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The Declaration of Independence at 250: A Revolutionary Idea That Established a New Nation

On Tuesday, June 30, 2026, from Noon to 1:00 p.m., Clayton State University will celebrate
the 250th anniversary of the founding of our nation with a panel discussion featuring history
experts from the University System of Georgia, held at the Georgia Archives, located at
5800 Jonesboro Road, Morrow, GA 30260. The event is free and open to the public, but
seating is limited. To register for the event, visit the online registration form here.
Georgia’s copy of the Declaration of Independence will be on display during the event as
part of the 250th anniversary celebration. In January 1777, Congress ordered that
authenticated printed copies of the Declaration, produced by Mary Katherine Goddard, be
sent to each state for official recording. Georgia’s surviving record of this text was entered
by hand into an official state volume on March 2, 1777, alongside military appointments
and bonds.

The Declaration of Independence at 250 Panel Discussion will include:

Adam Tate, Professor of History; Chair, Department of Humanities at Clayton State
University — Focus: The Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress, and
Self-Government.

Keith Pacholl, Professor of History, University of West Georgia — Focus: Religion and
the Declaration of Independence.

Jeff Rogers, Professor of History, Gordon State College — Focus: How the Declaration of
Independence was remembered in the South during the antebellum period.

Moderator: Penelope Cliff, Former Director of Archives and Information Studies at
Clayton State University.

The Georgia Archives and the Georgia Genealogical Society will present Genealogy @ the Georgia Archives:
Preserving Family History on Saturday, June 27, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. The in-person program
will be held at the Georgia Archives in Morrow. This year’s event will focus on how family history is
preserved, digitized, shared, and stewarded across personal collections, community archives, and collecting
institutions. Through a series of presentations, attendees will learn practical ways to care for records,
photographs, and keepsakes; consider new approaches to community archiving; explore tools for digitizing and
sharing family stories; and better understand how collecting institutions evaluate historic and cultural donations.

This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required by Thursday, June 25, at 11:59 p.m.
Register for the program here. For any questions regarding the program or registration, please contact Robin
Klemm at Robin.Klemm@usg.edu.

The Georgia Archives will host its June Lunch & Learn presentation, Georgia Remembers the Revolution,
presented by Dr. David Paker. The program will take place on Friday, June 12, 2026, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00
p.m., at the Georgia Archives (5800 Jonesboro Road, Morrow, GA 30260). This event is free and open to the
public—no registration required.

Dr. David Paker will examine historic memory, or how communities remember and interpret the past, through
the lens of Georgia and the American Revolution. Topics will include the legend of Nancy Hart, the roles of the
Daughters of the American Revolution and the United Daughters of the Confederacy, how Georgians
remembered the Revolution during the Civil War, and how the state marked major anniversaries, including the
centennial in 1876 and the bicentennial in 1976. The lecture will also consider how the Revolution has been
presented in Georgia schools and textbooks over time.

More information can be found in the press release below.

The Georgia Archives will present a new exhibit, Revolution in 1776: Georgia’s Signers and Copy of the
Declaration of Independence, from May 15 through July 18, 2026, as part of its America250 programming.
The exhibit will explore Georgia’s connection to the Declaration of Independence through two related subjects:
the three Georgians who signed the Declaration, Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, and George Walton, and
Georgia’s recorded copy of the Declaration of Independence.

Exhibit Details
Title: Revolution in 1776: Georgia’s Signers and Copy of the Declaration of Independence
Main Exhibit Dates: May 15 to July 18, 2026
Georgia’s Recorded Copy on Display: May 15, June 12, June 30, and July 10, 2026
Location: Georgia Archives, 5800 Jonesboro Road, Morrow, GA 30260
Admission: Free
Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

More information can be found in the flyer and press release below.

The Georgia Archives will host its May Lunch & Learn presentation, Indigenous Sovereignty in the 18th
Century and Today: The View from Yakni Patafah (“The Land that Stretches On”), presented by Dr. Matthew
Sparacio. The program will take place on Friday, May 8, 2026, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m., at the Georgia
Archives (5800 Jonesboro Road, Morrow, GA 30260). This event is free and open to the public—no
registration required.

More information can be found in the flyer and press release below.

The Friends of Georgia Archives and History is saddened by the loss of Emma Davis Hamilton, affectionately known as Empress Emma. A Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Army and an avid genealogist, she was also a former member of the FOGAH board and supported our mission until her passing in January. Her obituary and information about her service can be found here: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/emma-hamilton-obituary?id=60678755

The Georgia Archives will host its February Lunch & Learn presentation, Black Georgians, Spanish Florida,
and the Seminole, presented by Dr. Paul Pressly. The program will take place on Friday, February 13, 2026,
from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m., at the Georgia Archives (5800 Jonesboro Road, Morrow, GA 30260).

This event is free and open to the public, with no registration required.

More information can be found in the flyer and press release below.

The Georgia Archives Lunch & Learn presentation, “Piddle, Twiddle, and Resolve”: The Second Continental
Congress in History and Popular Culture by Dr. Marianne Holdzkom, will take place on-site on Friday,
December 12, 2025, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m., at the Georgia Archives, 5800 Jonesboro Road, Morrow,
GA.

This event is free and open to the public, with no registration required.

More information about this event can be found in the press release below.

The Georgia Archives Lunch & Learn presentation, Georgia’s Historical Recipes, by Valerie Frey, will take
place on-site on Friday, December 12, 2025, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m., at the Georgia Archives, 5800 Jonesboro Road, Morrow, GA.

This event is free and open to the public, with no registration required.

Many cookbooks and recipes still exist from Georgia’s early years, yet most have been forgotten. They sit
quietly in archives, waiting to be rediscovered. These sources not only preserve traces of delicious foods that
are new again to current generations, but they also hold many clues about what home life was like for Georgians
in the past. Archivist and writer Valerie J. Frey, author of Georgia’s Historical Recipes: Seeking Our State’s
Oldest Written Foodways and the Stories Behind Them (UGA Press, 2025), will help you explore recipes from
1733 through 1945 with a historian’s eye, helping you learn about yesteryear’s cooks and savor a taste of the
history of Georgia, the South, and the U.S.A. through foodways.

About the Speaker
Valerie J. Frey (pronounced “fry”) is a writer from Athens. She holds degrees from UGA and UT Knoxville.
Valerie’s archival career began with a Junior Fellowship at the Library of Congress, and she went on to serve as
Manuscripts Archivist at the Georgia Historical Society and the Georgia Archives. UGA Press published her
foodways books, Preserving Family Recipes: How to Save and Celebrate Your Food Traditions (2015) and
Georgia’s Historical Recipes: Seeking Our State’s Oldest Written Foodways and the Stories Behind Them
(2025).