All Non-Digital Titles

View images from the picturesque history of Augusta.

In the early 1900s, America was swept up in the postcard craze. All over the country, people seized on these charming snapshots of life as a means of keeping in touch with friends and family, as well as seeing strange and exciting parts of the world.

Over 200 vintage images document the history of Avondale Estates, uncovering the development of its early businesses to the citizens who first called it home.

Founded in 1924 by self-made millionaire George Francis Willis, Avondale Estates is a unique planned community--the only documented one of its kind in Georgia and the Southeast in the early twentieth century. Located just 7 miles east of downtown Atlanta, Avondale Estates is the antithesis of the bustling metropolis, with beautifully landscaped parks and plazas, an abundance of community-oriented facilities, and historic architecture reminiscent of an English village. A community seemingly frozen in time, it was to its founder the ""ideal city."" In this collection of over 200 vintage images, the history of Avondale Estates is uncovered, from the development of its early businesses to the citizens who first called it home. The impressive commercial buildings, designed by prominent Atlanta architect Arthur Neal Robinson, showcase the only fully-developed Tudor Revival style in Georgia. The small, closely knit community has seen its fair share of local residents achieve fame and notoriety. Noted sculptor Gutzon Borglum, who not only started the carving of Stone Mountain in Georgia but also went on to carve Mount Rushmore, once called Avondale home. Avondale High School was the 1950s alma mater of ""Whispering Bill"" Anderson, singer, songwriter, and television star of Grand Old Opry fame. Within these pages, readers will discover these and otherfascinating characters who emerged from the community.

Brunswick, Georgia, was laid out from a plan by Gen. James Oglethorpe in 1771. Growing quickly after the Civil War, Brunswick became a thriving Gilded Age port for naval industries and shipping as well as a stop off for the wealthiest northern industrialists escaping to the Golden Isles.

Today’s vibrant Old Town Historic District still boasts eye-catching examples of days gone by. Suzanne Hurley is coauthor of The Great Houses of Brunswick and a former communications manager at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Joshua Dukes is a digital photograph restoration artist and Brunswick historian.

Through glimpses at yesteryear, author Patricia Barefoot perpetuates a "southern sense of place'? as it shines forth in Brunswick: The City by the Sea.

Located on the coast of southeast Georgia and the sinuous sweep of poet Sidney Lanier's famed ""Marshes of Glynn,"" Brunswick, Georgia boasts a history rich beyond measure. Dating from its layout in 1771 on the ""Oglethorpe Plan"" by surveyor George McIntosh, the new town emphasized an Anglo-Germanic heritage, and featured a grid repeat pattern of regularly spaced squares and town lots. In the 1830s, a flurry of entrepreneurial activity included the plan of ""New Town,"" which extended from the boundaries of Old Town. A few of Brunswick's most spectacular architectural treasures stand today within the boundaries of New Town near the Courthouse Mall. Built upon a peninsula, the seaside setting and Georgia's abundant natural resources have proven inspiring and lucrative assets for the port city and its people. Although buffeted by wars and epidemics, panics and depressions, a diverse population has endured and demonstrated extraordinary resilience. While in 1902 Brunswick stood first in lumber and second in naval stores production compared with other south Atlantic ports, today auto import and export, agri-commodities, and forest products provide focus for port activity. Soon the citizens of Brunswick-Glynn County will welcome a 185-foot vertical clearance, cable-stayed golden ""bridge to the future."" At the millennium's dawn, a renewed emphasis on restoring old buildings and homes, economic vitality, an award-winning Main Street program, and revitalization downtown promise a bright future.

A fascinating pictorial history of Bulloch County, documenting the everyday achievements of the residents this historic Georgia county.

Bulloch is more than a county. It is a way of life. Bulloch County is a pictorial history of the aspirations and achievements of the residents of one of Georgia's most historic counties. Using rare photographs obtained from individuals and archival collections, the authors, Delma E. ""Del"" Presley, director of the Georgia Southern Museum, and Smith C. Banks, local historian and eighth-generation Bulloch Countian, present a uniquely interesting look at Bulloch County's rich heritage.

Read of Calhoun's many influences on transportation, in wartime, and in the commerce of the South.

Calhoun, the seat of Gordon County, is situated in the rolling Ridge and Valley geologic region of northwest Georgia. The long valley formed a natural migration pattern that influenced the area's settlement and is a strong economic factor today. Transportation arteries, from rivers to railroads to highways, remain a critical part of the city's development. The Cherokee Indians began the infamous Trail of Tears march near Calhoun. Later, Gen. William T. Sherman almost destroyed the village as he led his troops to the Battle of Atlanta. The region's cotton farmers supplied the early tufted-textile industry that evolved into enormous carpet and floor-covering businesses.

Home of the oldest prehistoric pottery found in North America, Columbia County was one of the first counties in Georgia and is still growing today.

From the tumultuous years of the Civil War to the 20th century, Columbia County's history is recorded in these vintage images, many of the photographs never before seen by the public, as well as several ambrotypes of Confederate soldiers. The history of the county's education system, one of the state's best, is traced with snapshots of old field schools and village schoolhouses, and its industry is revealed, from locally-owned lumber yards to the famous Lake Thurmond Dam, which created the largest recreation facility in a five-county area. Culled from individuals, family collections, and county organizations, these pictures are treasured items offered for public perusal. An engaging retrospective, Columbia Countyoffers something for everyone, from the history buff to the nostalgia seeker to the leisurely reader.

This pictorial history of Cumberland Island illustrates the people, places, and events that have shaped the area's cultural and natural history.

Rich in history, wildlife, and beautiful coastal landscapes, Georgia's Cumberland Island attracts many an island tourist and nature lover. The island's well-preserved marshes, tidal creeks, and dune fields provide this hidden oasis with a rare natural charm. The area is also home to a wide variety of animal species, including loggerhead turtles, bob cats, manatees, and alligators, just to name a few. Though Cumberland is best known for being the nation's largest wilderness island, its history-dating back to the 16th century-also includes a period of use as a mission by the Franciscans. Among its historic sites are the magnificent ruins of Dungeness, the house built by the Carnegie family during the latter part of the 19th century, as well as the romantic Greyfield Inn. The island's rare solitude and beauty, which have resulted from conservation and preservation efforts in the area, are captured in this carefully detailed book for all lovers of nature and history to enjoy. Though the island permits only very limited human traffic, these images allow the reader to appreciate the Cumberland landscape-laced with wild animals, pirate coves, English forts, and an African-American ""settlement""-from afar.

Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, hidden in the northeast region of Georgia, lies -literally and figuratively - one of the Peach State's most treasured areas. Dahlonega, Georgia is known primarily as the site of the first major United States gold rush. But now, as the gold dust has settled, we can look back on the town's complex history - a history more valuable than its famous abundance of precious metal.

Full of little-known insight, Dahlonega, Georgia: A Brief History will expose this quaint city not only as a vibrant home for its residents, but also as an energized destination for history buffs and art connoisseurs. You will learn about the glistening reflection of North Georgia Agricultural College's gold-gilded steeple, which thousands of students view daily as they attend the Leadership Institution and Military College of Georgia. In addition, you will discover Dahlonega's fascinating artistic history, from its involvement in six silent films to the 1993 re-opening of the Holly Theatre, one of the top entertainment venues in the state.

Dahlonega, Georgia: A Brief History is not to be confused with works focusing solely on the distant past. The most up-to-date account available, this book even includes details of the famous 2006 discovery of gold underneath an old Dahlonega hotel.

Join author Joe Earle as he recounts the history of Decatur, Georgia’s rich and storied past using 200 vintage images.

Decatur proudly proclaims itself a city of homes, schools, and places of worship. While that motto might seem to describe any number of small towns, the words accurately capture the essence of Decatur, a place of fine and humble homes, well-regarded schools, and large, active churches. Founded by the Georgia legislature in 1823 to be the county seat of DeKalb County, Decatur took its name from Commodore Stephen Decatur, a U.S. naval hero of the early 1800s. In the years since, Decatur has grown into a busy suburb of neighboring Atlanta, produced Agnes Scott College, and attracted both the Scottish Rite Children's Hospital and Columbia Theological Seminary. Decatur has been home to fascinating Georgians, including Civil War memoirist Mary Gay and writer Rebecca Latimer Felton, the first woman to be seated as a U.S. senator (if only for a day).

Join Author Lisa Cooper as she recounts the history of Douglasville, Georgia in vintage images; some never before seen.

The formation of Douglasville coincided when New South ideals were reshaping villages into railroad towns across the South during Reconstruction. In 1875, business and political leaders worked from the ground up to provide Douglasville with each component of a New South town, including a railroad, cotton mill, hotel, bank, and a commercial district. Today, the central business district is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and presents a snapshot regarding how the town fathers actualized their vision of industry and enterprise. Douglasville's founders would be pleased if they visited the town they created 138 years ago. It has entered the 21st century as a vibrant city with a thriving historic district, as well as a destination for businesses ranging from Google to the American Red Cross.   

Located only two miles from downtown Atlanta, East Atlanta has its own distinct history and identity.

Over the decades, this area has impacted the development of Atlanta and the nation. The Battle of Atlanta, fought on East Atlanta ground in 1864, changed the course of the Civil War. The battlefield grew into a suburban community of Victorian homes, Craftsman bungalows, and thriving businesses throughout the early and mid-1900s. Beginning in the 1960s, the civil rights movement in Atlanta actively challenged and transformed the community. Often compared to an early Greenwich Village, East Atlanta is known today as a progressive, friendly, and diverse community and destination. This diversity reflects the pioneering and creative spirit of those who came before, including farmers and dairymen, hard-working neighbors, an Atlanta mayor, a Georgia sports legend, an Indianapolis race-car builder, the first broadcast country music star, and multiple civil rights leaders.

Celebrate with Effingham County, in word and image, the spirit and achievements of these industrious pioneers, who forged a special relationship with the land on which they settled.

On March 12, 1734, German Salzburger immigrants arrived in the southern portion of Georgia where, with handmade bricks, they constructed the Jerusalem Lutheran Church. Within its hallowed walls an active congregation still worships today, and the community that flourished around this sacred landmark is now known as Effingham County. The founding fathers of the early settlement also established a gristmill, a sawmill, a school, and an orphanage, bringing to life the optimistic sentiments they had carried across an ocean and into a new world. While religion was a focal point of the new community, commerce and industry could not be overlooked in a young America poised for an unprecedented role on the world's stage. The rivers that flowed through the county, the Savannah and the Ogeechee, made it possible for the local residents to transport their cotton and timber to the bustling markets in Augusta and Savannah; later, major railroad lines would pass through the county, connecting it to economic opportunity in the rest of the state and beyond. Today, Effingham County is made up of several small towns, with Springfield designated as the county seat. The people who live, work, and worship in these towns are ever respectful of the contributions of their hardworking ancestors, and maintaining the integrity of the community's unique character is a shared and enjoyed civic responsibility.

Established in 1790, Elbert County was carved from adjacent Wilkes County and named in honor of American patriot and former governor Samuel Elbert.

Located in Northeast Georgia on the Savannah and Broad Rivers, the territory witnessed Revolutionary War fighting and the creation of Fort James, Dartmouth, and Petersburg, occurring all before 1790. Later Ruckersville, Heardmont, Bowman, and Dewy Rose were established. Elberton, chosen as county seat by former governor Stephen Heard's committee, was incorporated in 1803 and dominated county history thereafter. Nancy Hart and Stephen Heard, among others, aided the revolution; merchants William and Beverly Allen forged a business path; and preachers, including Dozier Thornton, established many county churches. In later years, Corra Harris, born at Farmhill, attended Elberton Female Academy before becoming a noted writer. In the 20th century, cotton production was overshadowed by the growth of granite quarrying and finishing, leading to Elberton becoming the ""Granite Capital of the World.""

When Fannin County was created in January of 1854, less than 20 years had passed since the Texas Revolution, but its impact was immense.

War hero James Walker Fannin was born, if legend is correct, near where Tennessee and North Carolina border Georgia; after dropping out of West Point, Fannin was a successful broker in Columbus, Georgia, and then immigrated to Texas. Following several military adventures, including a failed attempt to relieve the Alamo, Colonel Fannin was defeated at the Battle of Coleto Creek, and his command massacred near Goliad. Shortly after the Mexican-American War won the Texas territory for the Union, Georgia honored Fannin's memory by naming Fannin County for him. From an isolated region of mountain farms, gristmills, and wilderness, Fannin County has developed alongside the arrival of the railroad and the inauguration of logging, hydroelectric power, mining, and manufacturing and is currently one of the premier tourist destinations and arts-and-crafts regions in the Southeast.

A fascinating history of Floyd County, Georgia, from its beginnings in Spanish exploration to its modern day success.

Floyd County, Georgia, located in the picturesque northwest Georgia mountains, has a long and fascinating written history that stretches back to 1540 and the Spanish explorers of that era. The Mississippian, Creek, and Cherokee Nations preceded the arrival of Europeans to the area. Soon after, industry and commercial agriculture began to flourish, and in 1845, riverboats began carrying products down the Coosa River from Floyd County to Mobile, Alabama.

For more than 200 years, Gainesville, Georgia, has been the trading and business center for Northeast Georgia's mountain region.

Its character dictated by rugged mountain terrain and independent, self-reliant people, Gainesville entertains a uniquehistory quite different from the traditional plantation culture of the American South. Celebrated within these pages are the people and places of this ""Queen City of the Mountains."" With images culled primarily from the Hall County Library and the Archives of the State of Georgia, Gainesville: 1900-2000 captures the memories of the twentieth century on the eve of the millennium. From its days as the ""Great Health Resort of the South"" to its transition into a metropolitan community, Gainesville has experienced enormous growth and change. Included in this collection are images of the disastrous 1936 tornado that swept through the city, the mills that were active in the early 1900s, and the poultry industry that became a dominanteconomic force in Gainesville. Residents will delight in the early photographs of the town square that reflect a simpler way of life.

Join authors Brenna and T.C. Michaels as they explore Savannah’s long, wide and very often hidden history.

Savannah has repeatedly stood on the edge of ruin, brought to its knees by bloody battles, mysterious pestilence, fire, unforgiving weather and the drums of war. Men and women whose names echo in history once walked its streets. Countless other faces are seemingly forgotten, names that history held in looser grip - like Mary Musgrove, the colonial translator and entrepreneur, or Dr. Samuel Nunes, shipwrecked by chance on Savannah’s coastal shores just in time to curb a deadly epidemic and save Savannah’s first settlers. And then there’s John Geary, the larger-than-life Union general who beat Sherman’s march south to the sea.

Uncover the history of Historic College Park, Georgia through vintage images in this pictorial history.

What makes College Park so special? It is the people who live here. College Park has managed to maintain a small-town feel even as it is home of the Georgia International Convention Center and with the town's close proximity to Hartsfield Jackson International Airport. Located 15 minutes southwest of Atlanta, College Park is a small town nestled within a large urban city. The people who live here make it what it has always been--an active and caring community. College Park has more than 800 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. It was home to prestigious Cox College and Georgia Military Academy, which became the largest preparatory school in the United States, Woodward Academy. As a tribute to higher institutions of learning, many streets are collegiately named.

Explore the rich history of Elberton, Georgia through more than 200 vintage photographs and anecdotes from the locals who experienced it.

Elberton, Georgia, chartered in 1803 and chosen as the seat of Elbert County, earned fame as the Granite Capital of the Worldwith an industry that dates back to the late 19th century. Along with the pioneering residents who first settled the area and those who brought the community to the forefront of the granite industry, this engaging pictorial collection highlights the civic, business, and cultural leaders who have shaped and defined the character of the town.

Images of America: Elbertonis filled with scenes of days gone by, revealing what life was like for early Elbertonians. Highlighted are such notable individuals as Samuel Elbert, an American Revolutionary Warhero and the town and county's namesake; Thomas M. Swift, merchant, mill owner, and builder of the Swift Blockon North McIntosh Street; Dr. Nathaniel G. Long, medical practitioner, politician, and business entrepreneur who established the first telephone system in the city; and Edmund Brewer Tate Jr., civic and business leader who encouraged construction of the present county courthouse. Local businesses, homes, institutions, and landmarks are included as well, such as the extant Queen Annehouse built by W.C. Smith on Heard Streetin the late 19th century, Reuben H. Hunt's Richardsonian Romanesquecourthouse of 1894-1895, and the Samuel Elbert Hotelof 1924-1925.

Coupled with informative captions, these vintage photographs tell the story that is uniquely Elberton.

Both the neighborhood of Grant Park and the 131-acre park take their shared name from railroad executive Lemuel P. Grant.

The park was a gift to the City of Atlanta from Grant and was designed by John Charles Olmsted, the stepson of Frederick Law Olmsted. It became an urban haven where people came to ""take the waters"" from its natural springs, canoe on Lake Abana, and stroll the winding pathways in the pastoral park. A neighborhood sprang up around this oasis and was filled with homes that were designed in the spirit of Victorian painted ladies, Craftsman bungalows, Queen Anne, and New South cottages. In 1979, the structures within the neighborhood and park were placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Historic Roswell is a pictorial history of this diverse Georgia community.

In the 1830s and 1840s, low country planters came to Roswell, Georgia, seeking relief from the heat and malaria that plagued Georgia's golden coast. The wealthy plantation owners were attracted to the temperate North Georgia climate by Roswell King-a former Glynn County plantation supervisor, builder, and entrepreneur-who promised his friends free land on which to build their homes and stock in the textile mill he built in 1839. The village of Roswell was laid out in 1840 with wide streets, a park, mills, and a residential area, and a community founded by devout Presbyterians and hard-working industrialists began to take shape. By the onset of the Civil War, Roswell had two cotton mills, a woolen mill, and flour and grist mills nearby. The town's strategic location near the Chattahoochee River made it a target of Union Gen. William T. Sherman during his March to the Sea in 1864. While Federal soldiers occupied Roswell that summer, none of the grand homes of the town were destroyed. Residents persevered the tolls of war and Reconstruction to rebuild mills and strengthen the local economy. A small and rural community through the early part of the 20th century, Roswell experienced phenomenal growth in the latter half of the century to become a bustling Atlanta suburb; yet much of the charm and small-town character remains and thousands of tourists are attracted each year by its beautiful antebellum homes and buildings. These treasured landmarks are the subject of this engaging retrospective, and each snapshot glimpse will illuminate the Roswell of yesteryear.

Located where the Altamaha River empties into the Atlantic Ocean near Brunswick, Hofwyl-Broadfield was the last of the coastal plantations to grow rice.

With welcoming views of the broad and expansive marsh, oak trees draped with moss, and a huge sky overhead, Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation was home to five generations of one family. Its story involves a love of the land--fertile yet sometimes unyielding, binding to it the people who owned it and those who worked it. It was this legacy that Ophelia Dent bequeathed to the State of Georgia at her death in 1973. Her hope was that future generations would enjoy the beauty of this special place and understand how each family found a way to bestow it upon the next. The Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation State Historic Site, operated by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Parks, and Historic Sites Division, captures and tells the story of a special era.

When the bustle of a city slows, towns dissolve into abandoned buildings or return to woods and crumble into the North Georgia clay. In 1832, Auraria was one of the sites of the original American gold rush.

The remains of numerous towns dot the landscape - pockets of life that were lost to fire or drowned by the water of civic works projects. Cassville was a booming educational and cultural epicenter until 1864. Allatoona found its identity as a railroad town. Author and professor Lisa M. Russell unearths the forgotten towns of North Georgia.

Macon has been a crossroads of cultures since Native Americans built the massive earthworks that now form the Ocmulgee National Monument.

In the 19th century, fortunes rose and fell with the price of cotton for small farmers and businessmen, as well as plantation owners. The Civil War destroyed the plantation economy, but it left Macon's historic treasures largely undisturbed. Though manufacturing replaced plantation slavery, cotton and race remained central facts of life as the City of Churches adapted to a changing world. From the 1950s onward, the city's role as a textile center withered, but the likes of Little Richard, Otis Redding, and the Allman Brothers Band built a musical legacy for Macon that survives today.

Images of America: Milledgeville is a study into Milledgeville's past events as they directly defined and shaped the future of the city.

Milledgeville has been greatly impacted by the founding of what is now Georgia College & State University and Georgia Military College, as well as by notable persons like great American writer Flannery O'Connor, distinguished chemist Charles Holmes Herty, and Congressman Carl Vinson. The city also has less flattering history, including the removal of the Creek Indians to acquire land and the Georgia Lunatic Asylum, which inspired the phrase Gone to Milledgeville to suggest a person had gone crazy. This compilation of images traces the history of Milledgeville from its founding in 1804 and declaration as the new capital of Georgia through more than 100 years of development and transition.