General James Longstreet, who served in the Civil War under Robert E. Lee, kept letters and other miscellaneous information pertaining to the War. He moved to Gainesville following the War, lived the remainder of his life there, and is buried in Gainesville. Most genealogical information found in his collection pertains to his own family. None of the information is indexed. Copies are ten cents each.
All copies are twenty-five cents.
Other Area Attractions Gainesville is home to Brenau University, founded in 1878 as the Georgia Baptist Female Seminary. Dr. H. J. Pearce purchased the college and renamed it Brenau College. In 1992 Brenau again had a name change, this time to Brenau University. Lake Sidney Lanier is located in the western portion of Hall County and includes other counties in its boundaries. Supplied by the Chattahoochee and Chestatee Rivers, the lake is home to 38,000 acres of surface water and 540 miles of shoreline.