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| Georgia Historic Preservation Division | |
|---|---|
| Name | Georgia Historic Preservation Division |
| Type | State historic preservation office |
| Formed | 1966 |
| Headquarters | Atlanta, Georgia |
| Jurisdiction | State of Georgia |
| Parent agency | Georgia Department of Natural Resources |
Georgia Historic Preservation Division is the official state office tasked with identifying, documenting, protecting, and promoting historic resources in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state). It administers statewide programs for nominations to the National Register of Historic Places, review of projects under the National Historic Preservation Act Section 106 process, and stewardship of archaeological and architectural collections. The Division coordinates with federal agencies such as the National Park Service, state entities like the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and local governments including county historic commissions and municipal preservation commissions.
The origins of the Division trace to the passage of the National Historic Preservation Act in 1966, which led states such as Georgia (U.S. state) to create State Historic Preservation Offices to implement the National Register of Historic Places program. Early collaborations involved institutions such as the University of Georgia and the Georgia Historical Society to survey antebellum architecture and Civil War sites including those associated with the Battle of Atlanta and the Savannah Campaign. During the 1970s and 1980s the Division partnered with the Historic American Buildings Survey and the Historic American Engineering Record to document vernacular structures and industrial sites like textile mills in the Piedmont (United States) and plantations along the Ogeechee River. Preservation efforts expanded to include African American heritage tied to persons and places such as Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park and the Sweet Auburn Historic District. In the 1990s and 2000s the Division engaged with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and tribal governments such as the Muscogee (Creek) Nation on archaeological stewardship and repatriation under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. Recent decades saw initiatives addressing Hurricane Katrina-era resilience, transportation projects by the Georgia Department of Transportation, and preservation in rapidly growing metro regions like Atlanta, Georgia.
The Division is nested within the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and works closely with the Georgia State Historic Preservation Review Board. Leadership includes a State Historic Preservation Officer appointed in coordination with the National Park Service standards and professional qualification guidelines set by the Secretary of the Interior. Advisory relationships extend to the Georgia General Assembly for enabling legislation, to county bodies such as the Fulton County Historic Preservation Commission, and to municipal bodies like the Savannah Historic District Board of Review. The Division maintains memoranda of agreement with agencies including the Federal Highway Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency for project review, and partners with nonprofit organizations such as the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation for advocacy.
Core programs include administration of the National Register of Historic Places nominations, management of the Section 106 review process under the National Historic Preservation Act, archaeological permitting, and curatorial services for artifacts from sites like Etowah Indian Mounds and Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park. Technical assistance is provided for rehabilitation projects pursuing the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives and state-level tax credit programs tied to the Georgia Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit. The Division operates survey programs to document resources in regions such as the Coastal Georgia and the Appalachian Mountains, and implements disaster response protocols with partners like the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The Division maintains inventories and survey data for thousands of properties including architectural examples from the Antebellum South, industrial complexes in the Augusta, Georgia area, and twentieth-century landscapes in the Macon, Georgia region. It coordinates statewide thematic studies covering topics such as African American schools linked to the Rosenwald Schools program, transportation corridors including the Western and Atlantic Railroad, and Civil Rights sites associated with figures like John Lewis (civil rights leader). Collaborative surveys have documented archaeological complexes at sites connected to the Mississippian culture and Colonial-era settlements related to James Oglethorpe and early British colonization of the Americas in Georgia.
The Division administers federal grant funds from the National Park Service under the Historic Preservation Fund and distributes matching grants to local governments, nonprofits such as the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, and tribal entities. It oversees competitive programs for survey and planning, National Register nominations, and certified local government support, coordinating with the National Endowment for the Humanities for interpretive grant opportunities. Financial incentives include technical guidance for applicants seeking Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives and state credits; the Division also manages emergency stabilization funds in collaboration with agencies like the Federal Emergency Management Agency after events such as Hurricane Irma (2017).
The Division enforces review procedures under the National Historic Preservation Act Section 106 and consults with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation on undertakings affecting historic properties. It implements the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties in project reviews and guidance, and aligns state-level preservation laws with federal statutes administered by agencies such as the National Park Service and the Environmental Protection Agency. The Division issues archaeological permitting in accordance with federal and state statutes and consults with Native American tribes including the Cherokee Nation on cultural resource management and repatriation matters under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
Educational initiatives include workshops for local preservation commissions, partnerships with academic institutions like the Georgia State University historic preservation program, and public events aligned with National Historic Preservation Month and Heritage Tourism. The Division collaborates with museums such as the Georgia Museum of Art and cultural centers like the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park to promote interpretation of places connected to individuals including Jimmy Carter and Eugene Talmadge. Outreach extends to volunteer programs, teacher resources for K–12 curricula linked to state history standards set by the Georgia Department of Education, and digital access to inventories via partnerships with the Library of Congress and the National Archives and Records Administration.
Category:Historic preservation organizations in the United States Category:History of Georgia (U.S. state)