Tucked just off the bustle of Buckhead Village, 33 acres of rolling gardens, historic homes, and winding pathways form one of the most unexpected escapes in all of Atlanta. Most people know it as the Atlanta History Center. Neighbors know it as something closer to a hidden park—a place where nine curated gardens, heritage-breed farm animals, and centuries-old trees make it easy to forget you’re minutes from Peachtree Road. Founded in 1926 to preserve the city’s history, the institution has grown into a campus that engages more than 200,000 Atlantans and visitors each year through its programming, exhibits, and events. This year’s centennial celebration will see a flurry of activity as Atlanta is highlighted on the world stage for this summer’s FIFA World Cup.
Sheffield Hale, the president and CEO of Atlanta History Center, says the centennial isn’t just about looking back. “It’s also about acknowledging the trajectory of Atlanta History Center and preparing for our next 100 years as a trusted place for clear, even-handed, evidence-based history,” he says. “I hope visitors leave with a deeper appreciation for Atlanta’s role in shaping the nation, and a sense that history is not distant or abstract, but deeply connected to their own lives.”
The Buckhead campus is a destination unto itself. Three historic homes—the 1920s Swan House, the 1860s Smith Farm, and the 1830s Wood Family Cabin—sit among gardens that range from the dramatic Quarry Garden, carved from an old granite quarry, to the lush Frank A. Smith Rhododendron Garden. A radial walkway system connected by the Quarry Garden Bridge links it all together, making it possible to spend an entire afternoon wandering from gallery to farmstead to woodland trail. At Smith Farm, visitors can explore a working 19th-century homestead complete with heritage-breed sheep, chickens, and vegetable gardens that bring agricultural history to life. The Kenan Research Center houses photographs, maps, oral histories, and manuscripts documenting the American South across more than 20,000 linear feet and over 61,000 museum object records, while the Cherokee Garden Library is one of the nation’s leading archives on gardening, landscape design, and horticultural history.
“The changes over the last few years are in the same spirit of the last 100; we have always tried to collect and tell as much of Atlanta’s story as we can,” Hale says.
Atlanta History Center Photo Tour
Highlights from the centennial celebration will occur all year long and include:
March: Freedom Plane Tour: Documents That Forged a Nation from the National Archives
Admission will be free for 16 days so the public can engage with the country’s founding era documents through the National Archives’ traveling exhibit, tied to the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Atlanta History Center is one of only eight locations nationwide to host the exhibit, which will include items such as the Articles of Association, the Declaration of Independence stone engraving, and the Treaty of Paris. The documents’ arrival in Atlanta will be marked with a ceremony on the tarmac at Hartsfield-Jackson airport on March 23. The exhibit received support from the Thalia and Michael C. Carlos Foundation.
April: “Atlanta in 100 Objects” Book and Museum-Wide Exhibition
Atlanta in 100 Objects: A Century of Stories is a coffee table book featuring 100 iconic and unexpected artifacts from the collections, such as a 1920 Hanson Six Touring Car, a Civil War battle flag, Spelman College bulletins, and the Auburn Avenue Rib Shack sign. It includes a foreword by the Honorable Andrew Young and an introduction by Hale. A museum-wide exhibition will bring the book to life: each of the 100 objects will be placed across the campus in galleries, gardens, and historic homes, inviting visitors to embark on a treasure hunt through time. Featured dresses from the AHC textile collection will be displayed against the backdrop of the Swan House, and the massive globe from Atlanta’s Carnegie Library will greet visitors at the Kenan Research Center. Guests can uncover more on each item through self-guided explorations on the Bloomberg Connects app.
May: A New Sports-Themed Goizueta Children’s Experience
As the 2026 FIFA World Cup approaches, visitors will be able to play in a refreshed 5,000-square-foot interactive gallery at the Goizueta Children’s Experience. Atlanta History Center partnered with Atlanta’s five professional sports teams—the Braves, Falcons, Hawks, Dream, and United—to bring activities, games, and storytelling to life. From dressing up as a player to trying out interactive challenges, kids will step into the action while learning how sports have shaped Atlanta’s identity.
July: The Debut of More Perfect Union: The American Civil War Era, the Museum’s Largest Exhibition to Date
Atlanta History Center’s most ambitious exhibition ever will showcase a completely renovated and reimagined Civil War Era experience in the DuBose Gallery. More Perfect Union moves beyond the battlefield to explore the decades leading into the war and the generations shaped by its aftermath. It will feature rare artifacts, including an 1856 abolition campaign banner, shackles from the Middle Passage, and the battle flag of the 127th U.S. Colored Troops, paired with immersive storytelling and the latest scholarship.
October: The Opening of Hard Hand of War: Soldiers, Weapons, and Mass Production
This Civil War Era exhibit in the Goldstein Gallery serves as a battlefield-focused extension of the experience, presenting a dramatic armory-style permanent exhibition of weaponry, uniforms, and military gear that illuminates the brutal realities of war and the conditions soldiers faced on both sides of the conflict.
Fall: Exile from Georgia: The Cherokee and Muscogee Trail of Tears Debuts
This exhibit tells the story of Georgia-based Cherokee and Muscogee Native Americans who were forced from their land, explaining how treaties with the United States government were created and broken in the process. Contemporary voices from the two tribes describe how that loss continues to impact their lives. Visitors will enter an immersive theater space to experience the brutality of the Trail of Tears and the tremendous resiliency shown by those who endured it.
Ongoing: The Margaret Mitchell House and Exhibition
Atlanta History Center’s Midtown campus, at the corner of 10th and Peachtree Streets, is home to the Margaret Mitchell House, where a newly renovated permanent exhibition explores the life, legacy, and cultural impact of one of the world’s most famous—and complex—authors. The site also features The Trellis Room, a boutique ballroom that opened in 2025 with a modern interior and two private lawns overlooking Peachtree Street, joining the Swan House as one of the Southeast’s premier event venues.
Beyond the exhibitions and events, the centennial year will bring the return of signature programs including Living Room Learning, Party with the Past, History on the Rocks, seasonal festivals, and Author Talks—each designed to connect audiences with history in fresh, accessible ways.
For a century, Atlanta History Center has been doing what its founders set out to do: preserve the story of a city that never stops reinventing itself. That the institution has quietly grown into one of the most beautiful green spaces in Buckhead—a 33-acre sanctuary of gardens, forests, and farmland just steps from some of the most valuable real estate in the Southeast—feels like a story worthy of the place itself. Whether you come for the artifacts, the gardens, or simply a long walk under the tree canopy, the invitation for the next hundred years is the same as it was for the first: come see what Atlanta has to tell you.
For the full centennial schedule, visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com.
