The Georgia Historical Commission was an organization created by the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

 for purposes of historic preservation

Historic preservation

Historic preservation is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance...

. The Georgia legislature created the commission in February 1951 to promote and increase knowledge and understanding of the history of Georgia

History of Georgia (U.S. state)

The history of Georgia spans pre-Columbian time to the present day.-Pre-Columbian:Before European contact, Native American cultures are divided into four lengthy archeological time periods: Paleo, Archaic, Woodland and Mississippian....

. Its work was accomplished during a relatively brief existence, including the erection of hundreds of historical markers. Their historical markers are still standing and surviving today. The impetus for the creation of the commission came from several sources. Local historical societies were launching restoration projects of statewide importance.

These projects often needed for not only financial and technical help but for a way to coordinate plans with other state projects. Three Atlanta civic leaders lobbied for a state historical commission: Henry A. Alexander, an attorney

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

 who was appointed chairman of the first board of commissioners; Joseph Jacobs, a pharmacist

Pharmacist

Pharmacists are allied health professionals who practice in pharmacy, the field of health sciences focusing on safe and effective medication use...

; and Frank Boland, a physician

Physician

A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...

 who wanted a memorial for Crawford W. Long, a Georgian who was the first person to use ether

Ether

Ethers are a class of organic compounds that contain an ether group — an oxygen atom connected to two alkyl or aryl groups — of general formula R–O–R'. A typical example is the solvent and anesthetic diethyl ether, commonly referred to simply as "ether"...

 as an anesthetic.

Secretary of State

Secretary of state of Georgia

The secretary of state of the U.S. state of Georgia is an elected official with a wide variety of responsibilities, including supervising elections and maintaining public records....

 Ben Fortson thought the project should be placed with his department that already handled Georgia archives. Governor Herman Talmadge

Herman Talmadge

Herman Eugene Talmadge was an American politician from the U.S. state of Georgia. He served as governor of Georgia briefly in 1947 and again from 1948 to 1955. His term was marked by his segregationist policies. After leaving office Talmadge was elected to the U.S...

, after years of stormy political battles, was eager to support an initiative with wide appeal.

The commission began its life inauspiciously: because the act that created it forbade state funding, it had no budget. In 1952, however, this roadblock was lifted, and the Georgia Historical Commission emerged as a significant state agency. C. E. Gregory, a retired political editor of the Atlanta Journal

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is the only major daily newspaper in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, and its suburbs. The AJC, as it is called, is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is the result of the merger between The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta...

, had been influential in the campaign to establish the commission and became its first executive secretary. He was succeeded in 1960 by his daughter, Mary Gregory Jewett, who had been the commission's staff historian. Eventually the commission had a staff of 15 and a nine-member board, headed for 15 years by Joseph B. Cumming. Such specialists as the architectural historian William R. Mitchell Jr. and the archaeologist Lewis H. Larson Jr. who was involved in a New Echota project advised the board over the years.

The commission also gained national recognition as a pioneer in state historic preservation. The most impressive of its major achievements was the acquiring, restoring, excavating, and developing of 20 historic sites, 15 of them staffed and seven with museum

Museum

A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...

s, including New Echota

New Echota

New Echota was the capital of the Cherokee Nation prior to their forced removal in the 1830s. New Echota is 3.68 miles north of present-day Calhoun, Georgia, and south of Resaca, Georgia. The site is a state park and an historic site....

 and the Chief Vann House Historic Site

Chief Vann House Historic Site

The Chief Vann House is the first brick residence in the Cherokee Nation that has been called the "Showplace of the Cherokee Nation". Owned by a Cherokee chief named Chief James Vann, The Vann House is a Georgia Historic Site on the National Register of Historic Places and one of the oldest...

. The commission's other major work was erecting some 1,800 historical marker

Historical marker

A historical marker or historic marker is an indicator such as a plaque or sign to commemorate an event or person of historic interest and to associate that point of interest with a specific locale one can visit.-Description:...

s. In 1962, the approaching American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 centennial inspired the commission to set 750 Civil War markers in place before the observance in 1965. After 1966 the commission served as the state's review board for the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

.

In 1973, Governor Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter

James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...

's governmental reorganization dissolved the 22 years old commission. The successful agency's dissolution has caused controversy and bitterness on the works but much of commission's work has remained as the Department of Natural Resources

Georgia Department of Natural Resources

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources is an administrative agency of the U.S. state of Georgia. The agency has statewide responsibilities for managing and conserving Georgia’s natural, cultural, and historical resources, and is divided into six divisions:...

 took over the commission's functions and maintains most of the sites and museums, and the Georgia Historical Society

Georgia Historical Society

Georgia Historical Society is the premier independent statewide institution responsible for collecting, examining, and teaching Georgia history...

took over the marker program. The responsibility of maintaining several sites now belongs to local groups.

External links

• New Georgia Encyclopedia - Georgia Historical Commission
• Georgia Historical Society
• former Georgia Historical Commission markers
• Cobb County Civil War Vol 1 historical markers on a map.
• Dekalb County Civil War Vol 1 historical markers on a map.
• Fulton County Civil War Vol 1 historical markers on a map.