by Kate Daly and Leah Lefkowitz, Visual Culture Archivist and Manuscript Archivist, Atlanta History Center

In June 2020, the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center received funding from a private donor to complete a project to catalog and process over 30 linear feet of archival materials related to Atlanta’s women’s history. Archivists have completed processing several collections, allowing these historically significant materials to be widely available to researchers.

The Atlanta History Center will use these materials, as well as others related to women’s history in our collection, to curate an online exhibition. We are also soliciting new donations from prominent Atlanta women. These materials will facilitate public research and provide support for the Atlanta History Center’s programs and exhibitions.

The following collections have been processed and are now available on the Kenan Research Center’s Finding Aids database (https://ahc.galileo.usg.edu/):

– Atlanta Tomboys documents, MSS 1204, 1917-1926, 1944-1986, undated

This collection contains papers that document the Atlanta Tomboys, an amateur, later semi-professional, women’s basketball and softball team, both organized and coached by Johnny Moon. Included are game schedules, team rosters, promotional materials, and correspondence about sports scholarships and exhibits.

– Atlanta Women’s Chamber of Commerce photographs, VIS 398, 1952-1989

This collection contains images and items related to the Women’s Chamber of Commerce of Atlanta’s outreach activities and members. Included are photographs, negatives, and slides of annual events and contests, as well as WCC members and officers, meetings, and committees.

– Atlanta Women’s Network records, MSS 710, 1978-1989, undated

This collection contains documents from the Atlanta Women’s Network, an outgrowth of the Feminist Action Alliance, that brings together professional Atlanta women through tools and relationship building. Areas of the organization documented include the Board of Directors, committee creation and work, luncheon and other event planning, and business operations.

– Cathy Woolard papers, 1986-2013, undated

This collection documents the career of Atlanta City Council Woman Cathy Woolard, who was the first openly gay elected official in the position, which she held from 1997 until 2002 Papers include campaign flyers, voter surveys, press clippings of her work, legal paperwork, and administrative binders. The bulk of documentation is planning materials pertaining to the construction of the Atlanta Beltline, such as financial and environmental studies, formal presentations, and outreach magazines and publications.

– Chris Mastin photographs of protest marches, VIS 399, 2017-2018

This collection contains digital images taken by Chris Mastin of the March for Science Atlanta, the Martin Luther King Jr. March and Rally in Atlanta, and the Women’s March on Washington. Photographs in this collection depict protesters holding signs and marching in downtown Atlanta and Washington D.C.

– Emily Bourne Grigsby papers and photographs, MSS 1201, 1943-2004, undated

These collections contain documents and photographs from Emily Bourne Grigsby’s career as an opera singer and model, as well as her time as president of the Atlanta Music Club and her association with the Atlanta Opera Arts Association.

– Florence Inman photographs, VIS 389, 1970-1990, undated

This collection contains photographs of Focal Point Inc.’s awards and recognitions, the staff and workshop, and the moldings they designed and manufactured. Examples of moldings and decorative medallions are shown that were manufactured in the Focal Point workshop, or installed in residences and historic properties.

– Leila Ross Wilburn visual arts materials, VIS 72, 1920-1979

This collection documents the prolific work of one of Atlanta’s pioneer women architects and businesswomen. It is comprised primarily of architectural plans, photographs, negatives, and slides of private residences, multi-family homes, and apartment buildings Wilburn designed during her career.

– Lochrane and Reid family papers, MSS 1203, 1833-1977, undated

This collection contains papers from the Lochrane and Reid family, primarily Sallie Fannie Reid, the funder a Confederate military company during the Civil War and the secretary of the Ladies of Soldiers Relief. The bulk of the collection is correspondence written by Reid

– Lucinda Bunnen photographs, VIS 395, approximately 1976-1978

This collection contains photographs taken for Movers and Shakers in Georgia by Lucinda Bunnen and Frankie Coxe. The collection includes images of notable political, business, cultural, and arts figures between 1976-1978 in Georgia. Also included are photographs of events such as Jimmy Carter’s presidential election, a Decatur Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) planning meeting, the Ramblin’ Raft Race on the Chattahoochee River, an Atlanta Symphony Orchestra concert in Piedmont Park, Atlanta Braves baseball team opening days, and Isamu Noguchi’s Playscapes opening event in Piedmont Park.

– Maria Helena Dolan papers, MSS 1196, 1970-2007, undated

This collection contains materials collected by Maria Helena Dolan that document her work in LGBTQ+ and feminist organizations, her personal life, events she attended, her work at MARTA, as well her various other interests, including gardening, arts, and travel. Specific causes documented include AIDS awareness and safe sex, domestic violence, civil rights, and LGBTQ+ rights. Organizations represented include Atlanta History Center, Charis Books & More, Pride, ACLU, and Atlanta Lesbian and Gay History Thing, amongst others.

– Roan family papers, MSS 1202, 1913-1971, undated

This collection documents the Roan family, including Margaret Zattau Roan, who was a suffragist, activist, and pioneering music therapist. Suffragist papers consist of telegrams to the Convention League of Women Voters, articles, and documents from the National League of Women Voters

– Yolande Copley Gwin visual arts materials, MSS 1202, 1913-1971, undated

This collection contains illustrations submitted to the society column that Yolande Copley Gwin edited at the Atlanta Journal. Editorial cartoonists featured in the collection include Clifford “Baldy” Baldowski (1917-1999), Lou “Eric” Erickson (1913-1990), Howard Paris (1919-2004), and others.