History on display for Georgia Day

The Georgia Archives will display Georgia’s recorded copy of the Declaration of Independence at the Archives building in Morrow Friday, Feb. 12, in honor of Georgia Day.  The document will be available for viewing from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Royal Charter that made Georgia a colony in 1733 will also be on display.  The annual Georgia Day celebration commemorates Georgia’s founding Feb. 12, 1733.

On January 18, 1777, the Continental Congress met in Baltimore and ordered that copies of the Declaration of Independence be printed and sent to each of the 13 states. The States were directed to make the Declaration a part of their official records. Georgia’s copy was officially entered into the records March 2, 1777.

Today, the Declaration is protected with Georgia’s other “birth documents”: the Royal Charter that created the colony in 1733, and Georgia’s 1788 ratification of the U.S. Constitution, the document that made Georgia a state.  All are kept in a high security vault where a constant temperature and humidity are maintained to ensure their long-term survival.

The Georgia Archives has limited public viewing of its copy of the Declaration in order to mitigate the fading, deterioration and other damage caused by frequent exhibits.