Georgia Historical Society

History

Founded in 1839 in Savannah, Georgia, the Society is the oldest continuously operating state historical society in the Southern United States and one of the oldest historical organizations in the United States. Founders include John Macpherson Berrien, Richard D. Arnold, Eugenius A. Nisbet, Thomas Butler King, William Bacon Stevens, Israel K. Tefft, James Hamilton Couper, and James Moore Wayne.

Mission statement

The Georgia Historical Society is an independent statewide institution responsible for collecting, examining, and teaching Georgia history.

Facilities

Georgia Historical Society’s main campus is located in Savannah, Georgia’s oldest city, and is divided into a research center and an education center, reflecting the twin pillars of the Society’s mission: education and research. The Society’s Research Center is housed in Hodgson Hall. Built for the Society in 1876, and named for William B. Hodgson, American diplomat, Savannahian, and 25-year Curator of the Society, Hodgson Hall features high vaulted ceilings and decorative ironwork. The building was designed by American Institute of Architects founder Detlef Lienau and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Abrahams Archival Annex, named for Savannah lawyer Edmund H. Abrahams, was added in 1970 to hold the Society's archival collections.

In 2011, the Society purchased a neighboring historic property to house its expanding staff. The Jepson House Education Center, built in 1856 and named for Savannah philanthropists Robert S. and Alice Jepson, houses the executive and administrative offices of the Society and serves as its headquarters.^[

The Society also has an office in Atlanta.

GHS Research Center

The Georgia Historical Society is a research center and operates a research library for the benefit of the public. Within the Society’s library and archives is the oldest collection of materials related to Georgia history in the nation, including 4 million manuscripts, 100,000 photographs, 25,000 architectural drawings, 20,000 rare books, and thousands of maps, portraits, and artifacts representing every section of the state and every era of its history. As both a Branch Repository of the Secretary of State’s office and a private institution, GHS works in tandem with the Georgia State Archives, which collects and makes accessible official government records that are property of the state of Georgia. It is the responsibility of GHS to do the same with private manuscripts and private sector materials belonging to individuals, businesses, and organizations that are not generated by and do not belong to the state of Georgia. Each year thousands of scholars, teachers, students, genealogists, historic preservationists, journalists, lawyers, judges, film and documentary makers, government and private sector leaders from around the world access this material, either on site or online, in order to discover the past and better understand the present. The library and archival collections are used for a wide variety of public research purposes, including writing history books and articles, tracing ancestry, preserving historic buildings, student projects, classroom teaching, crafting legislation and preparing legal decisions, creating documentaries and television programs, and investigative journalism.

Today in Georgia History

Today in Georgia History are daily 90-second TV, radio, and internet segments focusing on an event or person associated with a particular day in Georgia history. They are written, researched, and hosted by the Georgia Historical Society, and produced and broadcast by Georgia Public Broadcasting.

Georgia History Festival

The Georgia History Festival is a K–12 educational program put on by the Society and consists of six months of events (coinciding with the traditional academic school year) to commemorate and study Georgia's history. It is held annually around the anniversary of the founding of the colony of Georgia on February 12, 1733. Festival events include a kickoff lecture, Colonial Faire & Muster, Super Museum Sunday, Georgia Day Parade, and the Trustees Gala.

Georgia Trustees

The Georgia Trustees is an award given by the Georgia Historical Society, in conjunction with the Governor of Georgia, to individuals whose accomplishments and community service reflect the ideals of the founding body of Trustees, which governed the Georgia colony from 1732 to 1752. Trustees are inducted each February at the Trustees Gala in Savannah. Recipients include Bernard Marcus, Marguerite Williams, Hank Aaron, Ted Turner, Vince Dooley, Sam Nunn, Tom Cousins, Andrew Young, Tom Cousins, Truett Cathy, Herman Russell, Arthur Blank, Billy Payne, Alana Shepherd, Paula Wallace, James Blanchard, and Muhtar Kent.

Georgia historical marker program

Since 1998 the Georgia Historical Society has administered the Georgia Historical Marker Program. Since that time, nearly 250 new historical markers (black with silver lettering and the Society’s seal on top) on a wide variety of topics have been installed around the state. The program operates through partnerships with local community, government, civic, and religious groups throughout Georgia and with the support of the Georgia General Assembly through limited funding for new marker projects. Erecting new historical markers is a competitive, application-based process in which the cost of each new marker is shared between the Society and the sponsor(s) of each successful marker application. The approval process involves an independent Marker Review Committee that meets once annually to review submitted historical marker applications.

In cooperation with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the custodian of the state owned historical markers, GHS is now taking the lead on the maintenance and repair of approximately 2,000 historical markers erected by the State of Georgia prior to 1998. These older markers date back as early as the 1950s and are typically green and gold with the seal of the State of Georgia on the top of the marker plaque. Based on the amount of available funding to support the program, GHS is in the process of developing a system to identify and address the needs of these markers across Georgia.

Affiliate chapter program

The Georgia Historical Society's Affiliate Chapter Program is a statewide network designed to help local historical organizations, through workshops on the care of historical records and artifacts, consultation visits by Society staff, technical assistance, subscriptions to GHS publications, publicity, and awards in recognition of outstanding achievements. The program was started in 1996 as part of the "Initiative 2000," which sought to redirect the Society toward broader statewide service. The network includes nearly two hundred local historical organizations throughout the state of Georgia and beyond. Affiliate membership is open to all not-for-profit organizations whose mission is consistent with that of the Georgia Historical Society. Members include historical and genealogical societies, commissions, museums, foundations, archives, preservation organizations, churches, and patriotic organizations.

Publications

The Georgia Historical Quarterly has been published by the Society since 1917 and contains scholarly articles and book reviews on Georgia and Southern history. The journal received a Governor's Award in the Humanities in 1999.

The Society also publishes a newsmagazine, Georgia History Today, for its members that focuses on popular subjects in promoting history around the state.

Headlines is the biweekly newsletter of the Georgia Historical Society and can be subscribed to through the website at www.georgiahistory.com

"Off the Deaton Path" is a blog by Senior Historian Dr. Stan Deaton. GHS Education Coordinator Sophia Sineath publishes an educational blog for K-12 teachers, called “Sophia's Schoolhouse.”