The William 'Buddy' Alexander Collection represents the work of Buddy Alexander, a local photographer who recorded Cherokee County from the late 1940s to mid 1970s.

William 'Buddy' Alexander grew up in Marietta and originally began his work in photography in Atlanta during the 1940s. He did what was known as street photography, where he would take a photograph of someone on the street and they could later get the shot reproduced at his studio, if they so chose. Eventually, Buddy and Frances, his first wife, moved to Canton with their two children Joyce and Tommy. Buddy had many different studios throughout his career, including two in downtown Canton, one on East Main Street, and one on Copper Mine Hill. Buddy was also good friends with Smiley Burnett, a television star who worked with Gene Autry and composed many of the songs in early Gene Autry movies. Buddy's friendship with Smiley is the first thing that most people remember about him.

Buddy Alexander's work encompasses many different types of photography. In his collection, there are studio portraits, action shots, events in and around Cherokee County, aerials, and crime scene and car accident photos. Buddy did contract work for the Sheriff's Department and the GBI by photographing crime scenes and car accidents. He also possessed a scanner and would listen for a call to go out over the radio for the police. Buddy took pictures of graduations, parades, and liked to be known as Cherokee County's photographer, who would take pictures of any event of any kind.

If you are interested in viewing or purchasing any of the images listed on the Public Inventory (see below), the CCHS Archives office will be open this fall on Monday, Wednesday & Friday from 10:00am to 4:00pm. The office is located in the Historic Courthouse at 100 North Street in Canton. Single images will be scanned on a CD for $5 for CCHS members and $10 for non-members. A CD with a sampling of 25 images from the collection is available in the Shoppe (link here) for $20. This Sampling CD includes the historic photos on this webpage. All of the images from this collection are copyrighted by CCHS and the purchase of scanned images does not constitute permission to publish; permission must be obtained in writing. The purchaser is only given permission for personal use. For a complete list of prices and use regulations, please see the Collection Policy and Procedures below.

Downloads

* The William 'Buddy' Alexander Public Inventory is divided into seven groups.

People Portraits, Candid Shots

Groups i.e. Jaycees, Canton High, Pink Ladies

Aerials

Scenes Denim Day, Parades, Street Scenes

Scenes Restricted Funerals, Crime Scenes, Car Accidents

Grad Graduations

Other Machinery, Copies of Birth Certificates

The Scenes Restricted photos are not available to the public, but they will be on the Public Inventory.

This project is supported by the Georgia Historical Records Advisory Board (GHRAB), Georgia Archives, Office of Secretary of State, and through appropriations from the Georgia General Assemble and a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.