The Atlanta History Center is a history museum and research center located in the

Buckhead Buckhead is the wikt:uptown, uptown commercial and residential district of the city of Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, comprising approximately the northernmost fifth of the city. Buckhead is the third largest business district within ...

district of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. The Museum was founded in 1926, and has a large campus featuring historic gardens and houses, including Swan House, Smith Farm, and Wood Family Cabin. Atlanta History Center's Midtown Campus includes the Margaret Mitchell House & Museum. Atlanta History Center holds one of the largest collections of

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

artifacts in the United States.

History

The Atlanta History Center was founded and chartered in 1926 as the Atlanta Historical Society by Walter McElreath. The vice president was Joel Hunter, and the secretary-treasurer was Ruth Blair, then the Georgia state archivist. (Includes photo of Ruth Blair with Mayor Hartsfield and Franklin Garrett) Its stated purpose was to preserve historical sources relating to Atlanta, study Atlanta's history, and promote historical interest in Atlanta. The organization met occasionally in member's homes, collected dues, and began a small collection of historical items. It began to intermittently publish

Atlanta Historical Bulletin ''Atlanta History: A Journal of Georgia and the South'' was a publication of the Atlanta History Center, Atlanta Historical Society. It was established in 1927 with one issue per year as the ''Atlanta Historical Bulletin''. In 1937, the journal ...

in 1927, of which the last edition was published in 2006. The first meetings not held in private homes occurred A. G. Rhodes estate offered them rooms and storage space in its castle around 1929. The organization was reorganized in 1936, and Ruth Blair was hired as a full-time executive secretary. Enough money was raised to rent a ground floor room in the Atlanta Biltmore Hotel in the mid-1930s, and after that was outgrown, a space in the Erlanger Theater Building in 1937. In an attempt to fulfill longstanding plans of a permanent home, the society purchased an empty lot on a street corner in 1940, but all construction soon halted because of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the war ended, with construction still at a halt, the organization used its increasingly full coffers in 1946 to purchase the Willis B. Jones home, which they rechristened the McElreath hall. The purchase was motivated by a need for a larger space in which to store and display the organization's large collection of artifacts and photos. A second employee was hired in 1948. When Walter McElreath died in 1965, his estate provided the society with a large influx of money (about $5,000,000) and it began to publish its bulletin regularly. Because of parking difficulties caused by the city's growth, and the cost of maintenance on the Jones home, the society began looking for a new home. In 1966 the group used money from Walter McElreath's estate to purchase the 23-acre Edward H. Inmann estate, including the Swan House and several other buildings. This attracted a significant amount of public interest and volunteering. In 1967, Mills B Lane arranged with the society to pay to move the Tullie Smith House from its original location on to the property, replacing the Inmann barn. The organization built a main building on the estate between 1972 and 1975, which was also named the McElreath Hall. 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 Atlanta Historical Society built the current museum to house the DuBose collection. In 1990, the Atlanta Historical Society was renamed Atlanta History Center. The $15 million museum opened in 1993 with five exhibitions, including its first signature Atlanta history exhibition, Metropolitan Frontiers. An $11 million expansion, finished in 1996, added two new permanent exhibitions. The Kenan Research Center library was later expanded and the gardens reorganized, with a fourth permanent exhibition added, Down the Fairway with Bobby Jones. In 2014, the city of Atlanta announced its intentions to relocate the Battle of Atlanta Cyclorama and its artifacts to Atlanta History Center, including the antebellum Western & Atlantic locomotive, the

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. The museum constructed an expansion to house the 360-degree

panoramic painting Panoramic paintings are massive artworks that reveal a wide, Panorama, all-encompassing view of a particular subject, often a landscape, military battle, or historical event. They became especially popular in the 19th century in Europe and the Un ...

, as well as the Texas locomotive, and other pieces in the Cyclorama collection. After a careful restoration, the Battle of Atlanta Cyclorama opened to the public February 22, 2019.

References

External links

Atlanta History Center website

Atlanta History Center on Google Cultural Institute

Atlanta, Georgia, a National Park Service ''Discover Our Shared Heritage'' Travel Itinerary
{{Authority control American Civil War museums in Georgia (U.S. state) Biographical museums in Georgia (U.S. state) Historic house museums in Georgia (U.S. state) History centers History museums in Georgia (U.S. state) Historical society museums in Georgia (U.S. state) Houses in Atlanta Institutions accredited by the American Alliance of Museums Museums in Atlanta Museums established in 1926 1926 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)