Photography

Railroads are central in the history of Georgia. Explore 200 years of railroad expansion and consolidation in this must-read for railroad and Georgia history fans.

Before the start of the Civil War, Georgia had ten railroads, five of which figured significantly in General William T. Sherman's Atlanta Campaign and March to the Sea.

The number of rail lines in the state ballooned after the war. Many were founded by individual entrepreneurs like Henry Plant and Thomas Clyde, while the biggest railroad of them all (Southern Railway) was created out of whole cloth by New York financier J.P. Morgan. At the close of the nineteenth century, consolidation was already in process, and by the end of the next century, only three significant railroads remained in Georgia.

Author and historian Robert C. Jones examines Georgia's rail history over the past two centuries and today.

Author Amy Petulla uncovers the curious case that left two men dead and the incredible story still surrounded by controversy, speculation and myth.

In 1982, Tony West and Avery Brock made a visit to notorious Corpsewood Manor under the pretense of a celebration. They brutally murdered their hosts. Dr. Charles Scudder and companion Joey Odom built the castle in the woods in the Trion forest after Scudder left his position as professor at Loyola. He brought with him twelve thousand doses of LSD. Rumors of drug use and Satanism swirled around the two men. Scudder even claimed to have summoned a demon to protect the estate. The murders set the stage for a trial vibrant with local lore.

Savannah's Historic District is a steadfast remant of the Old South that continues to amaze residents and visitor to this day.

Covering just less than two-and-a-half square miles, Savannah's air is still sweetened by the scent of tea olives and jasmine, her streets are still lined with the rich palettes of azaleas and camellias, and her people are generous and welcoming. Savannah has enchanted residents and visitors alike for more than two-and-a-half centuries with a rich architectural heritage and a remarkable natural beauty. Founded on February 12, 1733, by Gen. James E. Oglethorpe, Savannah has played an active role on the American stage, in times of war and hardship, as well as in times of peace and prosperity. The city's location at the mouth of the Savannah River created one of the largest seaports on the east coast, and her history is as colorful and varied as the numerous industries that made their way to her banks. Within these pages readers will visit Savannah's signature squares and parks, including Forsyth Park and Colonial Park Cemetery, as well as buildings long since vanished from the city's landscape, such as the old DeSoto Hotel and the City Market. Also showcased are some of Savannah's private homes and public buildings, such as the Telfair Museum of Art, the Chatham County Courthouses, and Christ Church, and such memorable events as the fire of 1889.

Go inside the transition from steam to diesel, the pinnacle of rail travel and the development of the South through much of the 20th century.

The Southern Railway was the pinnacle of rail service in the South for nearly 100 years. Its roots stretch back to 1827, when the South Carolina Canal & Rail Road Company was founded in Charleston to provide freight transportation and America's first regularly scheduled passenger service. Through the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the Great Depression, rail lines throughout the South continued to merge, connecting Washington, D.C. to Atlanta and Charleston to Memphis. The Southern Railway was born in 1893 at the height of these mergers. It came to an end in 1982, merging with Norfolk and Western Railway to become Norfolk Southern Railway. The history of the railway lives on, however, and Norfolk Southern continues to "serve the South."

In 2003, the Southern Railway Historical Association selected the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History as the repository for its extensive archives. Included in this collection are hundreds of professional quality, black-and-white photographs taken by company photographers throughout the railway's history. While a few of these images have been seen by the public, the vast majority have not.

Georgia Tech has become one of the nation's top-10-ranked public universities and boasts a former U.S. president, TV personality and Hall-of-Fame athletes among its prominent alumni.

From humble beginnings as a small technological institute that opened in 1888, Georgia Tech is now renowned throughout the world for its excellence in technological education and research. A top-10-ranked public university, according to U.S. News & World Report rankings, famous Georgia Institute of Technology alumni include Jimmy Carter, G. Wayne Clough, Jeff Foxworthy, Sam Nunn, Randolph Scott, and Leonard Wood, along with many famous athletes. Georgia Tech has won four national college football championships, the first in 1917 under the legendary coach John Heisman. Today, Georgia Tech has a student body of more than 29,000 at the undergraduate and graduate levels and more than 155,000 living alumni. The institute has an annual economic impact of about $3 billion upon Georgia's economy. Authors and Tech alumni Matthew Hild and David L. Morton take you inside the journey of how this institute got to where it is today.

Join authors Michael Harris and Linda Sickler as they navigate the chilling world of the restless spirits of those who refuse to leave their Savannah homes.

As one of America's most haunted cities, Savannah, Georgia, has a long list of stories of both brutal violence and the supernatural, such as the story of the first two people hanged in colonial Savannah for the murder of their abusive master, their spirits still haunting Wright Square. Or James Stark, a tempestuous planter, and Dr. Philip Minis, who settled their dispute with a duel and still hang around the old building at Moon River Brewing Co. Even the legend of the terrifying boy-giant Rene Rhondolia, known as the Frankenstein of Savannah, who preyed on young girls and animals, is enough to make anyone in the Southeast sleep with their lights on.

Atlanta! The very name evokes a sense of grandeur and splendor and an aura of dominance. Indeed, today's Atlanta has no rival.

Present-day Atlanta prides itself in having one of the largest and busiest airports in the world, and 100 years ago, it boasted of having the busiest railroad center in the South. At its peak, its passenger stations dispatched countless numbers of trains to every major city in the country. This book recalls the building of the many stations that faithfully served Atlanta and records, with the exception of one, their final reduction to piles of rubble when they were of no further use, only to be remembered on paper and in the memories of those fortunate enough to have witnessed them.

While every cemetery has its own collection of stories, Savannah's Bonaventure Cemetery has an overflowing bounty of rich, enthralling tales to tell.

Each neatly laid out plot, each lichen-dotted headstone, each lovingly crafted monument, is a representation of a personal history. For more than 150 years, citizens of Savannah have buried their loved ones at Bonaventure Cemetery. Among its grounds, monuments bearing the names of such famous people as Johnny Mercer lie alongside markers bearing names of those known only to their family. Bonaventure's stately beauty seems the perfect setting for a cemetery. Historic Bonaventure Cemetery illustrates the development of Bonaventure as a Victorian-style cemetery and the
transformation from a private estate to a public cemetery. Historic Bonaventure Cemetery, the first book solely about Bonaventure, includes images of Bonaventure and Greenwich - the two plantations that became Bonaventure - and provides information about the people and the monuments there.

North Georgia has more than forty lakes, and not one is natural. The state's controversial decision to dam the region's rivers for power and water supply changed the landscape forever.

Lost communities, forgotten crossroads, dissolving racetracks and even entire towns disappeared. The creation of Lake Lanier displaced more than seven hundred families. During the construction of Lake Chatuge, busloads of schoolboys were brought in to help disinter graves for the community's cemetery relocation. Contractors clearing land for the development of Lake Hartwell met with seventy-eight-year-old Eliza Brock wielding a shotgun and warning the men off her property. Lisa Russell dives into the history hidden beneath North Georgia's lakes.

Craving a blast of nostalgia with a side of pecans? Pull over and explore Stuckey's, the Georgia highway staple.

Beginning as a single roadside stand selling pecans in Eastman, Georgia, by the 1950s, the name Stuckey's was synonymous throughout the South with candy, souvenirs, clean restrooms, and the other necessities of automobile travel. During the 1960s, the Stuckey's stores moved into the new frontier of the interstate highways, where quite often they sat alone at the exits like oases in the middle of a desert. Their bright aqua-colored rooftops were a welcome beacon for those who had been driving long distances. Travel has changed a lot since then, but Stuckey's can still be found along the nation's highways, still providing dozens of types of candy and nuts, plus the same mix of souvenirs, as always. Anyone need a rubber alligator or a pecan log?

From the earliest tribes who hunted and fished to the tourists who relaxed on the beaches, St. Simons Island has been part of the landscape of Georgia's coast.

When Gen. James E. Oglethorpe established Fort Frederica to protect Savannah and the Carolinas from the threat of Spain, the island was, for a short time, a vibrant hub of British military operations. During the latter part of the 1700s, a plantation society thrived on the island until the outbreak of the War Between the States. Never to return to an agricultural community, by 1870 St. Simons re-established itself with the development of a booming timber industry. At the turn of the century, the pleasant climate and proximity to the sea drew tourists to St. Simons as a year-round resort. Although the causeway had brought large numbers of summer visitors to the island, St. Simons remained a sleepy little place with only a few hundred permanent residents until 1941.

Lake Winnepesaukah has played an important role in the region’s history for centuries.

The lake was constructed by the Indigenous peoples, who built a narrow earthen dam at the head of several hundred springs, creating the six-acre lake. It later became a gristmill used by area farmers for grinding corn into meal. During the Civil War, the lake was contended for and subsequently became the campground for the Union army. It later became a hunting reserve until it was bought by Carl and Minette Dixon in 1924. Their vision, combined with hard work and a sense of play—the same for three succeeding generations—brought the land and the lake to be a setting for the premier family-owned amusement park and water park it is today.

Go inside the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry that is Auburn-Georgia.

The rivalry between Auburn University and the University of Georgia began in 1892 and has largely been a competition more brotherly than bitter. According to one legend, Auburn's War Eagle battle cry originated at the first game between the two schools. The first overtime game in SEC history occurred in 1996, when Georgia topped the heavily favored Tigers, 56-49, in four extra periods. Renowned UGA coach Vince Dooley graduated from Auburn, while Auburn coach Pat Dye was an All-American at UGA. Join award-winning journalist and Athens, Georgia, native Doug Stutsman, who was raised by Auburn graduates, as he recounts the unforgettable games, moments and personalities on the 125th anniversary of the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry.

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.

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).

Travel across several centuries of change in Northeast Georgia from the early American Indian tribes to the present day's unprecedented growth and expansion.

In the late 18th century, waves of intrepid settlers made their way down the Great Wagon Road into the virgin wilderness of Northeast Georgia to find new homes and opportunity for land and wealth. Against a dramatic mountainous backdrop, these pioneers carved out farms and small communities in perilous isolation and created an American experience vastly different from that of the plantation-style society established along Georgia's coast. Battling Creek and Cherokee warriors, government intervention, natural disasters, and a landscape not easily tamed, year after year, these men and women of Northeast Georgia stamped their self-reliance, their perseverance, and their industriousness upon generations to follow and upon the very geography they called home.

In Northeast Georgia: A History, readers will go inside the American Indian tribes that once made this place their hunting grounds to the present day when both industry and population grew. Truly a world unto itself, Northeast Georgia has served as a haven and destination for all classes over the past two centuries: the bold gold miners of 1829, the stalwart sustenance farmers, the social elite enjoying fresh mountain air at the many summer resorts, a multitude of businessmen seeking opportunity in railroading, cotton, lumber, and poultry farming and bootleggers finding the landscape convenient for clandestine whiskey-making and distribution. These stories and more provide insight into understanding a people and place unique in Georgia.

Writer Susan B. Johnson documents the interesting histories of of the famous antebellum cottages which dot Savannah's historic district.

In a warm, accessible style, Savannah writer Susan B. Johnson gives voice to the walls of the famous antebellum cottages that dot the city's historic district and examines the lives of the families that called them home. Who built these tiny dwellings? Who lived in their twelve hundred (or fewer) square feet of space? And what sort of world did they see when they gazed out their windows? This charming, meticulously researched book answers all these questions--and more. Who can resist the story of Dr. Samuel Furman, who was married to sisters, first Lucy and then Henrietta Williams? Or the sad tale of Edward and Jane Harden, who both died of bilious fever in 1804--he on her birthday, she on his--leaving their children in the care of slaves? Or the mystery of lively and conniving Eliza Howell, whose three husbands all died under the same circumstances?

The Georgia Air National Guard units in Marietta, Savannah, Warner Robins, and other locations have played a role in major conflicts around the world. Clint Smith, a retired member of the Georgia Air National Guard uses images from the Georgia National Guard history office and the Historical Society of the Georgia National Guard to illustrate its history since the guard's official creation in 1947.

The founder of the colony of Georgia, Gen. James Oglethorpe, served as the first Georgia Guardsman. He embodied the legend of the minuteman, a tradition carried forward by the Georgia Army National Guard. In May 1941, the first distinct aviation unit was created at Candler Field in Atlanta—the 128th Observation Squadron. In September 1947, a federal act officially created the Air National Guard. 

Clint Smith served at state headquarters at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Georgia. He had many responsibilities, including command historian. A board member of the Historical Society of the Georgia National Guard, Smith served eight years in the Georgia Legislature, where he led on military and security issues. The author of two novels, Smith has published columns on public policy and history.

Experience the architecture and fascinating history of the Savannah River Plantations with author Frank T. Wheeler.

Savannah is as Southern a place as has ever existed, and the Savannah River Plantations were the pinnacle of Southern heritage. Place names such as Richmond Oakgrove, Mulberry Grove, Drakies, Whitehall, and Colerain signified extensive land holdings, moss-draped oaks, and a culture not found anywhere else in the world.

In Savannah River Plantations, author Frank T. Wheeler, in conjunction with the Georgia Historical Society, has crafted an in-depth look at the culture, geography, and society that made up plantation life. Drawing on the extensive photograph collection of the Historical Society, as well as his own research and knowledge, Wheeler combines unique photographs with illuminating text to create a work that will appeal to both those with a lifelong interest in the area and newcomers to the region's rich history. Savannah River Plantations is a most Southern look at the most Southern of places

In this unique retrospective, the history of the island comes to life through remarkable vintage images, culled from the collections of the Georgia Historical Society; the Ford, Torrey, and West families; Project Genesis and Ossabaw Island Project members and directors John Earl, Al Bradford, and Helen Hamada; Paul Efird; Dr. M. Craig Alee; and others. Ossabaw is explored from prehistoric times through the arrival of the Spanish 450 years ago, from its plantation years through the purchase of the island by the Torrey family in 1924, and from the establishment of Eleanor Torrey West's internationally acclaimed Ossabaw Foundation through the sale of the island to the State of Georgia in 1978. Within these pages, readers will enter the historic gardens of Mrs. Nell Ford Torrey, meet a young Eleanor Ford Torrey exploring her own paradise on horseback in the 1930s, mingle with the influential businessmen at Dr. Torrey's hunting parties, and gaze in breathtaking wonder at the beauty of Georgia's first Heritage Preserve.

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 Author and historian Herman Skip Mason Jr. in this unique look at the rich history of the African-American community of East Point, Georgia.

An industrious, spiritual, and neighborly people, the African-American community of East Point, Georgia has a rich and enduring heritage, explored in this volume of vintage photographs. Notable landmarks such as South Fulton High School, Lige Sims Funeral Home, and Union Baptist Church-all long gone but not forgotten-are seen within these pages. The pioneering leaders who have contributed to the town's growth are highlighted as well, including the civic and social organizations they formed for the betterment of the community.

Even beyond Atlanta, this amazing, Moorish-style icon is known by most not by its legal name, the Fox Theatre, but as the Fabulous Fox.

Constructed in the late 1920s as a temple for the Yaarab Shrine, the imposing yellow-brick building was designed to out Baghdad Baghdad in its elaborate Middle Eastern appearance. But the onion-domed exterior with its faux prayer towers is nothing compared to the elaborate interior. Movie mogul William Fox leased the auditorium from the Shriners in 1929, transforming it into a movie palace like no other. The theater became a place of spectacular premieres and world-class performances until changing times threatened its very existence in the 1970s. The campaign to Save the Fox proved more dramatic than some of the performances that graced Fox's own stage. Today, the Fabulous Fox is one of Atlanta's best-known and most cherished landmarks.

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.

In the late 19th century, some of America's wealthiest families joined together to form the Jekyll Island Club.

Operating for over 50 years, from 1888 until 1942, the Club attracted an elite clientele, including the families of J.P. Morgan, Joseph Pulitzer, Cyrus McCormick, and William Vanderbilt who all came to enjoy the leisurely pace and recreational adventure of the Georgia coast.The Jekyll Island Clubincludes images of the architecture, clothing, transportation, and natural beauty unique to the island. This exquisite collection is sure to rekindle awe and wonder in the hearts of those who have visited the island, and serve as a wonderful introduction for newcomers.

The history of this quintessential Southern town is best enjoyed on a sunny afternoon with a big glass of sweet tea.

Whether it's the battle for a bridge, the loss of life and limb by cannon fire, or the efforts of the community to fight a fire and save the old statehouse, readers will delight in this journey through Milledgeville's important and often colorful past. Milledgeville's resident and local historian Hugh Harrington leads visitors and locals alike through the fascinating and often bizarre stories of life in the antebellum capital of Georgia. Harrington's "'Round and About'? column has appeared in the Baldwin Bulletinover 100 times, and his work as appeared in other publications such as Georgia Backroads, Georgia Historical Quarterly, America's Civil War, Muzzle Blasts, and more. He is also the author of Civil War Milledgeville: Tales from the Confederate Capital of Georgia and More Milledgeville Memories.

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.

Discover how Newnan, also known as the “City of Homes” has kept its 19th century charm and architecture, inspiring songs and books to be written.

Newnan, founded in 1828 in the rolling Piedmont section of west Georgia, has long been known as the City of Homes. While many small towns in the South have been burned, bulldozed, or transformed by industry and development, Newnan retains much of its 19th-century charm and elegance, including more than a dozen restored antebellum homes and a 1904 courthouse on the downtown square. The town produced two of Georgia's most progressive governors and provided writer Erskine Caldwell with his earliest, formative memories. Newnan is the small town that country music singer (and native son) Alan Jackson immortalized in his hit song Little Man; in these pages, readers will see the old Lee King's apothecary and other downtown buildings that Jackson found so inspiring during his childhood.

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.

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.

Savannah's storied history begins with Native Americans.

The Guales lived along the Georgia coast for hundreds of years and were the first to encounter Spanish missionaries from St. Augustine in the 1500s. Tomochichi of the Yamacraw tribe is lauded as the co-founder of Georgia for his efforts in helping James Oglethorpe establish the Savannah colony in the eighteenth century. In 1830, President Andrew Jackson forced southeastern Native American tribes to resettle in the West, including descendants of the Savannah Creek, who had fought by Jackson's side at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. Michael Freeman explores the legacy of coastal Georgia's Native Americans and the role they played in founding Savannah.

Discover the charm and magic of Sapelo Island, Florida as its history is told in vintage images.

The barrier islands of the south Atlantic coastline have for years held a deep attraction for all who have come into contact with them. Few, however, can compare with the mystique of Sapelo Island, Georgia. This unique semitropical paradise evokes a time long forgotten, when antebellum cotton plantations dominated her landscape, all worked by hundreds of black slaves, the descendants of whom have lived in quiet solitude on the island for generations. For more than 50 years of the twentieth century, two millionaires held sway on Sapelo, and it is their story, interwoven with that of the island's residents, that unfolds within the pages of this book. Almost 200 photographs provide testimony to the dynamic forces and energies implanted upon Sapelo by two men, Howard E. Coffin, a Detroit automotive pioneer, and Richard J. Reynolds Jr., heir to a huge North Carolina tobacco fortune. Beginning with a photographic essay about Sapelo's antebellum plantation owner, Thomas Spalding, Sapelo Island moves into the primary focus of the story, the years from 1912 to 1964, an era of grandeur that has left a rich photographic legacy.

Filled with remarkable vintage photographs, Black America: Augusta, Georgia captures the essence of the African-American heritage in this historic Southern community.

The Garden City has produced a wide variety of intellectual and political pioneers, including a handful of educators who were instrumental in the pivotal Brown versus Board of Education case. Within the pages of this volume, their stories unfold.

Most people have heard the song: ""Tis Irish I am and 'tis proud I am of it."" But, what does it mean to be Irish?

When the Irish first came to Savannah, it meant they were either ""lace curtain"" or ""old fort."" Lace curtain inferred that the family was prosperous, usually Protestant, and had come to Savannah with letters of introduction, money, and a plan. Old fort meant that the family had come to America in desperation and to Savannah with little but the clothes on their back, the desire to work, and hope for a better future. Old fort Irish were generally Catholic, attending Catholic schools and depending on the Church for far more than just Sunday worship. Today, the Irish have spread all over Savannah like shamrocks, making these designations a thing of the past. The Irish are involved in every facet of Savannah life, from politics, to business, to education. Catholicism remains the predominant religion and churches abound, as do Catholic schools. When the ""Season of St. Patrick"" begins, the Savannah Irish begin celebrating.

From Macon to Hawkinsville, the history of Georgia's once thriving textile mills is documented in this visual history.

Cotton was once king throughout Georgia. Reconstruction investors and railroad tycoons saw this potential to open textile mills in the South instead of sending cotton up North. Towns across Central Georgia became a prime spot to locate textile mills because of the access to cotton from local farms, cheap labor, and nearby rivers to power the mills. Textile mills were operated in cities and towns across Central Georgia such as Macon, Columbus, Augusta, Tifton, Forsyth, Porterdale, and Hawkinsville, among others. The textile mills provided employment and sometimes a home in their villages to people across Georgia as the agrarian lifestyle gave way to industrial expansion. In these mills, photographer Lewis Hine captured iconic images of child labor. After the decline of production and closing of the mills, many have been revived into new usages that honor the legacy of the mill workers and their families who lived in the villages of the textile mills across Central Georgia.

When Rome, Georgia, was founded in 1834, Col. Daniel R. Mitchell suggested the name because of the surrounding hills, much like those of ancient Rome.

Known today as ""The City of Seven Hills,"" Rome has been voted one of the most livable cities in the South. It is the medical center of Northwest Georgia with a population of over 30,000, and a thriving community with abundant opportunities for business, education, and recreation. Historic views of Rome, seen through the eyes of the traveling postcard photographer, fill the pages of this engaging volume. Longtime residents of the community will delight in remembering area landmarks, including the old Clock Tower, Shorter College, Berry College, Myrtle Hill Cemetery, the downtown business section of Broad Street, and the neighboring communities of Lindale and Cave Spring.

The game of golf got its start in the Southeastern United States in 1892 on four holes with sand greens at Palmetto Golf Club in Aiken, South Carolina.Within five years, Palmetto had expanded to eighteen holes and the first nine-hole course in neighboring Augusta, Georgia was designed at the Hotel Bon Air. For half a century, the Augusta-Aiken area flourished as the winter destination of choice for the rich, famous, and powerful in America. Presidents Taft, Harding, and Eisenhower vacationed here. Baseball great Ty Cobb bought a home in Augusta's quaint Summerville neighborhood. It was here that Bobby Jones began the improbable journey towards a Grand Slam, then built his dream golf course. By the turn of the century, winter tourism and grand resort hotels in the Augusta-Aiken area were well established. A favorable winter climate and easy rail access drew vacationers to Highland Park Hotel (1866), Willcox Hotel (1898), and Park in the Pines (1900) in Aiken; Hotel Bon Air (1890) and Partridge Inn (1913) in Augusta; and Hampton Terrace Hotel and Golf Club (1903) in North Augusta. Resorts in Florida and the growth of the air travel industry later coupled to mark the area's decline in winter tourism, but not before Augusta-Aiken's place in golf history was secure. In this unique volume, vintage images and accompanying text recall the unforgettable legends, the meticulously maintained courses, and all of the grandeur associated with the game. Enjoy Augusta and Aiken’s rich golf history in this collection of 15 historic black-and-white postcards.

Discover the history of Warm Springs and how their healing waters attracted Franklin D. Roosevelt; restoring hope and charity to the country.

The Spirit of Warm Springs is what Franklin D. Roosevelt described as the peaceful atmosphere and healing qualities he found along the slopes of Georgia's Pine Mountain. But long before FDR, the warm springs attracted people. Legend has it the Creek Indians used them for healing. European settlers used them as a revenue source. In the 1800s, the springs became a resort area, and the village of Warm Springs, Georgia, was founded. Rail brought visitors to this farming community for decades until travelers sought different destinations. By the 1920s, Warm Springs began slipping into the Great Depression. Destiny intervened when Franklin Roosevelt arrived in Warm Springs seeking a cure for his polio. After his first visit, he was able to move his leg. The news drew others afflicted with polio. Warm Springs provided FDR with hope. He returned the gift through New Deal programs and the March of Dimes while restoring hope in America. The waters are still used for healing, the town of Warm Springs thrives, and FDR's Little White House is a memorial to ""the foremost statesman and political leader"" of the 20th century.

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.

But it is not only this tragedy that has given Walton County a sense of identity. Indeed, other lesser-known events and accomplishments have contributed to its history. Whether boasting Atlanta's first black millionaire, a member of the U.S. Olympic basketball team, or a high school state football championship, Walton County has thrived both in and out of the national spotlight.

Starting as an ice-cream truck in 1929; Carvel has became the standard of ice-cream franchises across America.

When an unassuming, wide-eyed, young Greek immigrant arrived in America in 1910, the world did not yet know that this boy named Tom Carvel would grow up to be an inventor, an innovator, and, ultimately, an American icon. Holding a host of jobs, from drummer to mechanic, Carvel's relentless entrepreneurial spirit led him down a path less traveled. At 26 years old, Carvel met his future wife, Agnes Stewart. He borrowed $15 from her and began selling ice cream out of the back of his truck. What started as an old truck plugged into a pottery store is now more than 500 franchised locations throughout the nation and abroad and is one of the best loved and most recognized names in the industry. Fulfilling the American dream, Carvel is credited for patenting machinery, coining the ""buy one get one"" coupon, starring in his own commercials, and being the ""father of franchising.""