Does Place Still Matter?

Dr. Keith Hebert, assistant professor of history at the University of West Georgia and a former historian in the State of Georgia’s Historic Preservation Office, will present Does Place Still Matter? Historic Preservation in West Georgia on Thursday, March 4^th, 11:00 a.m., at Ingram Library. His presentation is in celebration of the publication in early February of Carrollton by Arcadia Publishing, part of the “Then and Now” series.

In his presentation, Dr. Hebert will evaluate the status of historic preservation in the west Georgia region, explore how historic sites contribute to a region’s sense of place and identity, and provide a basic how-to guide that individuals can use to preserve places that matter to them.

Dr. Hebert is in a unique position to comment on historic preservation in the west Georgia region. As a historian in Georgia’s Historic Preservation Office, he travelled throughout the state assisting communities with preservation projects. He first arrived in Carrollton in 1995 as a West Georgia College freshman and later received a Ph.D. from Auburn University. In the Fall of 2009, Dr. Hebert joined the faculty of the University of West Georgia History Department and became assistant director of the Center for Public History. He specializes in Georgia history, the Civil War and Reconstruction, and a wide variety of public history topics.

Georgia is one of the nation’s leaders in historic preservation, this past year listing its two thousandth historic property in the National Register of Historic Places. This is in addition to the historic preservation efforts being made by cities, counties, and private citizens around the state. Presently, Carroll County has sixteen National Register listings, and Dr. Hebert has identified hundreds of additional sites throughout the county and region that meet the criteria for federal protection.

Dr. Hebert’s program is free and open to the public. For further information on this program, and for assistance with parking, please contact Catherine Hendricks at chendric@westga.edu or (678) 839-5337.