How to get one
The Forsyth County Heritage Book is available for $65 at the society’s headquarters in the old schoolhouse, 101 School St., Room 112, Cumming.
The society is open from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Books can also be purchased at the society’s Nov. 1 meeting.
That session, set for at 7 p.m., will feature speaker Henry Garmon, who will talk about his family’s connection to Jacob Scudder and the Hightower community.
For more information, call (678) 455-7260 or visit www.historicforsyth.com.
-- Alyssa LaRenzie
A book written by hundreds of current and former Forsyth County residents recently made its debut.
Compiled by the Historical Society of Forsyth County, the Forsyth County Heritage Book includes more than 700 mostly contributed articles about the county, said Jimmy McConnell, society co-president.
"We asked families and individuals to submit articles about their families and communities," McConnell said.
About 500 articles tell the stories of many local families, while another 250 or so focus on topics, such as the Trail of Tears, churches and wars.
One article recounts the photos of local World War II soldiers that families hung on the courthouse bulletin board.
The photos were stored in a vault after the war and spared from the courthouse fire in the 1970s, McConnell said.
The album of photos was recently discovered and used in the city of Cumming’s most recent Memorial Day slideshow, he said.
Historical society members began working on the book project in April 2009.
The published hardbound books arrived at the society’s headquarters earlier this month. More than 400 pre-ordered and additional copies have been sold, McConnell said.
The $65 book will be available until the limited copies have been sold, he said. One book, however, will always remain in the society’s collection for the public to access for research.
The society and county residents have produced several other books, but the Heritage collection is unique in its comprehensive and collaborative style, McConnell said.
"There’s a lot of family history you learn from a project like this," he said. "It was a lot of work, but we really enjoyed it, and we were pleased with the final product."