The collection of the Monroe County Historical Society consists of the principal divisions listed below. Contact us if you would like to browse these archives in person.
Family Files
For genealogical research, the family files are the go-to resource for researchers. These files, based on the work of the historian and genealogist Jane Roquemore Newton, contain materials relating to families that have lived in Monroe County. The files may have copies of legal documents, correspondence, newspaper clippings, or other printed material tied to a particular family.
In addition, the Society holds the extensive genealogical collection of the late Charles Hencely, which touches upon the Hencely family and its many branches through out the state. Also included in this collection is an extensive file of photographs of members of the extended Hencely family. A smaller genealogical collection is that of Virginia Corley Lloyd.
For genealogists, the Society’s burial index, a record of all known graves in Monroe County, can be invaluable in identifying particular cemeteries where an individual’s grave may be as well as limited vital information.
Topical Files
The Society maintains files of material filed according to subject. There is a significant number of files on schools, for example, and another on business. Again, these files contain material from a variety of sources that has found its way to the Society’s collection.
Photographic Files
The Society maintains a small collection of photographs, categorized according to subject.
Tift College Files
The Tift College file consists of two drawers of miscellaneous material related to the woman’s school (1849-1988). The official archives of the College are in the special collections of the Tarver Library at Mercer University in Macon. These files at the Historical Society contain material that alumnae and others have contributed.
Most importantly, the Society holds the archives of Save-Tift, the organization that emerged when Mercer University trustees moved to close the women’s college. Save Tift waged a valiant fight, including a legal suit, to ensure the life of the college in Forsyth.
Property Files
This file is being developed with notes on particular properties arranged according to the Monroe County Tax Assessor’s listing. On notable residences in the county, there may be material in the topical file or in the photographic file.
Yearbooks
The Society has a good run of the Chiaroscuro, the Tift College annual, and an almost complete run of the Chrysalis, the annual published by the students at Monroe Academy. The Society is working on acquiring a run of the MPscope, the annual of Mary Persons High School.
Library
The Society has a small collection of bound county histories and family histories available to researchers.
Maps
The most important are copies of the Sanborn Fire Insurance Company maps of the business and industrial sections of Forsyth, 1885-1920 There is one map in this series for Juliette, but none for Culloden. Also included are highway maps of various years, a postal route map showing residences at the beginning of the century, and a map showing the original land lots of the county.