FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Laura García-Culler, Executive Vice President
912.651.2125, or Email

Georgia Historical Society and Secretary of State Mark Savannah’s Colonial Past

Savannah, GA - February 22, 2008. Join the Georgia Historical Society and the Office of the Secretary of State as we recognize Georgia's first capital city in a historical marker dedication on Monday, February 25, 2008 at 1:45 P.M. The ceremony will take place in Reynolds Square, near the intersection of Abercorn and Congress Streets in downtown Savannah. The marker, entitled Savannah: Colonial Capital and Birthplace of Representative Government in Georgia, highlights the significance of the city of Savannah in the development of Georgia's elected state government. Part of an initiative sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of State, this is one of two historical markers intended to recognize the development of Georgia's colonial government. Secretary of State Karen Handel and Savannah Mayor Otis Johnson will attend. The marker text reads 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 as the General Assembly.

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

The Georgia Historical Society has administered Georgia's historical marker program since 1998, erecting over 130 markers statewide. This historical marker stands in Reynolds Square on Abercorn Street in downtown Savannah and joins another marker sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of State in Augusta, Georgia's second colonial capital. The event is free and open to the public.

For more information on the Georgia Historical Marker Program

call us at 912-651-2125.

The Georgia Historical Society, headquartered in Savannah, is the oldest cultural institution in the state and one of the oldest historical organizations in the nation. It is the first and only statewide historical society in Georgia. For nearly 175 years, GHS has collected, preserved, and shared Georgia history through a variety of educational outreach programs, publications, and research services. For more information visit: www.georgiahistory.com.