MHP’s English Hinton Helps Highlight the History of Georgia’s Rural Churches

The Anglo-European aspects of Georgia’s rich heritage can be told through the churches that dot its rural landscape. For generations many of these churches were the main source of civic organization and social life, as well as religious and spiritual experience. Each structure has a story to tell about its members and their aspirations as a community.

First-year Master of Historic Preservation student English Hinton is working with Historic Rural Churches of Georgia (HRCGA) to do just that. Through their exciting new project Saving Grace: Southern History Through the Eyes of Our Rural Churches, HRCGA has partnered with Georgia Public Broadcasting to create a six-episode documentary series exploring the role that rural churches have played in the state’s history. As an intern for HRCGA, English has been working closely with a local marketing firm to develop a comprehensive marketing strategy that will increase exposure for the show and connect with a variety of audiences. Though most of the organization’s current work has been research based, they hope with more funding to eventually work on restoration projects to preserve the type of sites Saving Grace highlights.

The first episode aired on Monday, September 10 but can be seen on http://savinggraceshow.org/ for those who missed it. New episodes will air on Mondays at 9am and re-air on Saturdays at 10:30am on the Georgia Public Broadcasting channel. This program and the research on Georgia’s rural churches have their roots in the recently published book, Historic Rural Churches of Georgia, by Sonny Seals and George S. Hart (UGA Press, 2016).

Prior to starting the MHP program at UGA this fall, English received a degree in politics with an emphasis in political philosophy from Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan. With her preservation degree, she hopes to pursue a career focusing on the hands-on and business elements of residential preservation.