City records showing the 20th-century growth of Sugar Hill, Georgia now available online in the Digital Library of Georgia

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 

 

 

 

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Digital Library of Georgia Awards Digitization Subgrants to 6 Georgia Cultural Heritage Institutions Across the State

Awards add 4 new partners and expand the scope of the Georgia communities documented in the Digital Library of Georgia.

The Digital Library of Georgia (DLG) announced today the 6 recipients of its 10th set of digitization service awards. Among the awardees are four new partners. Awardee projects include documentation of the Augusta Jewish community and Evans County African American genealogical materials.

The  GALILEO-funded program increases the diversity of contributors to the DLG and of its content. The Augusta Jewish Museum, the Evans County African American Archive Museum, the Habersham County Historical Society, and the Sugar Hill Historic Preservation Society are all new partners. Through the awards, the DLG’s coverage of Evans and Habersham counties, the Savannah civil rights movement, and Jewish and African American life will grow. Rural telecommunications and the 20th-century growth of the North Georgia communities of Sugar Hill and Smyrna round out the awards.

The recipients and their projects include:  

Augusta Jewish Museum (Augusta, Ga.)

Digitization, description, hosting, and preservation of the 200-year history of Jewish life in the Greater Augusta, Georgia region. This content reflects cultural, political, and social situations impacting Jews living in Georgia.  

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

Digitization, description, hosting, and preservation of African American funeral programs, primarily from Evans county, dating from the early 1960s to the present.

Habersham County Historical Society (Cornelia, Ga.)

Digitization, description, hosting, and preservation of the archives of the independently-owned Standard Telephone Company. Headquartered in Cornelia, it provided telephone service to rural northeast Georgians.

Smyrna Public Library (Smyrna, Ga.)

Digitization and hosting of the 1953 Smyrna Better Home Town Scrapbook. In the 1950s, Georgia Power sponsored the Better HomeTown Contest to boost economic development. Communities’ scrapbooks highlighted what towns considered to be their best attributes.

Sugar Hill Historic Preservation Society (Sugar Hill, Ga.)

Digitization and description of the Sugar Hill City Council Records Collection of city council minutes, ordinances, resolutions, communications, economic studies, and other information from the city’s incorporation in 1939 through June 1992. 

Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection (Athens, Ga.)

Enhanced (time-stamped) access to interviews with W. W. Law and other Savannah, Georgia, civil rights workers. These interviews were conducted by the late oral historian Cliff Kuhn and were shot just before Mr. Law’s death. They are the most comprehensive accounts he provided of his life and career as a civil rights activist. 

More information about our partner institutions is available below:

About the Augusta Jewish Museum

The Augusta Jewish Museum and its programming chronicle the life, history, and contributions of the Jewish community in the Central Savannah River Area. The museum also educates about the Holocaust and Israel, the homeland, and the Holyland. Their website is: https://www.augustajewishmuseum.org/

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/ 

About the Habersham County Historical Society

The Habersham County Historical Society was formed on February 22, 1973, by a group of twelve citizens from Clarkesville, Cornelia, and Demorest, who met at Piedmont College, interested in starting a historical society. Since then, they have published a book on their 200-year history and are planning their fiftieth-anniversary celebration in 2023. You can find them online at: https://habershamhistoricalsociety.org/

About the Smyrna Public Library

Smyrna Public Library is the oldest city-operated library in the state of Georgia. It is fully funded by and serves the city’s residents. The library is celebrating the 150th anniversary of its incorporation in 2022. Go to: https://www.smyrnaga.gov/your-government/departments/smyrna-public-library.

About the Sugar Hill Historic Preservation Society

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/.

About the Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection

The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection is home to more than 90,000 titles and 5,000,000 feet of newsfilm. It is the third-largest broadcasting archive in the country, behind only the Library of Congress and UCLA. The Archives comprise moving image and sound collections that focus on American television and radio broadcasting and Georgia’s music, folklore, and history. There are more than 50,000 television programs and more than 39,500 radio programs in the Archives, in addition to audio folk music field tapes and home movies from rural Georgia. Its mission is to preserve, protect, and provide access to the moving image and sound materials that reflect the collective memory of broadcasting and the history of the state of Georgia and its people. Learn more at libs.uga.edu/media/index.html.  

About the Digital Library of Georgia

The Digital Library of Georgia is an award-winning initiative of GALILEO, Georgia’s statewide virtual library, housed at the University of Georgia Libraries. With the state’s cultural heritage organizations, the DLG shares Georgia’s history online for free through its websites. In addition, the project supports its partner organizations by offering free and low-cost services. The DLG serves as Georgia’s service hub for the Digital Public Library of America and as the home of the Georgia Newspaper Project, the state’s historic newspaper preservation project.  

Visit the DLG at dlg.usg.edu

Facebook: http://facebook.com/DigitalLibraryofGeorgia/  

Twitter: @DigLibGA 

Instagram: @diglibga

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