Dunaway Gardens in Newnan was a theatrical training ground for producers, directors, and performers of the arts during the 1920s, '30s and '40s.

When Hettie Jane Dunaway, a noted Chautauqua actress, married Wayne P. Sewell, a producer, who had inherited the property from his grandfather, she designed a lush 25-acre rock and flower garden. It became a popular retreat for locals and celebrities, including Walt Disney, who frequented the gardens, and Minnie Pearl, who got her start at Dunaway Gardens. The gardens flourished until the 1960s but fell into decline. Restoration began in the summer of 2000. Dunaway Gardens is now described as one of the South’s largest natural rock and floral gardens.