Georgia Historical Society (GHS) is the premier independent statewide institution responsible for collecting, examining, and teaching Georgia history. GHS houses the oldest and most distinguished collection of materials related exclusively to Georgia history in the nation. The collection covers many subjects in medical history in the state of Georgia.

Founded in 1839, the Georgia Historical Society is the oldest continuously operated historical society in the South. As an educational and research institution, GHS teaches Georgia history through a variety of educational programs, scholarly publications, and research services. It publishes the award-winning Georgia Historical Quarterly (Georgia's journal of record since 1917), maintains a library and archives, manages the Historical Marker Program for the State of Georgia, produces the daily television and radio program Today in Georgia History (in partnership with Georgia Public Broadcasting), and organizes the annual K-12 education program Georgia History Festival. Headquartered in Savannah with an office in Atlanta, GHS has over 6,000 members and nearly 200 affiliates in 80 counties.

Within the library and archives is preserved an unparalleled collection of Georgia history, including more than 4 million manuscripts, 100,000 photographs, 30,000 architectural drawings, 15,000 rare and non-rare books, and thousands of maps, portraits, and artifacts. The Georgia Historical Society's vast collection includes such treasures as an original draft of the U.S. Constitution, one of only a handful in existence; a compass and snuff box belonging to Georgia founder James Oglethorpe; records related to the Cherokee Removal and Trail of Tears of 1836; and the correspondence of national figures such as U.S. presidents Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson, Confederate General Robert E. Lee, and Girl Scout founder Juliette Gordon Low.

The manuscript collection includes family papers, military records of every Georgia war, the papers of Georgia's major political leaders, colonial account books, diaries, plantation records, papers of social and cultural organizations, and business records ranging from the 18th through the 20th century.

The periodical collection dates from the 18th and 19th centuries, and the visual material collection is made up of an impressive collection of photographs and other images including portraits of many of Georgia's most prominent leaders.