NEWTON COUNTY— The former R. L. Cousins school building has officially been given a renewed purpose.

On March 31, alumni, local officials and community members gathered for the unveiling of the new R. L. Cousins Community Center. Through a combination of preservation and renovation efforts, Newton County transformed and repurposed much of the original school structure and added on some modern touches.

The R. L. Cousins School in Covington is a cornerstone of the community’s history. Beginning in 1957, it served as an elementary and high school for Black students across Newton County.  The school was a hub of the local integration movement during the Civil Rights Era, with a historic 500-person walkout on Feb. 27, 1970, from the school to the Board of Education.

Desegregation of schools was made official through the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954. But change didn’t reach Newton County until 16 years later, in 1970, when R. L. Cousins closed and was repurposed to a middle school. 

Many people spoke at the ribbon cutting, including Commissioner J.C. Henderson, Chair Linda Hays, County Manager James Brown and other county officials. But one speaker, Reverend Harold Cobb, had the unique position of being both a former county commissioner and an R. L. Cousins school alum.

“I was thinking the other day that as I look back, we didn’t have what many schools had, but I look back and I see lawyers, doctors, engineers, teachers, even preachers came out of Cousins,” Cobb said. “And that togetherness can not only be seen, but felt today, as we come with others to give thanks for what God has done here in Newton County.”

Cobb and fellow members of the R. L. Cousins Alumni Association were asked to play a role in planning the site’s revamp.

At the ribbon cutting, Project Manager Jeff Prine said the county worked closely with the group to ensure the $8 million renovations—which were funded through the 2023 SPLOST—were executed just right.

“What I love about what Reverend Cobb said, he goes, ‘The past is important, and we want to remember, but we want to focus on the future,’” Prine said. “So what you have here today is a campus that’s doing just that. It’s focusing on the history of what this facility was as a school, and then what it can be as a community icon—a community center—moving forward.”

The school building’s historic entrance and surrounding area — what Prine called the ‘A-Wing’ — was repurposed to be used as the Newton County Board of Elections Office, the Juvenile Justice area, the Hang Tag office and space for other groups, such as Keep Newton Beautiful. 

There is also a designated meeting for the alumni association. The former cafeteria was kept intact as well, to be used as a larger meeting space. 

Outside, near the cafeteria area, a mural memorialized the history of the R. L. Cousins School. Prine said a local artist collaborated with alumni and looked through yearbooks, annuals and old photos to create the design.

The former library is used by CASA, and the Wolverine Gym is used by the Newton County Recreation Department, which renovated and reopened the space in 2011, as well as Wolverine Field in 2009.

Another installation is the historic exhibit in the A-Wing, where the entrance to the school was on the Geiger Street side. The exhibit includes the photos of all of Cousins’ graduating classes and tells the story of Cousins.

The addition of the community center space on Carlton Trail was how Prine said they looked to the future. The new area will be a community gathering space and can be used for town hall meetings, polling, events and other activities. 

“For someone who’s been doing this for 30-something years, there’s times in your career where projects come along that touch you deeply inside,” Prine said. “And this is one of those projects where I am very, very proud and humbled to have been a part of it.”