Mission & History
America’s Bicentennial celebrations in 1976 sparked a nationwide preservation boom. In Georgetown, a group of citizens who had worked diligently on Georgetown’s Bicentennial celebration also had a heightened awareness of historic resources at the local level. It was the vision of this group that led to the formation of the Georgetown Heritage Society in 1977.
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As its name suggests, the organization’s mission is to preserve and promote interest in Georgetown’s heritage—its historic buildings and sites and the people associated with them, as well as the documents, pictures and other records relating to them. Among PG’s lasting achievements that all Georgetown citizens still enjoy today are organizing the first Christmas Stroll, reviving the old traditional May Fair (now the Red Poppy Festival), starting the Georgetown History and Visitor Information Center (now run by the City) and collecting a substantial repository of historic photographs and documents (now available in our living collection at Southwestern University's Special Collections).
Today Preservation Georgetown works to fulfill our mission in a variety of ways. The most visible is the annual Home Tour, featuring several historic homes that are open to the public. Proceeds from the tour are used to support other PG initiatives including informative programs, educational activities for children and the Preservation Fund Grant Program which began in 2016 with the name change of the organization. In 2013, the Olive Street National Register Historic District was established in Georgetown; a project initiated, managed and funded by PG. The charge of the organization continues to expand to meet responsibly the growth and needs of the community – ever mindful of preserving the past for future generations.
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PG enjoys a cooperative relationship with the City of Georgetown along with other organizations and the community; sharing resources, programming and facilities to promote historic preservation and heritage tourism.
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We encourage all to join PG and share in the camaraderie of membership through like-minded interests, regular programming and special events!