The Civil Rights History Project: Survey of Collections and Repositories

Macon-Bibb County Public Libraries

1180 Washington Avenue
Macon, Georgia 31201

Email: [email protected]

Repository URL: http://www.co.bibb.ga.us/library/GH.htm

Repository description (extant): The Genealogical and Historical Room has one of the most outstanding reference collections of its type in the South. It was founded in 1923 by the Mary Hammond Washington Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, who realized the need for the library to provide source material and assistance for people tracing their lineage and searching for facts about their ancestors. They also believed that certain old and irreplaceable records of local and regional history should be preserved for the future and made available for researchers.

Starting with a small but valuable collection given by the James Hyde Porter family and housed in part of a small room, the Genealogical and Historical Room has grown to include more than 32,000 volumes and over 24,000 microforms. Located on the ground floor of the Washington Memorial Library, it is considered outstanding by genealogists and historians from all over the United States. Last year over 13,000 researchers came from 38 states and 5 foreign countries to use the facilities.

The growth of this room is a direct result of the support of enthusiastic and interested people and groups of people who, living not only in Macon but in many other parts of the country, have generously given money, books, and furnishings. Many of these gifts have been as memorials; the bookplates and the plaques on the equipment and furnishings give some indication as to those persons who have been responsible for the success of this room.

The Genealogical and Historical Collection provides a broad representation of research material, but its most distinctive feature is its collection of records on the thirteen colonies. This collection on the original states is recognized as one of the finest in genealogical libraries. Considerable space is devoted to pre-colonial history as well as to colonial history and the Revolutionary War. This includes source material from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales.

Repository type: Public Library

Collections:

[Oral history collection]