Historic Preservation Resources
These resources help visitors explore historic sites, access archival collections, and learn more about the people and places that shaped Georgia and our local communities. Begin your research online, plan an archival visit, or explore the organizations preserving history throughout our area.
The National Archives at Atlanta
Located in Morrow beside the Georgia Archives, the National Archives at Atlanta preserves permanent records created by federal agencies and courts serving Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Its holdings date from 1716 to the present.
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These federal records can help document communities, court cases, military sites, federal buildings, land use, public works projects, and other places shaped by federal activity. The research room is open by appointment only.
The Georgia Archives
Virtual Vault
The Georgia Archives Virtual Vault provides online access to some of Georgia’s most important historical documents, from 1733 to the present. Its collections include manuscripts, photographs, maps, and government records held by the Georgia Archives.
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The Virtual Vault can help researchers locate historic images, property-related records, maps, and community history materials that provide context for buildings, cemeteries, neighborhoods, and other historic places.
The Digital Library of Georgia
The Digital Library of Georgia provides free online access to historical materials from libraries, archives, museums, and cultural institutions across the state. This Georgia Library Learning Online (GALILEO) initiative, based at the University of Georgia Libraries, includes digitized photographs, newspapers, maps, manuscripts, books, documents, audio, video, and other resources connected to Georgia’s history.
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Search by county, institution, collection, or subject to locate materials related to communities, families, historic buildings, cemeteries, churches, and local events.
The Georgia Archives
Located in Morrow, Georgia, the Georgia Archives preserves records documenting the state’s government, communities, families, land, and historic places. While many digitized materials are available through the Virtual Vault, other records must be viewed onsite.
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Its collections can help researchers trace property history, identify people connected to a site, and understand how a community changed over time. Check current hours, record-access procedures, and visitor information before traveling.
Gwinnett Historical Society
The Gwinnett Historical Society preserves and shares the history of Gwinnett County, Georgia through its genealogy library, archival collections, historic photographs, maps, county records, family records, and local history materials.
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Its collections are especially useful for researching local properties, cemeteries, families, community organizations, and historic places throughout Gwinnett County.
The Sugar Hill Historic Preservation Society
The Sugar Hill Historic Preservation Society preserves and shares the history of Sugar Hill through research, exhibits, programs, and community preservation. Its work documents the people, places, industries, and events that shaped the city, including gold mining, moonshining, and the construction of Buford Dam and Lake Lanier.
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Visitors can explore photographs, documents, memorabilia, and special exhibits at the Sugar Hill History Museum.
Historic Meadow Garden
Historic Meadow Garden in Augusta was the home of George Walton, one of Georgia’s three signers of the Declaration of Independence. Open to the public since 1901, it is one of the oldest house museums in the United States.
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Today, Meadow Garden is a National Historic Landmark owned and operated by the Georgia State Society, DAR. Visitors can explore George Walton’s life, Georgia’s American Revolutionary War history, and the continuing preservation of this important historic property.