2026 Meeting

JUNE 4-6, 2026
Alternative Agricultures

Welcome to Atlanta and to the 2026 meeting of the Agricultural History Society!

A draft program is available here. (Submissions are now closed, but you can see the CFP here.)

Agriculture may not be the first thing that springs to mind when you think of Atlanta – but you should think again. From the maize farming that sustained Mississippian cultures and their Muscogee Creek descendants, to King Cotton and the enslaved labor that fueled Atlanta’s growth in the nineteenth century, to the urban farms that today flourish among diverse communities, the city’s past and present agricultural identities are rich and varied. The latter spaces are especially vibrant places to encounter the “alternative agricultures” thematized in this year’s program.

Atlanta is a city of neighborhoods, each with its own personality – and many providing opportunities to explore agriculture, farming, and food histories. Close to the conference venue in Buckhead is the Atlanta History Center, home to Smith Farm, the oldest surviving farmhouse in Atlanta, and the recreated enslaved people’s garden, sites to learn about the varied cultivation practices that sustained early Atlantans (the Atlanta History Center will be one of the stops on our optional conference tour on Friday, June 5). We hope you’ll find time to explore at least a few of the 200+ neighborhoods beyond Buckhead, too. Sweet Auburn, the center of civil rights history in Atlanta and site of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Park, is also home to the Municipal Market, founded as an open-air market for produce and livestock in 1918. Urban farms and community gardens dot the city, often linked to their adjacent neighborhoods as well as communities beyond. Urban food activist Jamila Norman, also known as Farmer J, cultivates Patchwork City Farms in Oakland City, a historic African American neighborhood in southwest Atlanta. And for those wanting a look into more industrialized food experiences, just beyond the city limits in Avondale Estates is the first Waffle House restaurant, now serving up history as the Waffle House Museum. These are but a few of the many possibilities that await.

Although you will surely encounter the city’s infamous heat and humidity during the meeting, there’s always shade in sight. Atlanta’s lush tree canopy is among the densest of US cities, creating possibilities to linger on the streets and in the parks of this “City in a Forest” even on a hot summer day. The city’s still-growing Beltline connects several parks and neighborhoods and links to bikeways that can take one still further afield.

In short, there is plenty of Atlanta past and present to explore! We hope you enjoy your visit here.

Helen Anne Curry, Georgia Institute of Technology
Alison Greene, Emory University
Bert Way, Kennesaw State University

Accommodations and Conference Venue
Lodging is at our conference venue, the Embassy Suites Atlanta Buckhead, located at 3285 Peachtree Road NE in Atlanta. It is located approximately 1.5 blocks from the nearest MARTA stop (Buckhead Station, which is on the Red Line).

There are conference rates for two types of rooms:

• A king suite (king bed with a sofa sleeper in a separate room) is $169 a night plus tax.

• A two queen suite (two queen beds with a sofa sleeper in a separate room) is $199 a night plus tax.

AHS has signed a contract for a block of rooms at the hotel that we need to fill to avoid penalties, so your consideration in booking there is appreciated. Any rooms in our block that are not reserved by May 11 will be released to the public.

To book a room, you may call or use the online link. The process for using the online link is not intuitive, so please follow the instructions below carefully. If you prefer to call, the number for Hilton Reservations & Customer Care is 1-800-774-1500. Inform the agent that the group code is “AHS” and the group dates are June 2 – 7, 2026.

Online booking instructions (based on navigation from a desktop computer)

• Use this booking link

• Scroll down to the “Rooms & Rates” subheading. Within the light blue box you should click the phrase “Visit the booking page,” which is at the beginning of the second sentence (unfortunately, it’s almost the same color as the surrounding text).

• That link takes you to a calendar page for May 2026, but you should click just above on “Jun 2026” to bring up the June calendar.

• On the June calendar, double-click on your arrival date.

• You will be taken to the “Select a Room” page. Near the top, click on the dates next to “Edit Stay.”

• On the pop-up calendar, you must first click your arrival date, and then click your check-out date. When the dates of your stay are correct, click the blue “Done” button.

• Back on the “Select a Room” page, you may adjust the number of guests by clicking the button just to the right of the dates.

• Before proceeding further, you must click the blue “Update” button near the top of the page.

• Confirm that your dates are correct at the top of the “Select a Room” page and then scroll to the bottom of the page to find the room options for the AHS block. Click the blue “Quick Book” button below your choice of a King Suite or Two Queen Suite.

• That link takes you to the “Payment and Guest Details” page where you will enter your payment and guest information before clicking “Book Reservation” at the bottom of the page.

If you have any booking questions, please call the Hilton Reservations & Customer Care number listed above or email Wayne Anderson at: aghistorysociety@gmail.com 

If you are interested in finding a roommate to help share lodging costs, we have created a Conference Roommate Finder. Please click here and fill out and submit the form. AHS staff will share your information in a spreadsheet that will only be made available to those who submit the form. You will then be responsible for making arrangements with someone on the list (AHS only provides the information and does not make roommate matches). After finding a roommate and making your hotel reservation with the booking link, please email aghistorysociety@gmail.com to inform us of the match so we can remove you from the spreadsheet.

Please note that our discounted group parking rate at the Embassy Suites Atlanta Buckhead will be $29/night for self-parking and $49/night for valet parking. If you see different parking rates appear on the booking website, you can ignore them as they do not reflect our group rate.

Meeting Space

All conference sessions, meetings, and the Saturday closing reception will be held in our conference hotel, the Embassy Suites Atlanta Buckhead at 3285 Peachtree Rd. NE. The meeting space is on the main floor of the building.

The group rate for hotel parking is available via self-park for $29 per day or via valet service for $49 per day (plus tax). The hotel’s regular parking rates are higher and may appear when you book your hotel room, but our group rate will apply.

Getting to Atlanta

Flights to Atlanta will use the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL), which is approximately a 30 minute drive from our conference hotel (that may vary depending on traffic). The airport is the primary hub for Delta Airlines, and frequently rates as the busiest airport in the world. Ride share and taxi service is available from the airport to our conference hotel. Average rates are in the $35-$50 range, although that will vary based on the day and time of your arrival.

Atlanta’s MARTA rail transit system operates from the Airport station, and you can take the Red line northbound to the Buckhead station. The one-way ride costs $2.50 and takes 30-40 minutes. The Buckhead station is located 1.5 blocks from our conference hotel. More information about the MARTA system can be found here.