Columbus State University Archives Celebrates 50 Years with Year-Long Events

Staff Report

Columbus State University’s Archives & Special Collections is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2025 with a series of events highlighting its role in preserving the history of the university and the broader Chattahoochee Valley region.

Founded in 1975, the archives has worked to document the lives and experiences of the community, safeguarding historical materials for future generations.

“My colleagues and I are proud to celebrate the Archives’ impact on preserving our rich history, supporting all types of scholarly endeavors and enriching the lives of our students and others throughout the community,” said David Owings, director of the Archives & Special Collections and associate dean of the university’s Libraries. “With so much to celebrate, we are marking the occasion throughout 2025.”

The anniversary celebrations will include monthly programs featuring local history lectures, genealogy workshops, exhibits and behind-the-scenes tours. The events will culminate in a public birthday party in November, followed by a dinner program in December. Event details will be available on the university’s online calendar.

The celebration begins in February with an exhibition from the J. Kyle Spencer Map Collection, one of the sarchives’ most notable holdings. The exhibit will be displayed in the Corn Center’s Illges Gallery on the university’s RiverPark Campus through Feb. 22.

On Feb. 19, Owings and Dr. Eric Spears will host a gallery talk discussing the collection’s significance and their newly published book, Cartographic America: Selections from the J. Kyle Spencer Map Collection. The event, held in the Illges Gallery, is free and open to the public.

The 123-page book explores nearly 300 years of American historical geography, illustrating the evolution of the Americas from European contact through the rise of colonial empires and U.S. independence.

Beyond university records, the archives houses extensive collections including personal and family papers, business records, photographs, artwork, maps and newspapers documenting life in Columbus and the surrounding region.

One of its latest acquisitions, the historic Ledger-Enquirer photography collection, debuted in November 2023. The university acquired the collection, which contains over 100,000 images spanning a century of local history, through philanthropic support after it was sold by the newspaper in 2008.

Currently, the Archives maintains more than 500 distinct collections stored in over 5,000 cubic feet of climate-controlled space in the Simon Schwob Memorial Library. It is open to the public Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. when the university is open.

Many collections have been digitized and can be accessed online.

For more information, visit the Columbus State University Archives & Special Collections website.