WRITER: Mandy Mastrovita, mastrovi@uga.edu, 706-583-0209

CONTACT: Sheila McAlister, mcalists@uga.edu, 706-542-5418

ATHENS, Ga. — Digitization of materials documenting the beginning of Peachtree City, Georgia are now available freely online.

New online records that describe the history of Peachtree City, Georgia, one of the country’s most successful post-World War II “new towns,” are now available for researchers in the Digital Library of Georgia. The collection, Peachtree City: Plans, Politics, and People, “New Town” Beginnings and How the “New Town” Grew, is available at dlg.usg.edu/collection/frrls-pt_newtown and contains prospectuses, master plans, maps, conceptual drawings, newsletters, and administrative records dating from the 1950s to 2007.

Rebecca Watts, the librarian for the Joel Cowan History Room at Peachtree City Library, describes the importance of these resources: 

“These materials will provide land planners, city planners, and those interested in how a city like Peachtree City came to be, with insight on its beginnings and early history, when the city was devoted to slow growth in an effort to keep a balance between industry, residential, and community amenities.”

Ellen Ulken, the co-author of Peachtree City: Images of America (Arcadia Publishing, 2009) notes: “I found the city’s early newsletters invaluable for tracking down stories, photos of people, issues, and progress of the early 1970s…I feel certain that the next person to come along and write a history of Peachtree City will be glad if this material is available and findable online. The digital format would ensure a long life for these newsletters.”

Link to featured images:

Peachtree City promotional map [Map 2]

peachtree-city.org/DocumentCenter/View/16664/ptc05

Description: A later version of a larger 1974 Peachtree City, Georgia, promotional map (see peachtree-city.org/DocumentCenter/View/16684/ptc26), which highlights 24 named businesses, this map also prominently shows Lake McIntosh with a label indicating “under construction” rather than the more specific “opening in 1974” of the earlier map.

The lake was not completed until December 2012. Other notable changes to this map are that the “Ryland Model Home Park” is now shown east of Highway 74 on the south side of Highway 54 in the area of Hunter’s Glen subdivision (not named as such on the map). Also, the Information Center has moved to Aberdeen Center on the north side of Highway 54 near the center of town, not far from its previous location.

What had been “Peachtree City Realty” on the earlier map is now renamed “Garden Cities Reality [sic],” which was formed in December 1974.

Happen: Peachtree City updated newsletter for 1974

peachtree-city.org/DocumentCenter/View/16655/ptc04-74

Description:

Happen: Peachtree City updated newsletter. Volume 3, issue 1, January 1974. Appeal letter signed by leaders of both Kiwanis and Rotary clubs to support the school referendum. Peachtree City police: Haskell Barber, Chief, Bob Mathis, John Hay, Fred Cox, Orval Harris, Richard Andrews, J.B. Wright. Greg and Nancy Pearre purchase a 1973 Volkswagen bus to provide carpool service for Peachtree Citians to commute to Atlanta. Lutheran Church being organized.

(attachments to this email: frrls-pt_newtown_ptc04-74, frrls-pt_newtown_ptc05)

About Peachtree City Library

The Peachtree City Library serves the residents of Peachtree City, Georgia with adult programs, children’s programs, and is a proud member of the PINES Library Consortium. Learn more at their web site, peachtree-city.org/125/Library.

About the Digital Library of Georgia Based at the University of Georgia Libraries, the Digital Library of Georgia is a GALILEO initiative that collaborates with Georgia’s libraries, archives, museums and other institutions of education and culture to provide access to key information resources on Georgia history, culture, and life. This primary mission is accomplished through the ongoing development, maintenance, and preservation of digital collections and online digital library resources. DLG also serves as Georgia’s service hub for the Digital Public Library of America and as the home of the Georgia Newspaper Project, the state’s historic newspaper microfilming project. Visit the DLG at dlg.usg.edu.

The Georgia Historical Records Advisory Council (GHRAC) seeks to enrich the culture and protect the rights of Georgians by fostering activities that identify, preserve, and provide access to the State’s documentary heritage. Using funds awarded to the University of Georgia Libraries and the Georgia Archives by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), GHRAC is offering grants of $2,500 to $5,000 to local historical repositories in Georgia to develop and/or implement projects to identify, preserve, and provide access to historical records. Any size local historical repository with permanently valuable archival materials may apply.

Applications must be submitted by September 14, 2020. The 2020 GHRAC Historical Records Grants
Application guidelines can be found at https://www.georgiaarchives.org/ghrac.

A historical repository is defined as a non-profit or government organization/institution that houses, preserves, and provides access to historical documents on a regularly scheduled basis. This may be a local government, historical society, library, museum, or similar organization. The archival collections of the applying institution must be available, without charge, to the public on a regularly scheduled basis. Recipients of grant awards must provide a minimum one-to-ten ($1 for $10) match of grant funds requested. The match may be met through cash and or in-kind contributions. Greater than one-to-ten matches are encouraged, but not required.

If the applicant is a local government, it must provide proof of compliance with OCGA § 50-18-99 by
supplying a records management resolution/ordinance and the name of the records management officer. If the organization does not have a records management resolution, development and passage of this resolution must be included in the project’s description and completed by the end of the grant period. Grant requests should be between $2,500 and $5,000 for local governments and non-profit repositories in Georgia to develop and/or implement projects to identify, preserve, and provide access to historical records. There is a total of $34,000 available for these grants.

Questions about the grant application process or project administration may be sent to Christopher M.
Davidson, J.D., University System of Georgia Assistant Vice-Chancellor/State Archivist, Georgia Archives at christopher.davidson@usg.edu.

Eligible projects must identify, organize, and/or improve access to historical records. Eligible expenditures include shelving; archival file folders and/or boxes; dehumidifiers; humidifiers; analog monitors; photo sleeves; HEPA vacuum cleaners; hiring consultants to identify needs and priorities for improving the organization, description, preservation and access to collections; contracting services such as reproduction services; etc.

Eligible activities include rehousing collections, adding collections to an online catalog, scanning collections, or creating an online database or websites designed to support access to researchers (e.g., online catalogs, finding aids, and digitized collections, rather than curated web exhibits), etc.

Complete applications, which include all requested information, will be reviewed by a GHRAC committee which will submit its recommendations to GHRAC for approval.  Grants will be awarded on a competitive basis, with some preference given to underserved communities.  Applicants will be notified of GHRAC’s decisions by October 1, 2020.  Grant recipients will receive a grant acceptance agreement, which should be signed and returned by December 1, 2020.  All grant recipients must complete and sign an agreement with the University System of Georgia before beginning a grant project. Grant projects can begin once the grantee receives the signed and executed contract.  Final invoices for grant reimbursements should be submitted by recipient entities by April 15, 2021.

In determining whether an applicant shall receive a grant, some of the criteria that GHRAC will consider are the following: Does the project identify, preserve and/or make accessible records significant to Georgia’s history? Does the project utilize sound archival practices? Are the proposed activities and expenditures appropriate and cost effective? Does the proposal adhere to grant project application requirements and does it contain sufficient information for GHRAC decision-making? Is the financial information submitted realistic and accurate? In general, is the application meeting the mission, goals, and objectives of GHRAC?

All grants are contingent on funding by NHPRC.

RESCHEDULED DATES

Spring Book and Paper Conservation/Preservation Workshop Series

The Georgia Archives Conservation Department together with the Big River Bindery are excited to re-open registration for the previously postponed 3-day workshops on the conservation and preservation of books and paper artifacts:

• Introduction to Paper Conservation – August 7 – 9 ($350)
• Book Conservation for Circulating and Reference Collections – August 21 – 23 ($350)

These workshops are for anyone who works in cultural heritage institutions, libraries, museums,
galleries, or just has an interest in learning on how to best look after their own objects. The workshops are set at a foundational level and no prior experience or training is required. Join us to gain a greater understanding of book and paper conservation/preservation and how to best look after your treasures!

Registration fees include all materials, and lunch and snacks will be provided.
Location: Georgia Archives, Morrow, GA (Greater Atlanta)
For more information and to register: http://www.cvent.com/d/8hqvbq.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are implementing additional health and safety measures to protect the workshop attendees and staff. These include:

• Reducing the maximum workshop capacity to 10 people to ensure a 6-foot distance between persons and individual work areas.
• Increasing cleaning and disinfection of all the workshop spaces and surfaces.
• Limiting sharing of work areas to an absolute minimum and cleaning the surfaces between use.
• Requesting attendees to bring and wear face masks for the duration of the workshop.
• Requiring all workshop staff and assistants to follow CDC hygiene and social distancing guidelines and to wear face masks.
• Requiring hand washing upon entry for all persons.
• Providing individual pre-packaged lunches and snacks.
• Including video projection for demonstrations.
• Prohibiting sharing of tools and materials.
• Prohibiting non-workshop persons access to the workshop areas.
• Require staff and attendees to complete a COVID-19 screening form before the workshop.
• Daily temperature checks upon entry for all persons.

If you have any questions or concerns about the workshop and/or the health and safety measures
please contact Sigourney Smuts at sigourney.smuts@usg.edu. If you require any additional measures to be implemented, we will gladly work with you to ensure you feel safe and comfortable to attend.