New Partners – Page 3

ATHENS, Ga., June 13, 2023 — Selected by statewide cultural heritage stakeholders and funded by the DLG’s competitive digitization grant program, this collection is the City of Sugar Hill’s latest collaboration with the DLG and is available here: City Government Records.

The collection includes city council minutes, ordinances, resolutions, communications, economic studies, and other information ranging from the date the city was incorporated by the Georgia General Assembly (March 24, 1939) through the year June 1992.

The digitized collection was also funded in part by a 2022 Georgia Historical Records Advisory Council (GHRAC) grant award administered to local historical repositories to develop and/or implement projects that identify, preserve, and provide access to historical records. Funding was made possible thanks to the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) and the Georgia Historical Records Advisory Council (GHRAC).

These documents, which in their original form were stored in the City Archives room in file cabinets for years and with limited access, are now available for researchers interested in the diverse issues addressed through its many ordinances. The information in the records ranges from what types of businesses were allowed to operate in the city limits to rules guiding the resident’s property rights. It also includes records related to the city’s handling of property annexations, salary information for city government officials and staff, and rate/fee comparisons on utility rates (water, sewer, gas, sanitation) in the nearby localities. In addition, data that reflects the state’s cultural, political, social, geographic, and economic diversity provides a broader view of the community’s growth over the decades.

Brandon S. Hembree, Mayor of the City of Sugar Hill, notes:

“The Sugar Hill Historic Preservation Society was created by the City of Sugar Hill in 2015 with the mission of expanding the community’s awareness and appreciation for Sugar Hill’s past. The City celebrated its 84th birthday on March 24, 2023. We have a rich history and, as the current Mayor, I often view these City Council ledgers for information about our past and inspiration for our future as a community.”

[View the entire collection online]

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About the City of Sugar Hill

The Sugar Hill Historic Preservation Society meets on the 3rd Wednesday of each month at 7 pm. All meetings are held in the History Museum Room at Sugar Hill City Hall. You can find out more at: https://cityofsugarhill.com/government/boards-commissions/historic-preservation-society/.

Selected images from the collection:

Image courtesy of Sugar Hill Historic Preservation Society (Sugar Hill, Ga.)

Sugar Hill, Georgia city council minutes, December 22, 1948-December 3, 1964

Title : Sugar Hill, Georgia city council minutes, December 22, 1948-December 3, 1964.https://dlg.usg.edu/record/shgapc_cgr_144

Image courtesy of Sugar Hill Historic Preservation Society (Sugar Hill, Ga.)

Title : Sugar Hill, Georgia city council minutes, January 7, 1965-December 20, 1975

https://dlg.usg.edu/record/shgapc_cgr_145

Selected by statewide cultural heritage stakeholders and funded by the DLG’s competitive digitization grant program, over 3,000 pages of digitized African American funeral programs from Evans County, Georgia, and other Southeastern towns and cities are now freely available in the Digital Library of Georgia and can be seen online here:

African American Funeral Programs, 1960-2022

The collection of 637 individual programs dates between 1961-2022, with the birth dates of the people represented going back to 1870.

Pharris D. Johnson, former mayor of Bellville, Georgia, chairman of the Savannah College of Art and Design Board of Trustees, and Vice President of the Evans County Historical Society says:

“The Evans County Community Center and African American Archive Museum serves our community in an outstanding manner. They accomplish their mission with a small budget and through dedicated volunteers. As we know, funeral programs provide valuable social and genealogical information. [These materials from] the Evans County Community Center Archives are an important resource for the residents of Evans and surrounding counties.”

Documenting an underrepresented region of Georgia, this collection provides important information for genealogical research and for understanding African American life during different time periods.

Funeral programs provide valuable social and genealogical information and typically include a photograph of the deceased individual, an obituary, a list of surviving relatives, and information about the funeral service. Some programs provide more extensive genealogical information such as birth and death dates, maiden names, past residences, accomplishments, affiliations, and burial locations. For marginalized populations, this information can often be difficult to find, as the records of many in these communities were often either destroyed, kept privately, or never created in the first place.

The Evans County African American Archive Museum has collected funeral programs for over twenty years. Since then, residents have contributed to the collection.

Darin McCoy of the Evans County Historical Society notes:

“[Our] facility operates within an under-served rural county in terms of digitized African American history. However, the Evans County Historical Society alumni and the Evans County African American Archive Museum leadership team are well-known advocates for the preservation and collection of local African American history and artifacts. Our featured displays, public events, and family presentations are unique and emphasize the historical value of these entities. The vision, collections, and the preservation of artifacts, begun over twenty (20) years ago, have now come to fruition.”

Digitization and access have been made possible through the Digital Library of Georgia’s competitive digitization subgrant program and are displayed and searchable within their online portal. The Digital Library of Georgia has also partnered with local libraries and the Georgia Public Library Service to digitize African American funeral programs for people connected to the Atlanta, Augusta-Richmond County, and Thomas County areas.

About the Evans County African American Archive Museum (Claxton, Ga.)

The mission of the Evans County African American Archive Museum is to provide means for all citizens of Evans County to obtain an excellent quality of life through programs and services. The Archive was the recipient of a 2021 GHRAC Award for History Advocacy. Their Facebook group is: https://www.facebook.com/Evans-County-Community-Center-343942125941003/

Selected images from the collection: