Projects & Initiatives

Margaret Mitchell House at Atlanta History Center Midtown

The Dunning School

Margaret Mitchell talked a lot about the effort she put into researching Gone With the Wind, and her goal of making the novel’s background as historically accurate as possible. Despite these efforts, much of the history presented in Gone With the Wind is biased or inaccurate. Studying the sources Mitchell used to write Gone With the Wind can help us understand where these biases and inaccuracies come from.

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Telling Stories: Gone With the Wind and American Memory

Telling Stories: Gone With the Wind and American Memory examines the making and meaning of this influential tale.

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Related. Stories.

  • More Than a Housekeeper: The Story of Elizabeth McDuffie

    Explore Elizabeth McDuffie’s journey from personal cook and maid for the Inman family and President Franklin Roosevelt to a civil rights advocate. Known for her ambition, she was considered for the role of Mammy in “Gone with the Wind.” Despite not getting the role, McDuffie championed equal rights and workers’ rights for African Americans.

  • So Red the Rose: The ‘Gone With The Wind’ That Never Was

    Discover the intriguing story of “So Red the Rose,” a 1935 film overshadowed by “Gone With the Wind.” This forgotten film, set against the dramatic backdrop of the Old South, offers a rich narrative of Southern nobility and wartime struggles. Despite its potential, the film’s anti-Northern bias and simpler storyline led to its obscurity. In contrast, “Gone With the Wind” captivated audiences with its complex characters and balanced depiction, becoming a cultural phenomenon. Uncover how “So Red the Rose” set the stage for its successor and how both films shaped the enduring myths of the Old South.

Before its restoration, Margaret Mitchell House had fallen into extreme disrepair. Here it is pictured in the 1980s.

The house was subject to at least four fires, but the two in the 1990s were by far the most devastating. Here, the house is pictured burning in 1996, and the aftermath was almost total destruction.

Mary Rose Taylor is pictured with Dr. Otis Smith, who received a scholarship funded by Margaret Mitchell to attend Morehouse School of Medicine.

This view of Margaret Mitchell House from Crescent Avenue shows individual apartment balconies. The building was turned into an apartment building shortly before Margaret Mitchell and John Marsh lived in Apartment No. 1.

Events at Midtown