, TV movie)
• Vacation (2015)
• Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (2018)
• Dumplin' (2018)
• Legacies (2018, TV series)
• Doctor Sleep (2019)
• Sweet Magnolias (2020, TV series)
• Freaky (2020)

• The American Barbecue Showdown (2020, TV series)

 

"Dixie Manor" was owned by Billy and Irene Smith, Beth's cousin.  It is a lovely home built in 1838. When Atlanta hosted the International City Managers Association Conference many years ago, Beth was on the host committee.  Their survey indicated that many people wanted to visit "Tara", the mythical southern mansion featured in Gone with the Wind.  Tara is ficitional.  Billy and Irene Smith saved the day by opening Dixie Manor to the ICMA tours, serving mint julips. 

Billy tells a funny story, complaining about the expense of paying for a historical accurate new metal roof on the 4 hole brick outhouse.

  

Dixie Manor is brick antebellum home in Covington with its distinguished English Regency architecture. The home has been featured in the movie Miss Evers’ Boys, the HGTV series If Walls Could Talk, In the Heat of the Night, and The Vampire Diaries. Irene and Billy Smith raised their family in the home.

The cabin used as the set for "My Cousin Vinnie" was owned by Billy Smith.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4mogrWHTS4

Click for more photos:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/A3sJ5au5de3sXpjv6

Right to left - Serena, Beth's sister, Beth, Craig in Covington

Funny story here. A few years ago we joined Beth's cousin in a nice restaurant on the square in Covington.  I carried Beth's purse as we walked outside. Seven gentlemen were smoking cigars seated outside the restaurant. I thought for moment to hide the purse, but instead opted to carry it openly and say "It takes a lot of courage and a lack of judgement for a damn yankee to carry a purse in Georgia."  They loved it.