258 Springdale Street, Athens
Athens Clarke Heritage Foundation – Historic Property Owners Workshop
Amy Kissane, ACHF, opens.
Laura Williams Carter, ACC Public Library.
Bio: native Athenian. Worked at public library from 1974; Heritage Room since 1997.
ACC Library's resources. Heritage Room and general collection.
Handout with recommended books (in both ACC and UGA libraries): general resources on researching buildings; architectural history and terminology; local history; restoration and conversation resources.
City Directories: earliest known for Athens 1889 – in Hargrett and ACC. Definition of them & reverse lookup. Be aware of the possibility of houses being moved & streets being renumbered. Also list contemporary churches, fraternal organizations, etc. NB do not cover rural areas – only city limits (changes over time.)
Cemetery books – Charlotte Marshall's book gives biographical sketches. Others less detailed give death dates – look in paper for legal notices about sale of property, obituaries with heirs. Athens newspapers back to 1808 in library. Give info for names to find in court and deed records.
Newspapers also very good for ads on development of new neighborhoods (example: Woodlawn). Marketing, descriptions of house and properties. NB newspapers not indexed; must be browsed. DLG is digitizing some historic newspapers but not finished yet.
Court records: wills, estates. Inventories can be included, listing of heirs. Family members purchase house and regift. “Returns” filed annually. On microfilm; some indexes to returns and mixed records. Loose papers indexed, with name index and date.
Deeds: Charlotte will discuss. Also available 1802-1960 on microfilm at library, in addition to at Courthouse.
Have a digital microfim reader-printer! Bring a flash drive and can download.
Deed book indexes can contain errors – if you don't find what you're looking for, browse original deedbooks for appropriate time period.
Can get UGA libraries' borrowers' card through ACC library. Emphasize openness of UGA library, catalog searchable online.
Look at contemporary volumes of American Builder, Better Homes and Gardens to see contemporary details.
DLG – aerial photos of Athens – available in print in Map Library at UGA. Back to 1950s.
Steven Brown, Hargrett, UGA
University Archivist emeritus – Ohio State & Michigan. Came to UGA 1979 & was in Science until 2000. Univ. archives & records management. Retired 2008, re-hire. 1947 Tanberg Cape Cod cottage on Holborn Ave.
Hargrett – see green handout, contains urls. Hargrett and DLG, some of print resources that Laura mentioned.
NB good collections in architecture (NA), because of historic preservation program. Stop at Reference Desk for help. 4th floor and GA room (Fs) histories of counties and cities. Example: 19th century houses from Oglethorpe County. NB GA Room books do not circulate. TH (Science Library) – building technology – contemporary builder's guides and manuals. American Builder – to 1940s – at Repo. Country Life in America – 1890s-1930s. Decorating, craftsman architecture.
Hargrett. TALK to your librarian. Share what you find as well.
Map resources: 3 folders of historic maps. City Engineers, Athens City Records. Sanborn Fire Insurance maps, Aerial views of Athens.
Sanborn maps -1880s-1920s, detailed maps of sections of town. Color coding, exact footprints of the house. Outbuildings are recorded. Focus was on major commercial buildings, not all neighborhopods included.
City records include plats – lots, neighborhoods. Ask for bibliography of the plats if you want to look. Hit or miss. Does include some housing plans.
Aerial photos: 1946 low altitude flyover of Athens (end at county line). Very detailed. Lesser-known aerial views – Ben Epps collection. 1930s-1920s. Bird's eye engraving from 1909. Soil Conservation Service photos 1938-onward, every 5-10 years. Online on DLG – not good enough to use for research – use originals, they are very well-refined. (Bring a magnifiying glass!)
City directories, note there are gaps; Histories (Laura's handout); “Strolls”; Postcard Guide to Athens, etc.
Hajos – original or reissue – views of Victorian Athens, much demolished.
Pandoras (UGA Yearbooks) – fraternities owned by various properties over Athens. Have photos from ca. 1912 onward.
Athens Sewer Connection Records – file a form when connected. Occasionally there is a floorplan (often just a trap and a line, though!) Not indexed except by signature of owner or authorized agent (= plumber!)
ACHF Survey 1967. Photos street by street, pre-1900 buildings.
Photographic collections:
Prof. David Earnest (Normal School/UGA 1890-1950s). Collection and finding aid available online.
Hubert Owens & John Linley – surveyors, historic preservation. Online.
Adams studios. Early 20th c – mostly businesses (shop windows, interiors).
Odds & Ends
Family papers (check to see owners), postcards, grey literature (unpublished studies).
Charlotte Marshall
From Donaldsonville, in Athens from 1966. Dr. George Marshall (English Dept.). Taylor-Grady House research, Oconee Hill Cemetery.
Stories and family letters should be viewed critically – is this an oral tradition? How old would the writer or teller have been when events described took place?
Importance of deed, deed trace easier in library than in courthouse. Witnesses to deed are likely to be relatives. Note for very early history need to be aware of changing county areas, and changing location of county courthouse. Note that deeds don't always meet up exactly – you have to check all the deeds owned by the people who owned the house, especially if they have a history of owning multiple properties. Very early deeds (pre-20th century) were often not formally recorded at the courthouse. Can be recorded in personal papers, family letters.
Estate records often tell as much as or more then deeds. Will is not the end of the story – follow the annual returns as estate is dispersed. Also useful for geneaological information.
Why are you researching your house? Oral tradition & stories? Scholarly approach? Oral tradition need to be investigated asap. The courthouse and Library will be there.
Social and economic history comes alongside the research of a specific structure. Panic of 1837, other recessions, lead to widespread changes of property holdings.
Strolls actually predate Sylvanus Morris in 1870 – there are earlier 19th century ones. Augustus Hull, Annals of Athens as an excellent source (orig. published in newspaper – rarely in error.) Contemporary accounts are always stronger than someone's memory written down at a later date.
Secondary literature about 'famous' Athens houses should be taken with a grain of salt – just because it is in an old book does not mean it is right.
Marshall has notes – a personal index – about Athens newspaper content from 1855-1900. She is happy to share if you email her what you're looking for.
Alex Patterson (wife Janet) – homeowner.
Native Athenian, returned from ATL 2 years ago. Researching this house (258 Springdale).
Much talk of serendipity of the search, importance of communication. Tells the story of researching his own house. (See handout writeup).
I scanned the most relevant handouts, and will attach them when I get a chance.
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