Historical Marker Dedication

May 10, 2008

Point Peter Battery and the War of 1812

Saturday, May 10, 2008

10:00 A.M. 

Spring House Pavilion, Cumberland Harbor
Point Peter Road, St. Marys

Free and open to the public

Marker Text: 

Point Peter Battery and the War of 1812

In 1795 a cannon battery constructed on the Point Peter peninsula became the southernmost fortification in the First System of U.S. coastal defenses.  Vacated in 1802, it was reoccupied and strengthened in 1808 to provide support for the enforcement of the Embargo Act and the prohibition of the international slave trade.  In 1812, former Georgia governor George Matthews led the unsanctioned “Patriot” invasion of Spanish Florida from Point Peter.  On January 13, 1815, during the War of 1812, a British force overwhelmed 116 U.S. regulars here, destroying the fort and barracks.  After the U.S. acquired Florida in 1819, the post was abandoned.


Erected by the Georgia Historical Society and National Society U.S. Daughters of 1812, State of Georgia

Georgia Historical Society Lecture Series

May 08, 2008

Diehard Rebels:

The Confederate Culture of Invincibility

by Jason Phillips

Thursday, May 8, 2008 at 7 p.m.

Georgia Historical Society, Savannah

Free and open to the public 

~~~ 

Jason Phillips persuasively answers a Civil War mystery: Why did so many Confederates doggedly keep fighting in the face of looming defeat? Much is known about what Confederate soldiers fought for; far less is understood about why they continued to fight despite long odds and terrible costs. Drawing on soldiers' letters and diary entries from 1863 to 1865, Phillips in Diehard Rebels explains why countless Confederate soldiers earnestly believed that victory lay just around the corner. Examining a most impressive array of sources, including many from the Georgia Historical Society, he finds that religious faith, cheerleading propaganda, admiration of the officer class, hatred of Yankees, military discipline, bonding in the ranks, and stubborn denial of the obvious were all factors. Phillips eloquently and poignantly recounts the deprivations and sacrifices that Confederates endured in the vain hope of eventual victory. Every Civil War student will find Diehard Rebels highly moving and tragic.

Historical Marker Dedication

May 04, 2008

Mossy Creek Campground and Rock Springs Campground

Sunday, May 4, 2008

4:00 P.M.

Mossy Creek Campground

GA Hwy 254 South, two miles north of US 129

Cleveland, Georgia

Marker Text: 

Mossy Creek and Rock Springs Campgrounds

Mossy Creek Campground was established in 1833 and has continued as a site of yearly religious revival meetings since that time.  Rock Springs Campground was established in 1887 and is one of the few remaining camp-meeting sites organized by black congregations in Georgia.  Similar sites developed throughout the region during and after the Second Great Awakening of the early nineteenth century.  In addition to religious teaching, camp meetings provided social opportunities for isolated rural communities.  Brush arbors, or open-air shelters, like the ones at Mossy Creek and Rock Springs, are typical of southern camp-meeting sites. 

Erected by the Georgia Historical Society, Mossy Creek Tentholders, Rock Springs Campground Association, and White County Historical Society

Georgia Historical Society's Annual Book Sale

April 25, 2008 - April 26, 2008

Friday, April, 25th
Member preview and purchase

Proof of membership is required

9 a.m. - 10 a.m. 

Open to the public

10 a.m. -  6 p.m. 

Saturday April 26th

Open to the public

10 a.m - 6 p.m.

Please note that the library and archives will not be open for research on the days of the Book Sale.
 

Join us for this popular annual event that raises funds to purchase books for the Georgia Historical Society's library and archives.  This sale of donated books will include a wide range of titles covering history, biography, fiction, and much more!

Book donations for the book sale will be accepted through Friday, April 18th. Donations can include rare and non-rare: fiction, poetry, children's, and all non-fiction subjects including history, biography, current events, how-to, religion, business, self-help, cooking, gardening, etc.

Magazines/journals, audio/video, and games will not be accepted for use in the Book Sale.

Donations are tax deductible charitable donations.

169th Annual Membership Meeting & Garden Party

April 17, 2008

The Chairman and Board of Curators

invite you to attend

The 169th Annual Membership Meeting

& Garden Party

April 17, 2008

Savannah

Click here to view a PDF of the invitation.

~~~

169th Annual Meeting

of the members of the Georgia Historical Society 

Thursday, April 17, 2008

5:30 p.m.

Hodgson Hall 

501 Whitaker Street, Savannah

Members Only

~~~

Garden Party

Please Join GHS members and friends for a Garden Party reception

to follow the 169th Annual Meeting of the membership

Thursday, April 17, 2008

6:30 p.m.

509 Whitaker Street, Savannah

Built right after the Civil War and overlooking beautiful Forsyth Park, the John Williamson House has been impeccably restored by the current owners, Mr. and Mrs. Mark V. Smith.

Cocktails and Hors d'oeuvres; Susan Mason Catering

$25 per person

For more information please call 912.651.2125, ext. 20. 

~~~

Hotel Accommodations

 Mulberry Inn                                                       Hampton Inn

  601 East Bay Street, Savannah                            201 East Bay Street, Savannah

 877.468.1200                                                        912.231.9700

Teaching American History Workshop for Teachers

March 17, 2008

Alexander Hamilton

CLOSING

March 14, 2008

The Georgia Historical Society Administrative Offices and Library and Archives will be closed Friday, March 14, 2008. 

Historical Marker Dedication: Leo Frank Lynching

March 07, 2008

Leo Frank Lynching

Friday, March 7, 2008

2:00 P.M.

The marker text will read as follows:

Near this location on August 17, 1915, Leo M. Frank, the Jewish superintendent of the National Pencil Company in Atlanta, was lynched for the murder of thirteen-year-old Mary Phagan, a factory employee. A highly controversial trial fueled by societal tensions and anti-Semitism resulted in a guilty verdict in 1913. After Governor John M. Slaton commuted his sentence from death to life in prison, Frank was kidnapped from the state prison in Milledgeville and taken to Phagan's hometown of Marietta where he was hanged before a local crowd. Without addressing guilt or innocence, and in recognition of the state's failure to either protect Frank or bring his killers to justice, he was granted a posthumous pardon in 1986.

Erected by the Georgia Historical Society, the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation, and Temple Kol Emeth

Teaching American History Workshop for Teachers

March 07, 2008

Nation Among Nations: World Wars and After

Historical Marker Dedication

March 03, 2008

Largest Slave Sale in Georgia History:

The Weeping Time

Monday, March 3, 2008

10:30 A.M. 

Dunn Street and Augusta Avenue, Savannah 

The marker text will read as follows: 

One of the largest sales of enslaved persons in U.S. history took place on March 2-3, 1859, at the Ten Broeck Race Course ¼ mile southwest of here. To satisfy his creditors, Pierce M. Butler sold 436 men, women, and children from his Butler Island and Hampton plantations near Darien, Georgia. The breakup of families and the loss of home became part of African-American heritage remembered as "the weeping time." The event was reported extensively in the northern press and reaction to the sale deepened the nation's growing sectional divide in the years immediately preceding the Civil War.

Erected by the Georgia Historical Society and the City of Savannah

Click here to listen to Dr. Todd Groce's interview about this event on Georgia Gazette.

The Atlantic World And African American Life And Culture In The Georgia Lowcountry: 18th To The 20th Century

February 27, 2008 - February 29, 2008

Savannah, Georgia

Untitled, James S. Silva Collection, 1888 - 1910s, VM2126

The role of African-Americans in the history of Georgia's barrier islands and Georgia's place in the larger Black Atlantic world has been significant but largely overlooked by scholars who have traditionally focused on South Carolina. This symposium, featuring ten of the leading voices in the field, will provide a much-needed forum for new directions and new scholarship.

Speakers include David Brion Davis (Yale University), Philip D. Morgan (Johns Hopkins University), Michael Gomez (New York University), Jacqueline Jones (Brandeis University), Emory Campbell (Penn Center), Erskine Clarke (Columbia Theological Seminary), Allison Dorsey (Swathmore College), Timothy B. Powell (University of Pennsylvania), Theresa A. Singleton (Syracuse University), and Betty Wood (Cambridge University).

The seminar will take place in the center of historic Savannah, Georgia, where participants will be able to experience firsthand many of the sites discussed through exciting events and pre- and post-conference tours.

In addition, Symposium sponsors will also conduct two workshops for teachers, geared towards using local resources to teach history and culture.

For more information, or to register for the symposium, visit The Ossabaw Island Foundation website.

The Georgia Historical Society is proud to lend its support to this exciting educational event. 

Sponsors:

Ossabaw Island Foundation

Georgia Historical Society

Armstrong Atlantic State University

Georgia Southern University

Savannah State University

University of Georgia Press 

Historical Marker Dedication

February 25, 2008

Savannah: Colonial Capital and

Birthplace of Representative Government in Georgia

February 25, 2008

1:45 P.M.

Reynolds Square, Savannah

Abercorn Street at Congress Street 

Join us for the dedication this historical marker highlighting the significance of the city of Savannah in the development of Georgia's state government.  This marker is part of an initiative, sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of State, to mark the colonial capitals of Georgia.  Secretary of State Karen Handel is scheduled to attend. 

The marker text will read as follows:

In March 1750, the Georgia Trustees in London resolved to allow colonists to elect a representative assembly to meet in Savannah, Georgia's colonial capital. Sixteen delegates met on January 15, 1751, for a twenty-four-day session. Representative government continued in 1755 in the Commons House of Assembly, which by 1770 began meeting in a building on the southeast trust lot of Reynolds Square. In 1777, the new state constitution provided for an elected House of Assembly. The Georgia constitution of 1789 expanded the legislature to two houses, known and the General Assembly.

Erected by the Georgia Historical Society and the Office of the Secretary of State

Free and Open to the Public

Scottish Highland Dinner

February 23, 2008

Fort King George State Historic Site, Fort King George Drive, Darien

This annual event features a Scottish dinner, hosted by Oglethorpe himself, at the Fort King George barracks. This event is organized by Fort King George and the Lower Altamaha Historical Society. For more information, please call 912.437.4770.

Reservations required

Teaching American History Workshop for Teachers

February 22, 2008

Little Big Horn

Teaching American History Workshop for Teachers

February 20, 2008

Sherman: A Soldier's Passion for Order

275th Birthday Bash and Annual Awards Gala

February 16, 2008

 

This event has been SOLD OUT! 

Click to view PDF of invitation

Saturday, February 16, 2008, 7:00 p.m.

Hyatt Regency, Savannah 

On the Occasion of the 275th Anniversary

of the Founding of the Colony of Georgia 

Awards:

Archie Davis, Volunteer of the Year

Bradley Hale, Lifetime Achievement 

Keynote:

Michael Beschloss, NBC's Presidential Historian

Keynote address sponsored by Mr. and Mrs. Robert S. Jepson, Jr.

For a list of all Georgia Days 2008 sponsors, click here 

Join the Georgia Historical Society and national, state, and local leaders in honoring the 275th Anniversary of the founding of the Colony of Georgia. This gala evening will feature acclaimed author and NBC's Presidential Historian Michael Beschloss as Keynote Speaker. The evening will begin with cocktails at the site of Oglethorpe's landing; dinner will follow in a seating plan designed to evoke Savannah's famous historic squares. The program will feature greetings from Her Majesty's government, the presentation of the Society's three major awards, and Mr. Beschloss' address on great moments of leadership in American history. A book signing and dancing will roundout the 275th Birthday Bash.

This event has been SOLD OUT!

2008 Fort Frederica Living History Festival

February 16, 2008

Fort Frederica National Monument,

6515 Frederica Road, St. Simon's Island, GA

This annual event commemorates the founding of Frederica in 1736. Activities throughout the day will immerse visitors into the history of Frederica and the struggle for empire between Great Britain and Spain in the 18th century. Programs include tabby making, hands-on musket drills, colonial children's games, journal making, and archeology programs. For more information, please contact the Fort Frederica Visitor's Center at 912.638.3639.

Free and open to the public

2008 GHS's Georgia Day Parade

February 12, 2008

Tuesday, February 12, 2008, 10:30 a.m.
Bull Street from Forsyth Park to City Hall, Savannah

Sponsored by: The Savannah Bank

with additional support from the City of Savannah

  The GHS library and archives will be closed to researchers from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. for this event. GHS will be open for research from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.  

  
Elementary school students join dignitaries, costumed characters, and local citizens in a colorful parade through the squares of Bull Street in a Georgia Day tradition. The parade begins at Forsyth Park and continues north on Bull Street, ending at City Hall with greetings from the Mayor and other dignitaries as well as Banner Competition awards presentations to the students. Thousands of elementary school children participate annually.

Free and open to the public

Click here to view WTOC's broadcast of the 2008 Georgia Day Parade! 

Georgia Day Dignitaries' Coffee

February 12, 2008

Savannah Mayor Otis Johnson (right) and Oglethorpe re-enactor Scott Hodges (left) were among the celebrants at the 2007 Georgia Day Dignitaries' Coffee

Tuesday, February 12, 2008, 9:00 a.m.

Sponsored by: The Savannah Bank

Georgia Day begins with a coffee for dignitaries, sponsors, and special guests. The event features greetings from dignitaries, introductions of historical characters, and a continental breakfast. The Georgia Day Dignitaries' Coffee will also feature the unveiling of new plaques honoring the creators of named endowment funds at the Georgia Historical Society and recognition of student award winners. Attendees are invited to join the Georgia Day Parade, which begins at the conclusion of the Coffee just steps away from the Georgia Historical Society at the north end of Forsyth Park.

Invitation only

Black History Month Essay and Public Speaking Contest

February 11, 2008

Monday, February 11, 2008, 5:00 p.m.
Georgia Historical Society, 501 Whitaker St., Savannah

Sponsored by: Cumulus  Savannah, Savannah Morning News, WSAV

The five finalists of the Georgia Historical Society's annual Black History Month Essay and Public Speaking Contest will present their essays publicly at the Georgia Historical Society's Hodgson Hall Library. The public presentations will be judged and three winners selected by a panel representing Savannah's academic and media communities. Prizes to be awarded. A reception will follow the event.

To view contest guidelines, click here; to download a copy of the entry form, click here. 

Free and open to the public

   

Super Museum Sunday

February 10, 2008

Savannah-area museums (click here for listing)

Sponsored by: Richmond Hill Plantation

Georgians and visitors alike will experience our first city's rich history and cultural life as historic house museums, art museums, and other points of interest open their doors to the public at no charge during this Georgia Historical Society's Georgia Days tradition. More than 40 cultural institutions in and around Savannah participate in this popular annual family event.

For a listing of 2008 participants, click here or contact individual sites of interest. 

For a map of the participating venues, click here. 

Free and open to the public

Oglethorpe Arrives at Darien

February 08, 2008

Fort King George State Historic Site, Fort King George Drive, Darien

Darien was founded by Scottish Highlanders, who arrived at the site of Fort King George on January 19, 1736. James Oglethorpe visited the site a month later. School children will witness a re-enactment of this historic landing and will hear Oglethorpe's speech to the new Highland settlement. This event is organized by Fort King George and the Lower Altamaha Historical Society. For more information please call 912.437.4770.

Free and open to the public

Georgia Days Kickoff Event

February 05, 2008

Scott Hodges portrays Georgia founder James Edward Oglethorpe

An Evening with James Edward Oglethorpe

A Dramatic Historical Presentation by Scott Hodges

Sponsored by: British Gas

The GHS library and archives will close to researchers at 4 p.m. for this event.

The Kickoff Event for Georgia Days 2008 explores the life and legacy of Georgia's founder and the 2008 Honoree General James Edward Oglethorpe. Professional interpreter Scott Hodges brings thirty years of experience as a re-enactor to the role of Georgia's founder. Hodges draws upon the journals, diaries, and letters of the time period to vividly bring to life the first years of the "Georgia Experiment." A little history, a little humor, and a lot of first-person character! An extensive display of English trade items, along with maps, accompany this "hands-on" program suitable for all ages.

GHS will also display that evening a nationally recognized and award-winning collection of rare Oglethorpe stamps from the private collection of Mr. Charles J. O'Brien III of Alpharetta, Georgia. The "Georgia Bicentennial" exhibit celebrates the Oglethorpe stamp released in Savannah on February 12, 1933, to honor the 200th anniversary of the founding of Georgia.  Reception to follow.

Free and open to the public

Georgia Days 2008

February 05, 2008 - February 16, 2008

Click on image to view a larger version.

Colonial Faire and Muster

February 02, 2008 - February 03, 2008

Saturday (Family Day) and Sunday, February 2-3, 2008, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Wormsloe State Historic Site, 7601 Skidaway Road, Savannah

Sponsored by: Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Georgia

Bring your family back in time to the site of one of the earliest and most beautiful colonial-era plantations of the Georgia coast. The ruins of the plantation house, costumed interpreters, colonial-era musicians, and a host of demonstrations evoke the spirit of colonial Georgia for friends and families of all ages. Schedule of events is available upon arrival at the Faire and Muster or by clicking here.

Free and open to the public

Savannah Book Festival sponsored in part by the Georgia Historical Society

February 02, 2008

 

Teaching American History Workshop for Teachers

January 11, 2008

Rousing Conscience: The Growth of Democracy

Holiday Closings

January 01, 2008

Holiday Closing

January 01, 2008

Holiday Closings

December 25, 2007

Holiday Closing

December 24, 2007 - December 25, 2007

Holiday Closing

December 24, 2007 - December 25, 2007

The administrative offices of the Georgia Historical Society will be closed Monday, December 24th and Tuesday, December 25th in observation of the Christmas holiday.

The library and archives reading room of the Georgia Historical Society will be closed Tuesday, December 25th in observation of the Christmas holiday.  

Teaching American History Workshop for Teachers

December 14, 2007

Teaching American History Workshop for Teachers

December 07, 2007

Press Conference

December 04, 2007

Platinum Sponsors  

   

   

Media Sponsors 

   

For a complete list of Georgia Days 2008 sponsors, click here.

Reading the Man: A Portrait of Robert E. Lee Through His Private Letters

November 15, 2007

Lecture by Elizabeth Brown Pryor

Thursday, November 15, 2007, 7:00 P.M.

First Baptist Church, Chippewa Square
223 Bull Street, Savannah

Book signing to follow lecture

Free and open to the public

The Genetic Strand - Exploring a Family History Through DNA

November 08, 2007

The Genetic Strand - Exploring a Family History Through DNA by Edward Ball
November 8, 2007, at 7 p.m.
Congregation Mickve Israel, Savannah
Free and open to the public

Press Conference

November 08, 2007

Reading the Man

November 05, 2007

Profiles in Leadership - Presidential Leadership in Post-War America

October 04, 2007

Georgia Historical Society presents
Profiles in Leadership
- Presidential Leadership in Post-War America
A Conversation with Robert Dallek
October 4 at 6 p.m.
Georgia Public Broadcasting, Studio C, Atlanta
With Support from
John and Mary Franklin Foundation
Free and open to the public

Click here to watch this event.

About Robert Dallek:

Robert Dallek has been a Professor of History at Boston University, Columbia University, the University of California Los Angeles, and Oxford University. He is the author of numerous books on American political history including Franklin D. Roosevelt and American Foreign Policy 1932-1945 for which he won the Bancroft Prize in 1980, and the best-selling, An Unfinished Life - John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. Dallek is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the Society of American Historians, for which he served as president in 2004-2005. His most recent book, Nixon and Kissinger - Partners in Power, has gathered critical acclaim and has been described as a "classic of modern history."

Dallek stands at the forefront of contemporary American historians. His works examine the nature of leadership and provide important historical context for any discussion of our current domestic and international challenges.

Equiano, The African - Biography of a Self-Made Man

August 29, 2007

GHS's 168th Annual Meeting Keynote Address

April 19, 2007

GHS's 168th Annual Meeting

Keynote Address

7:00 p.m.

Lucas Theatre for the Arts

32 Abercorn Street, Savannah

Doors open at 6 p.m. Please arrive early as seating is limited.

Signer available for the hearing impaired

Emmy-award winning Steve Thomas hosted This Old House, television's most popular home improvement series, for 14 years, and during his tenure it became PBS's most-watched ongoing series of all time. Author of the critically acclaimed book, The Last Navigator, published in 1987, Thomas is the current host and co-producer of the Save Our History series on The History Channel, and consults on residential building, renovation, and historic preservation for clients across the United States.

Member Reception

April 19, 2007