Since 1839, the society has collected, examined, and taught Georgia history through a variety of educational outreach programs, publications, and research services.

[1] Founders include John Macpherson Berrien, Richard D. Arnold, Eugenius A. Nisbet, Thomas Butler King, William Bacon Stevens, Israel Keech Tefft, James Hamilton Couper, Edward Padelford, Mordecai Myers, Alexander Smets and James Moore Wayne.

The building was designed by American Institute of Architects founder Detlef Lienau and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

[4] The Georgia Historical Society completed a large-scale renovation and expansion project of its Research Center in 2021.

Within the Society's library and archives is the oldest collection of materials related to Georgia history in the nation, including 5 million manuscripts, 100,000 photographs, 25,000 architectural drawings, 20,000 rare books, and thousands of maps, portraits, and artifacts representing every section of the state and every era of its history.

Each year thousands of scholars, teachers, students, genealogists, historic preservationists, journalists, lawyers, judges, film and documentary makers, government and private sector leaders from around the world access this material, either on site or online, in order to discover the past and better understand the present.

The library and archival collections are used for a wide variety of public research purposes, including writing history books and articles, tracing ancestry, preserving historic buildings, student projects, classroom teaching, crafting legislation and preparing legal decisions, creating documentaries and television programs, and investigative journalism.

Festival events include a kickoff lecture, Colonial Faire & Muster, Super Museum Sunday, Georgia Day Parade, and the Trustees Gala.

Recipients include Bernard Marcus, Marguerite Williams, Hank Aaron, Ted Turner, Vince Dooley, Sam Nunn, Tom Cousins, Andrew Young, Truett Cathy, Herman J. Russell, Arthur Blank, Billy Payne, Alana Shepherd, Paula Wallace, James Blanchard, Muhtar Kent, F. Duane Ackerman, A.D. "Pete" Correll, Ed Bastian, W. Paul Bowers, Dan Cathy, Shirley Franklin, Dan Amos, Donna Hyland, Carol Tomé, and Dr. Louis W.

From that time GHS has erected nearly 300 new historical markers (black with silver lettering and the Society's seal on top) across the state on a wide variety of subjects.

Individuals designated as Dooley Distinguished Teaching Fellows of the Society are national leaders in the field of history as both writers and educators whose research has enhanced or changed the way the public understands the past.

In addition to their outstanding scholarship, Dooley Distinguished Teaching Fellows have served the Georgia Historical Society as faculty in teacher training seminars, as lecturers, as consultants, or in a similar capacity.

In addition to their outstanding scholarship, Dooley Distinguished Teaching Fellows have served the Georgia Historical Society as faculty in teacher training seminars, as lecturers, as consultants, or in a similar capacity, advancing the mission of the institution.

David W. Blight of Yale University, author of Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom (Simon & Schuster) was inducted as the inaugural Dooley Distinguished Teaching Fellow in 2018.