I don't think we're in Kansas anymore

The Digital Library of Georgia is pleased to announce the availability of its newest site, The 1936 Gainesville Tornado: Disaster and Recovery. The site represents a collaboration between the Digital Library of Georgia and the Hall County Library System as part of Georgia HomePLACE.

The project was made possible with support from federal LSTA funding administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Georgia Public Library Service, a unit of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.

The 1936 Gainesville Tornado: Disaster and Recovery provides online access to a historical film depicting the extensive damage from the severe multi-funnel tornado strike that devastated Gainesville, Georgia, on April 6, 1936. The thirty-two-and-a-half minute film, probably shot for insurance purposes, focuses on the devastation of the commercial and governmental center of Gainesville, but also includes footage of damage to nearby residential areas. In particular, it features the damage to the public square, the county courthouse, the Georgia Power Company, the Cooper Pants Factory, and the First Methodist Church.

The 1936 Gainesville tornado (part of a massive tornado outbreak across the Deep South that also heavily damaged Tupelo, Mississippi) is generally regarded as the fifth deadliest in U.S. history. Extensive recovery efforts involving many local, regional, state, and national resources eventually rebuilt Gainesville, culminating in the 1938 dedication of the new city hall and county courthouse by President Franklin Roosevelt.

The interactive map interface provides intuitive geographically-based access to selected film clips for which shooting locations have been identified. In addition, links to related still images in Vanishing Georgia and the Hall County Library System Historical Photograph Collection have been provided.

Upcoming enhancements will include an online exhibit to provide additional information about the tornado event itself as well as coverage of the extensive recovery effort afterwards. The site also contains a brief history of the tornado, suggested readings, and lists of related links and archival materials.