Augusta, Georgia

History

Main article: History of Augusta, Georgia, Timeline of Augusta, Georgia

Establishment

In 1735, two years after James Oglethorpe founded Savannah, he sent a detachment of troops to explore the upper Savannah River. He gave them an order to build a fort at the head of the navigable part of the river. The expedition was led by Noble Jones, who the following year created a settlement as a first line of defense for coastal areas against potential Spanish or French invasion from the interior. Oglethorpe named the town in honor of Princess Augusta, the mother of King George III and the wife of Frederick, Prince of Wales.

Oglethorpe visited Augusta in September 1739 on his return to Savannah from a perilous visit to Coweta Town, near present-day Phenix City, Alabama. There, he had met with a convention of 7,000 Native American warriors and concluded a peace treaty with them in their territories in northern and western Georgia. During the American Revolutionary War, the Siege of Augusta resulted in the retaking the city from the British by the Americans. Augusta was the second state capital of Georgia from 1785 until 1795 (alternating for a period with Savannah, the first).

Development

Augusta developed rapidly as a market town as the Black Belt in the Piedmont was developed for cotton cultivation. Invention of the cotton gin made processing of short-staple cotton profitable, and this type of cotton was well-suited to the upland areas. Cotton plantations were worked by slave labor, with hundreds of thousands of slaves shipped from the Upper South to the Deep South in the domestic slave trade. Many of the slaves were brought from the Lowcountry, where their Gullah culture had developed on the large Sea Island cotton and rice plantations.

During the American Civil War, Augusta was home to many war industries including powder-works facilities. After the war, Augusta had a booming textile industry leading to the construction of many mills along the Augusta Canal to include Enterprise Mill, Sibley Mill, and King Mill.

The city experienced the Augusta Fire of 1916, which damaged 25 blocks of the town and many buildings of historical significance.

As a major city in the area, Augusta was a center of activities during Reconstruction and after. In the mid-20th century, it was a site of civil rights demonstrations. In 1970, Charles Oatman, a mentally disabled teenager, was killed by his cellmates in an Augusta jail. A protest against his death broke out in a riot involving 500 people, after six black men were killed by police, each found to have been shot in the back. The noted singer and entertainer James Brown was called in to help quell lingering tensions, which he succeeded in doing.

Hyde Park contamination

Main article: Hyde Park, Georgia

In 1993, an area known as Hyde Park in Augusta, Georgia, was investigated by the EPA for contamination. The investigation totaled $1.2 million. Air, groundwater, and soil were all believed to be contaminated, and people living in the area were hoping for government assistance to move away from Hyde Park. Two of five neighborhoods in Hyde Park appeared to have arsenic, chromium, and dioxin, while all five were found to have PCBs and lead. However, residents were told it was not a risk to their health unless they somehow ingested it on a regular basis. At the time the article was written, the citizens still questioned why the EPA and ATSDR (Agency for Toxic Disease Registry) did not consider these chemicals as a threat to them. Hyde Park also has higher rates of certain illnesses (such as cancer, infections, rashes) than the average in America, and the citizens question why that is not considered.

Geography

Augusta is located along the Georgia/South Carolina border, about 150 mi east of Atlanta and 74 mi west of Columbia.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the Augusta–Richmond County balance has a total area of 306.5 sqmi, of which 302.1 sqmi is land and 4.3 sqmi (1.42%) is water.

Augusta is located about halfway up the Savannah River on the fall line, which creates a number of small falls on the river. The city marks the end of a navigable waterway for the river and the entry to the Georgia Piedmont area.

The Clarks Hill Dam is built on the fall line near Augusta, forming Clarks Hill Lake. Farther downstream, near the border of Columbia County, is the Stevens Creek Dam, which generates hydroelectric power. Even farther downstream is the Augusta Diversion Dam, which marks the beginning of the Augusta Canal and channels Savannah River waters into the canal.

Climate

As with the rest of the state, Augusta has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), with short, mild winters, very hot, humid summers, and a wide diurnal temperature variation throughout much of the year, despite its low elevation and humidity. The monthly daily average temperature ranges from 45.4 °F in January to 81.6 °F in July; there are 53 nights with the low reaching the freezing mark, 82 days reaching or exceeding 90 °F, and 5.5 days reaching 100 °F annually. Extreme temperatures range from −1 °F on January 21, 1985 up to 108 °F on August 10, 2007, and August 21, 1983. Snowfall is not nearly as common as in Atlanta, due largely to Augusta's elevation, with downtown Augusta being about 900 ft lower than downtown Atlanta. The heaviest recorded snowfall was in February 1973 with 14.0 in Freezing rain is also a threat in wintertime.

|Jan record high F = 84 |Feb record high F = 88 |Mar record high F = 93 |Apr record high F = 96 |May record high F = 101 |Jun record high F = 106 |Jul record high F = 107 |Aug record high F = 108 |Sep record high F = 106 |Oct record high F = 101 |Nov record high F = 90 |Dec record high F = 84 |year record high F = 108 |Jan avg record high F = 75.6 |Feb avg record high F = 78.8 |Mar avg record high F = 84.9 |Apr avg record high F = 88.7 |May avg record high F = 94.3 |Jun avg record high F = 98.1 |Jul avg record high F = 99.8 |Aug avg record high F = 99.1 |Sep avg record high F = 95.1 |Oct avg record high F = 89.0 |Nov avg record high F = 82.1 |Dec avg record high F = 76.9 |year avg record high F = 100.8 |Jan avg record low F = 17.9 |Feb avg record low F = 21.0 |Mar avg record low F = 25.8 |Apr avg record low F = 33.7 |May avg record low F = 44.1 |Jun avg record low F = 56.5 |Jul avg record low F = 63.1 |Aug avg record low F = 61.5 |Sep avg record low F = 50.4 |Oct avg record low F = 35.1 |Nov avg record low F = 25.4 |Dec avg record low F = 20.6 |year avg record low F = 15.9 |Jan record low F = −1 |Feb record low F = 3 |Mar record low F = 12 |Apr record low F = 26 |May record low F = 35 |Jun record low F = 46 |Jul record low F = 54 |Aug record low F = 52 |Sep record low F = 36 |Oct record low F = 22 |Nov record low F = 11 |Dec record low F = 5 |year record low F = -1

Demographics

1850-1870 1870-1880 1890-1910 1920-1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020

At the 2020 United States census, there were 202,081 people, 66,838 households, and 41,517 families residing in the city. During the 2010 U.S. census, the city's population was 195,844, up from 195,182 at the 2000 United States census.

In 2000, the city's racial and ethnic composition was 43.72% non-Hispanic white, 49.96% African American, 0.25% Native American, 1.50% Asian, 0.11% Pacific Islander, 0.18% some other race, 1.48% multiracial, and 2.79% Hispanic or Latino of any race. By the 2020 census, its racial and ethnic makeup was 35.52% non-Hispanic white, 55.19% African American, 0.24% Asian, 1.93% Asian, 0.19% Pacific Islander, 0.44% some other race, 3.91% multiracial, and 5.58% Hispanic or Latino of any race. This reflected nationwide trends of greater diversification since the beginning of the 21st century.

Economy

Augusta is a regional center of medicine, biotechnology, and cyber security. Augusta University, the state's only public health sciences graduate university, employs over 7,000 people. Along with Piedmont Augusta, the Medical District of Augusta employs over 25,000 people and has an economic impact of over $1.8 billion.

The city's three largest employers are Augusta University, the Savannah River Site (a Department of Energy nuclear facility) and the U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence at Fort Gordon, which oversees training for Cyber, Signal Corps, and Electronic Warfare.

With the establishment of the Georgia Cyber Center in Downtown Augusta, the Augusta metro region has become a hub for cyber security based companies looking to locate to the area in part as well to the establishment of the U.S. Army Cyber Command relocating to Fort Gordon from Fort Meade. Augusta plays host to TechNet on a yearly basis which brings in various military, government, and private sector leaders to the area to showcase new cyber related products as well as discussions on cyber based collaboration efforts between the public and private sectors.

As of February 2025, the metro area unemployment rate is 4.5%, slightly above the national average.

Companies that have facilities, headquarters or distribution centers in the Augusta metro area include CareSouth, NutraSweet, T-Mobile, Covidien, Solo Cup Company, Automatic Data Processing, Clearwater Paper, Solvay S.A., Bridgestone, Teleperformance, Olin Corporation, Sitel, E-Z-GO, Taxslayer, Elanco, KSB Company (Georgia Iron Works), Club Car (Worldwide Headquarters), Halocarbon, MTU Friedrichshafen (subsidiary of Tognum), Kimberly Clark Corporation, Nutrien (formerly PotashCorp), John Deere, Kellogg's and Delta Air Lines' baggage call center.

Top employers

According to the Augusta Economic Development Authority as of 2013, the top manufacturing employers in the city were:

The top public sector employers were:

Arts and culture

Historic districts

Main article: Augusta Downtown Historic District

There are 10 historic districts throughout the city of Augusta. The most prominent, Augusta Downtown Historic District, encompasses most of downtown Augusta and its pre-Civil War area. The Augusta Downtown Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.

Augusta also includes the:

• Bethlehem Historic District
• Broad Street Historic District
• Greene Street Historic District
• Harrisburg–West End Historic District
• Laney–Walker North Historic District
• Paine College Historic District
• Pinched Gut Historic District
• Sand Hills Historic District
• Summerville Historic District

Tallest buildings

The tallest buildings in Augusta include the Lamar Building, River Place Condominiums, and Augusta University Building.

Sports

Teams

Current

The Augusta GreenJackets minor league baseball club, formerly located at Lake Olmstead Stadium in Augusta, now play at SRP Park along the Savannah River in North Augusta, South Carolina. The team began to play in 1988 as the Augusta Pirates, affiliated with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Later affiliated with the Boston Red Sox and the San Francisco Giants, the GreenJackets are now the Class A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves.

The Augusta Rugby Football Club (ARFC) is a division 2 men's club competing in the Palmetto Rugby Union, part of the USA Rugby South Conference.

Augusta has an all-female flat track roller derby team, the Soul City Sirens. Founded in 2008, this league is all-volunteer, and skater owned.

Former

The Augusta Lynx were a minor-league professional ice hockey team based in Augusta, Georgia. The Lynx played their home games at the James Brown Arena from 1998 until 2008. The Lynx, who played in the ECHL, had affiliations with the Tampa Bay Lightning of the NHL and the Norfolk Admirals of the AHL.

The Augusta RiverHawks were a professional minor league ice hockey team. They played in the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) from 2010 to 2013. They played their home games at the James Brown Arena.

The Augusta Stallions were a professional Arena football team founded in 1999. They were one of the 15 original teams to join the inaugural 2000 AF2 season. They started off in the American Conference, before switching to the Southeast Division in 2001, and then the Eastern Division in 2002. The team folded in 2002.

Augusta was also home to the former Augusta 706ers, a minor league professional basketball team in the American Basketball Association. The team was founded in 2017 and stopped operations in December 2018 because of a lack of funds. The team played all home games at the James Brown Arena.

Tournaments

Augusta National Golf Club hosts the first major golf tournament of each year, The Masters.

The Augusta Top Gun Series is a series of tournaments sanctioned by the Professional Disc Golf Association, held at various venues in Augusta, including Pendleton King Park and Lake Olmstead.

Augusta hosted the Augusta Southern Nationals drag boat Race for 30 consecutive years. Held on the Savannah River until 2016, the race was part of the Lucas Oil Drag Boat Racing Series.

Augusta hosts one of the largest Ironman 70.3 competitions, which includes cycling around Augusta, running through Downtown Augusta, and swimming on the Savannah River.

Parks and recreation

• Riverwalk Augusta – riverfront park along and on top of the city's levee
• Augusta Canal – historic canal with bike/pedestrian path
• Phinizy Swamp Nature Park – wetlands park with pedestrian/bike paths and boardwalks

Government

In 1995, citizens of Augusta and unincorporated parts of Richmond County voted to consolidate their city and county governments. Citizens of Hephzibah and Blythe, also located in Richmond County, voted against joining in the merger, which took effect January 1, 1996. The unified government consists of a mayor and ten commissioners. Eight commissioners represent single-member districts, while two are elected at-large, each to represent a super district that encompasses half of Augusta-Richmond's population. A May 2024 referendum, giving the mayor full voting powers on the Augusta Commission, was approved by Augusta voters by 74%, with the mayor previously being allowed to vote only in the case of a tie on the commission. The government is a Council–manager government, with the commission appointing a County Administrator to carry out ordinances and directives of the government.

Education

Colleges and universities

Main campuses

• Augusta Technical College (state technical college)
• Augusta University (public research university)
• Paine College (private, Methodist historically black college)

Satellite campuses

• East Georgia State College (state four-year college), main campus located in Swainsboro
• Georgia Military College (state funded military college), main campus located in Milledgeville
• Brenau University (private, not-for-profit, undergraduate and graduate-level higher education), main campus located in Gainesville, Georgia

K–12 schools

Private schools in Augusta include Aquinas High School, Curtis Baptist High School, and Westminster Schools of Augusta.

Media

The daily newspaper in the city is The Augusta Chronicle. Television stations serving Augusta and its metropolitan market are WJBF, channel 6 (ABC, with The CW Plus on DT2); WRDW, channel 12, (CBS); WCES, channel 20 (PBS); WAGT, channel 26 (NBC); and WFXG, channel 54 (Fox). Augusta's large medical community and patient population is served by the Medical Examiner (www.AugustaRx.com), a twice-monthly newspaper published since 2006.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Main article: Transportation in Augusta, Georgia

Major roads and expressways

• (follows US 1 from Jefferson County line to Gordon Highway; leaves Georgia at James U. Jackson Memorial Bridge)
• (various roads, including John C. Calhoun Expressway and Washington Road)
• in southern Richmond County

Parts of Augusta are served by city transit service Augusta Public Transit (APT), but the main mode of transportation within the city is by car. Augusta is also served by a number of taxi companies.

Airports

The city has two airports: Augusta Regional Airport and Daniel Field. Augusta Regional Airport is served by two passenger airlines, including Delta Connection, which offers service to Atlanta, and American Eagle, which offers service to Charlotte, Dallas-Ft. Worth, and Washington D.C.

Rail

Until the 1960s, the city's Augusta Union Station was a passenger rail hub, with trains arriving from the Atlantic Coast Line (as spur sections from Florence, South Carolina, from trains such as the Champion, Everglades and Palmetto), Georgia Railroad and Southern Railway (for example, the Aiken-Augusta Special from New York City). The last Seaboard Coast Line (the successor to the Atlantic Coast Line) train was a Florence-Augusta section of the Champion; this section ended in 1970. The last train to the city was the unnamed daily in-state Georgia Railroad train between Atlanta and Augusta. This latter train, unofficially called the Georgia Cannonball, ran as a mixed train, until May 6, 1983. Most trains went to the Union Station at Barrett Square. The Southern Railway trains went to the Southern Railway depot at Fifth and Reynolds Street. Today, freight service is handled by Norfolk Southern Railway's Georgia Division and Piedmont Division through their Augusta Yard and Nixon Yard located near the city. Norfolk Southern Trains such as the NS 191 and 192 pass through Augusta's downtown as they "street run" at 5 mph down 6th street. They also cross the old Trestle over the Savannah River entering and leaving South Carolina. CSX Transportation Atlanta Division and Florence Division Trains also serve the Augusta, Georgia, area from the CSX Augusta Yard near Gordon Highway southwest of the city.

Pedestrians and cycling

• Augusta Canal Historic Trail
• Riverwalk Augusta, a trail

Law enforcement

Law enforcement in Augusta is handled by the Richmond County Sheriff's Office.

Notable people

Main article: List of people from Augusta, Georgia

Sister cities

Augusta is twinned with:

• France Biarritz, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France
• Japan Takarazuka, Hyōgo, Japan

Notes

References

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