KENNESAW, Ga. | Dec 9, 2020

KSU Archives receives digital collection documenting generations of Acworth, Georgia's Black residents.

The Historic Black Acworth Image Collection is the newest digital collection available from the KSU Archives. It includes photographs, letters, and documents created and preserved by Black residents of Acworth, Georgia from the 1890s to the 2010s.  

The collection was acquired by KSU as part of the "Our Side of the Tracks" exhibit, curated for the City of Acworth by the Special Projects unit in the Department of Museums, Archives and Rare Books (MARB). This exhibit tells the story of Acworth’s historic Black community through its churches, businesses, schools, and residents. 

“Separated from the white side of town by the railroad tracks, the Campbell Hill and Fifth Ward neighborhoods developed around Cherokee Street in the century after the Civil War. Community members forged bonds through shared worship, labor, and entertainment.” 
- Excerpt from “Our Side of the Tracks” exhibit panel

The MARB Special Projects unit, led by Special Projects Curator James Newberry, worked with community members to scan hundreds of photographs and other materials documenting the livelihoods, families, recreational activities, and achievements of generations of Acworth’s Black residents. These scanned images will be preserved by the KSU Archives and are accessible to the public through KSU’s Scholarly Online Access Repository. Click here to visit the Historic Black Acworth Image Collection. 

The “Our Side of the Tracks” exhibit opened in the fall of 2020 at Doyal Hill Park in Acworth. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

Left image: Ralph Floyd, unidentified person, Harold Floyd, John Walter Floyd, and Lenora Floyd Harden, Bell Street, Acworth, Georgia, ca. 1940s, Historic Black Acworth Image Collection, Kennesaw State University Archives.  

Right image: Willie Mae and Claude Johnson are shown next to an exhibit panel during the Doyal Hill Park opening, December 3, 2020. Courtesy KSU Department of Museums, Archives and Rare Books.