Atlanta-The Atlanta History Center

The Atlanta History Center is a history museum located in the Buckhead district of Atlanta, Georgia. The Museum was founded in 1926, and currently consists of 12 exhibits. There are also historic gardens and houses located on the grounds, including the Swan House and Tullie Smith Farm. The Museum houses the Kenan Research Center, which includes 3.5 million resources and a reproduction of historian Franklin Garrett's (1906-2000) office. The Museum also has one of the largest collections of civil war artifacts in the world.

The Swan House at night

History

The Atlanta History Center was founded in 1926 by fourteen men as the Atlanta Historical Society and the next year began publishing the "Atlanta Historical Bulletin". It was led by Walter McElreath (1867-1951), after whom McElreath Hall is named. The periodical was later named Atlanta History: A Journal of Georgia and the South; it was last published in 2006.

Swan House in Atlanta, The Swan House is part of the Atlanta History Museum



In 1986 the still relatively small group received the DuBose Collection of Civil War artifacts, donated by Mrs. Beverly M. DuBose Jr. In 1989, the Society built the current museum to house the DuBose collection. In 1990, the Atlanta Historical Society was renamed the Atlanta History Center. The 15 million dollar museum opened in 1993 with 5 exhibitions, including Metropolitan Frontiers. An 11 million dollar expansion, finished in 1996, added two new permanent exhibits, Shaping Traditions:

Folk Arts in a Changing South and Turning Point: The American Civil War and a 220 car parking deck. Later, the library was expanded, the gardens were reorganized, and a fourth permanent exhibit was added- Down the Fairway with Bobby Jones. In 2006, the Centennial Olympic Museum was finished. 

Posted in: The United States