The Georgia Historical Society (GHS) is a statewide historical society in Georgia, United States. Headquartered in Savannah, Georgia, GHS is one of the oldest historical organizations in the United States. Since 1839, the society has collected, examined, and taught Georgia history through a variety of educational outreach programs, publications, and research services.
In 1849, the Society moved into a new construction, a Gothic Revival building on East Bryan Street. The building was demolished in the early 20th century.[2]
Mission statement
The Georgia Historical Society is an independent statewide institution responsible for collecting, examining, and teaching Georgia history.
Facilities
The Georgia Historical Society's Hodgson Hall in 2022.Georgia Historical Society's Jepson House Education Center
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 W. B. Hodgson Hall at 501 Whitaker Street in Savannah.[3] 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.[4]
The Georgia Historical Society completed a large-scale renovation and expansion project of its Research Center in 2021. The project included a new archival wing as well as renovated and reconfigured spaces for archival processing, digitization, and specialized storage.
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 5 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.[6]
Today in Georgia History
Today in Georgia History are daily 90-second video segments focusing on an event or person associated with a particular day in Georgia history. They are written, researched, and hosted by Dr. Stan Deaton and the Georgia Historical Society, and produced and broadcast by, Don Smith, Keocia Howard, Bruce Burkhardt, and Georgia Public Broadcasting.[7]
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.[8]
Georgia historical marker, erected by the Georgia Historical Society in 2012
Since 1998, the Georgia Historical Society has administered the Georgia Historical Marker Program. From that time GHS has erected nearly 300 new historical markers (black with silver lettering and the Society's seal on top) across the state on a wide variety of subjects. 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.
GHS also coordinates the maintenance for more than 2,100 markers installed 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.
Vincent J. Dooley Distinguished Fellows Program
The Vincent J. Dooley Distinguished Fellows program honors Vince Dooley for his lifelong commitment to history and higher education. As a longtime member and former chairman of the Georgia Historical Society’s board of curators, Coach Dooley had demonstrated his strong belief in and support of the society’s mission as a nationally-recognized research and educational institution.
The Dooley Distinguished Fellows Program is designed to accomplish two goals consistent with Coach Dooley’s life and legacy: recognizing senior scholars in the field of history and mentoring and developing emerging historians.
Individuals designated as Dooley Distinguished Teaching Fellows of the Society are national leaders in the field of history as both writers and educators whose research has enhanced or changed the way the public understands the past. In addition to their outstanding scholarship, Dooley Distinguished Teaching Fellows have served the Georgia Historical Society as faculty in teacher training seminars, as lecturers, as consultants, or in a similar capacity. Being designated as a Dooley Distinguished Fellow recognizes and formalizes the relationship forged through this service.
The Dooley Distinguished Research Fellows Program will also mentor the next generation of historians by giving younger scholars the opportunity to conduct research for a specific period of time in the vast collection of primary sources at the Georgia Historical Society Research Center. The research is expected to lead to a major piece of scholarly work such as: a dissertation, a book, an article in a refereed scholarly journal, a chapter in an edited collection, or an academic paper presented at a scholarly conference.
The Vincent J. Dooley Distinguished Fellows Program permanently associates Coach Dooley’s name with outstanding historical research and scholarship through the ongoing recognition of Teaching and Research Fellows.
The Vincent J. Dooley Distinguished Fellows Program has been established by the GHS Board of Curators and is supported by an endowment funded by friends and admirers of Vince Dooley.
Dooley Distinguished Teaching Fellows
Dooley Distinguished Teaching Fellows are national leaders in the field of history as both writers and educators whose research has enhanced or changed the way the public understands the past. In addition to their outstanding scholarship, Dooley Distinguished Teaching Fellows have served the Georgia Historical Society as faculty in teacher training seminars, as lecturers, as consultants, or in a similar capacity, advancing the mission of the institution. Being designated as a Dooley Distinguished Fellow recognizes and formalizes the relationship forged through this service.
David W. Blight of Yale University, author of Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom (Simon & Schuster) was inducted as the inaugural Dooley Distinguished Teaching Fellow in 2018. Rick Atkinson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist, was inducted in 2019. Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian Annette Gordon-Reed was inducted in 2022.
Dooley Distinguished Research Fellows
The Dooley Distinguished Research Fellowships are intended to assist scholars in gaining access to and conducting extensive and intensive research specifically in the GHS Research Center collections. Research Fellowships will support scholars from outside the Savannah area engaged in graduate-level, post-doctoral, and independent research. These Research Fellowships will be awarded through an application process. Applications are for on-site research in the collections of the Georgia Historical Society and are intended to support expenses while Research Fellows conduct research at GHS.
Research Fellows have access to the GHS Research Collections, including manuscripts, photographs, architectural drawings, rare and non-rare books, and thousands of maps, portraits, and artifacts.
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
Cover of Georgia Historical Quarterly, Volume CI, Number 1
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.[1]
Cover of Georgia History Today, Volume 11, Number 1
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"[11] is a blog by Senior Historian Dr. Stan Deaton.
Georgia Southern University is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia. The largest campus is in Statesboro, with additional campuses in Savannah and Hinesville. Founded in 1906, Georgia Southern is the fifth-largest institution in the University System of Georgia. The university offers over 140 different academic majors in the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels. The university has a combined enrollment of approximately 27,000 students from all 50 states and over 80 countries. Georgia Southern is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and a "comprehensive" university by the University System of Georgia.
Mercer University is a private research university with its main campus in Macon, Georgia. Founded in 1833 as Mercer Institute and gaining university status in 1837, it is the oldest private university in the state and enrolls more than 9,000 students in 12 colleges and schools. Mercer is a member of the Georgia Research Alliance. It is classified as a "R2: Doctoral Universities — High research activity".
The Filson Historical Society, previously known as The Filson Club, is a privately supported historical society located in the Old Louisville neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky. Founded in 1884, the Filson is an organization dedicated to continuing adult education through a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal, Ohio Valley History, a quarterly magazine, The Filson, weekly lectures, historical tours, and exhibits.
Vincent Joseph Dooley was an American college football coach. He was the head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs from 1964 to 1988, as well as the University of Georgia's (UGA) athletic director from 1979 to 2004. During his 25-year head coaching career, Dooley compiled a 201–77–10 record. His teams won six Southeastern Conference (SEC) titles and the 1980 national championship. After the 1980 season, Dooley was recognized as college football's "Coach of the Year" by several organizations.
The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) is a private, nonprofit federation of 75 scholarly organizations in the humanities and related social sciences founded in 1919. It is best known for its fellowship competitions which provide a range of opportunities for scholars in the humanities and related social sciences at all career stages, from graduate students to distinguished professors to independent scholars, working with a number of disciplines and methodologies in the U.S. and abroad.
A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other vertical surface, and bearing text or an image in relief, or both, to commemorate one or more persons, an event, a former use of the place, or some other thing. Many modern plaques and markers are used to associate the location where the plaque or marker is installed with the person, event, or item commemorated as a place worthy of visit. A monumental plaque or tablet commemorating a deceased person or persons, can be a simple form of church monument. Most modern plaques affixed in this way are commemorative of something, but this is not always the case, and there are purely religious plaques, or those signifying ownership or affiliation of some sort. A plaquette is a small plaque, but in English, unlike many European languages, the term is not typically used for outdoor plaques fixed to walls.
The Maryland Center for History and Culture (MCHC), formerly the Maryland Historical Society (MdHS), founded on March 1, 1844, is the oldest cultural institution in the U.S. state of Maryland. The organization "collects, preserves, and interprets objects and materials reflecting Maryland's diverse heritage". The MCHC has a museum, library, holds educational programs, and publishes scholarly works on Maryland.
The Wisconsin Historical Society is simultaneously a state agency and a private membership organization whose purpose is to maintain, promote and spread knowledge relating to the history of North America, with an emphasis on the state of Wisconsin and the trans-Allegheny West. Founded in 1846 and chartered in 1853, it is the oldest historical society in the United States to receive continuous public funding. The society's headquarters are located in Madison, Wisconsin, on the campus of the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
The National Humanities Center (NHC) is an independent institute for advanced study in the humanities located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, United States. The NHC operates as a privately incorporated nonprofit and is not part of any university or federal agency.
The State Historical Society of Missouri, a private membership and state funded organization, is a comprehensive research facility located in Columbia, Missouri, specializing in the preservation and study of Missouri's cultural heritage. Established in 1898 by the Missouri Press Association and made a trustee of the state in 1901, the Society is the official historical society of the state of Missouri and is located on the campus of the University of Missouri in Downtown Columbia, Missouri. The Society publishes the quarterly Missouri Historical Review, the only scholarly academic journal produced in the state.
Savannah State University is a public historically black university in Savannah, Georgia. It is the oldest historically black public university in the state. The university is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
The Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) is an agency of the government of Oklahoma dedicated to promotion and preservation of Oklahoma's history and its people by collecting, interpreting, and disseminating knowledge and artifacts of Oklahoma. The mission of the OHS is to collect, preserve, and share the history and culture of the state of Oklahoma and its people.
The Digital Library of Georgia (DLG) is an online, public collection of documents and media about the history and culture of the state of Georgia, United States. The collection includes more than a million digitized objects from more than 200 Georgia-related collections. The DLG connects users to content from 65 libraries, archives, museums, historical societies, and other institutions, as well as 100 agencies of state government. It can be searched or browsed through the Digital Library of Georgia website.
An architectural historian is a person who studies and writes about the history of architecture, and is regarded as an authority on it.
The Kansas Historical Society is the official state historical society of Kansas.
Lawrence E. Babits is an American archaeologist with specific interests in military history, material culture, and battlefield and maritime archaeology. Babits is credited with highly accurate accounts of soldiers' combat experience during the 18th century, specifically during the Battle of Cowpens, a turning point in the American Revolutionary War. This is illustrated in his books Long, Obstinate and Bloody: The Battle of Guilford Courthouse and A Devil of a Whipping: The Battle of Cowpens. Babits was a George Washington Distinguished Professor of Maritime Archaeology and History at East Carolina University.
The Live Oak Public Libraries are a consortium of sixteen public libraries in the Savannah metropolitan area and Hinesville – Fort Stewart metropolitan area of Georgia, United States. The library provides services for Chatham County, Effingham County, and Liberty County. The library headquarters are located in the Bull Street Library in Savannah, which is one of two Carnegie libraries in the system.
Clermont Huger Lee was a landscape architect from Savannah, Georgia, most known for her work designing gardens and parks for historical landmarks in the state. Specifically, Lee is known for her designs such as the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace, Isaiah Davenport House and Owens–Thomas House. Lee assisted in founding of the Georgia State Board of Landscape Architects, which serves as a licensing board for landscape architects throughout Georgia. She is considered one of the first women to establish their own private architecture practice in Georgia and was inducted into the Georgia Women of Achievement in 2017 and Savannah College of Art and Design's Savannah Women of Vision on February 14, 2020. SCAD honors Lee with a gold relief in its Arnold hall.
W. B. Hodgson Hall is a historic building in Savannah, Georgia, United States, built in 1876. Designed by the American Institute of Architects' founder Detlef Lienau, it is now the home of Georgia Historical Society's Research Center.
Abigail Minis was a businesswoman and landowner, prominent in Savannah, Province of Georgia, during the American Revolutionary War. She was a European immigrant, along with her husband, Abraham Minis, to the newly settled colony of Savannah, in 1733. Despite their not knowing if they would be received, General James Oglethorpe, founder of the colony, allowed Minis and her family entry and granted them land.
References
Albert S. Britt Jr., Overture to the Future at the Georgia Historical Society (Savannah: Georgia Historical Society, 1974).
W. Todd Groce, "Hodgson Hall at One Hundred and Twenty-five," Georgia Historical Quarterly 87 (spring 2003): 88-119.
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