Ramsey's Furniture has been a Covington landmark for more than 90 years.

Located at 1145 Clark St. near the Newton County Courthouse, the store has survived The Great Depression and economic recessions to continue serving the people of Newton County.

Currently owned by former Mayor Sam Ramsey, the store's day-to-day operation is conducted by Tony Ramsey, a fourth-generation member of the Ramsey family in the business.

Tony, who worked at IKON as a field service manager, has been with the store for 14 years. Sam approached Tony to run the store and he readily accepted.

Before opening the store off the square in 1919, Sam's grandfather, C.D. Ramsey, owned a general store on Salem Road. In 1922, his father, C.D. Jr., took over care of the store.

While in college, Sam Ramsey added a record section to the store, which at the time was the only record store in the five-county area.

"(Sam) paid his way through college by selling records out of the back room," said Tony.

Famous visitors to the store include Vice President Alvin Barkley and President Jimmy Carter.

Ramsey's Furniture offers a variety of home furnishings, including mattresses and living and dining room sets. The store has one of the largest selections of La-Z-Boy furniture in Georgia; they are also one the oldest dealers in Simmons mattresses.

The Ramsey family, with its long-standing relationships with furniture manufacturers, is able to pass their savings on to their customers.

"We are able to keep the prices down because we're the landlords of our facilities," said Tony. "That allows us to beat any Atlanta prices."

The business added a new building on Usher Street to display more product lines to attract customers. The building is also used as a warehouse.

Serving people they know personally has always been enjoyable for the Ramseys and something which sets the store apart from other, larger, furniture chains.

"It is lean times right now, so we are just trying to maintain," said Tony. "We've been very fortunate, as Newton County has been very good to us."