City of Augusta history

Turknett Springs, located behind the house, provided Augusta’s first municipal drinking water, piped down the hill in hollowed out logs beginning in the 1820s.

The Charleston and Hamburg Railroad in South Carolina reached a point directly across the Savannah River from the heart of downtown Augusta in 1832.

In 1833 the Georgia Railroad, chartered in Athens, Georgia, began building westward from Augusta toward a yet unnamed settlement that would eventually become Atlanta.

Noted architect, Charles Blaney Cluskey, who lived in Augusta at the time, designed the Old Medical College of Georgia built on Telfair Street in 1835 to house the state’s first medical school.

The Georgia Railroad was built by local contractors Fannin, Grant & Co in 1845 giving Augusta a rail link to Atlanta, which connected to the Tennessee River at Chattanooga, Tennessee, thus providing access to the Mississippi River.

He commanded a brigade at the Battle of Shiloh (April 6–7, 1862), but soon afterward he returned to the cavalry arm, in which he won a reputation second only to Gen.

A horse drawn street car was first put into operation in 1866, connecting the neighborhoods that now comprise the Pinched Gut, Augusta Downtown, Broad Street, Harrisburg—West End, and Summerville Historic Districts.

1872: The Augusta Cotton Exchange was organized.

Consequently, the Church of the Most Sacred Heart established at Greene and McKinne (13th) streets in 1874 became the second Roman Catholic parish in Augusta.

Following the Civil War, Augusta’s economy struggled but rebounded with the enlargement and expansion of the Augusta Canal in 1875.

Following the war, Paine College was established to serve black students in 1882.

1886 : The Augusta Cotton Exchange building was built.

The Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899 put into law the construction, repair and preservation of certain public works on rivers and harbors including levees.

In 1914, University Hospital was founded near the Medical College, forming the anchor of a heavily developed medical sector in the city.

In 1927, Owen Robertson Cheatham founded the lumber company Georgia Pacific in Augusta, before it moved to Portland, OR, and later to Atlanta.

A massive flood in 1929 broke through the levee.

1938 : In early attempts to provide a direct highway link between Augusta and Savannah, federal and state agencies conducted a study which officials hoped would lead to the development of a roadway to be called the Oglethorpe Trail.

In 1940 shortly before the United States entered World War II, the Federal Government founded Camp Gordon about 10 miles from downtown Augusta in south Richmond County in an area historically known as Pinetucky.

6/30/1941: A resolution adopted by the combined governments of the City of Augusta and Richmond County obligated the governments to operate and maintain the levee.

In September 1942, the camp became known as Camp Gordon and, in October 1942, the “Rolling Fourth” division arrived.

The first mall opened in 1952 in Michigan.

3/21/1956: Upon receiving permanent status, Camp Gordon was renamed Fort Gordon.

Augusta Technical College, serving the needs of five east central Georgia counties, was established in 1961.

Pei’s $40,000 contract called for a development program to bridge the 1968 revitalization study.

4/1974: Internationally known architect I. M. Pei was hired by persons interested in the revitalization of downtown and spearheaded by the Downtown Council of the Greater Augusta Chamber of Commerce.

12/1979: Augusta Civic Center, later named the James Brown Arena, designed by Pei, opened its doors.

3/22/1982: The City of Augusta partnered with “Augusta Tomorrow” (then still a group of community leaders) and commissioned the American City Corporation, to conduct a six-month study of the entire downtown area and the riverfront and produce a viable plan for its redevelopment.

1/27/1983: Augusta Tomorrow board members (Louis Battey, MD, Connolly, O’Keefe and Skinner), representatives of Mayor McIntyre’s office and state Rep.

8/6/1984: The City of Augusta executed an agreement with the Department of Natural Resources in the amount of $35,000 for the first phase development of the 1.2 acre Bay Street Esplanade Project (renamed Riverwalk Project) and the golf exhibition.

5/30/1985: Augusta Tomorrow, Inc. purchased the Cotton Exchange to protect it from acquisition by unprincipled speculators who might not direct its utilization toward involvement in downtown revitalization.

8/5/1986: Mayor DeVaney wrote to Senators Sam A. Nunn and Mack Mattingly requesting support for passage of the $4 million railroad relocation and grade separation projects in the Senate.

1987 – East Boundary Street breach in levee.

1989 – The Augusta Canal Authority was created by the Georgia Legislature.

5/24/1990: The City of Augusta and Augusta Tomorrow, Inc. held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Augusta Riverfront Center.

3/14/1991: Port Royal, located at 7th Street on the Augusta Riverwalk, held a grand opening.

9/26/1992: The Morris Museum of Art at the Augusta Riverfront Center held a grand opening event.

8/9/1994: Augusta Tomorrow, Inc. and the Augusta Canal Authority sponsored a design charrette for an Enterprise Technology Park.

2/1995: LDR International unveiled the 1995 Master Plan Update.

10/1997: Greater Augusta Progress, Inc. was formed with the help of Augusta Tomorrow, Inc. to address development concerns throughout Richmond County.

6/1/2001: Camille A. Price assumed position of Executive Director for Augusta Tomorrow, Inc.

Donor: Georgia Power’s East Region Office in Augusta and regional Vice President Tommy Stone, who retired in 2002.

2/6/2003: A $100,000 life-sized statue of General James Edward Oglethorpe, commissioned and funded totally by the members of Augusta Tomorrow, Inc., was dedicated on the Augusta Common.

11/5/2004: The Augusta Common Service Center was opened on the northeast corner of the Augusta Common.

10/20/2005: The Augusta Commission honed the list of proposed SPLOST V projects and their cost to a total of $124 million.

6/29/2006: The Augusta Commission approved the sale of city property bounded by the levee and marina on the north, Reynolds Street on the south and the site of a historically valuable train depot to Mr.

10/2007: A Project Oversight Task Force was convened by Augusta Tomorrow, Inc. to start discussions regarding development of a new downtown master plan.

8/22/2008: The groundbreaking was held for the Augusta Richmond County Headquarters Public Library at the site bounded by Greene and Telfair Streets and the East Side of James Brown Boulevard.

Following the presentation on the Fifth Street Bridge, ICON Architecture, Inc. unveiled the 2009 Master Plan to the Augusta/North Augusta communities in a standing-room-only gathering at St Paul’s Church’s River Room.

1/3/2010: Augusta Tomorrow board member, Clayton Boardman III, renovated Sutherland Mill.

8/9/2011: The grand opening of The Salvation Army’s Kroc Center at the intersection of Broad Street and Eve Street was held.

4/2/2012: The Augusta Tomorrow Gateways Corridors Implementation Team unveiled beautification of St Sebastian Way from the Riverwatch Parkway entrance onto Broad Street to Greene Street and Walton Way.

2/28/2013: The Augusta Convention Center, known as the TEE (Trade, Exhibit & Event) Center, had its ribbon cutting and opened for business.

8/27/2014: Twiggs Circle groundbreaking – part of Laney Walker/Bethlehem revitalization.

10/26/2016 – Augusta Riverfront LLC announces plans to build a new downtown hotel adjacent to the Augusta Convention Center.

2/3/2017 – The Augusta Convention & Visitors Bureau unveils its downtown Blueprints Project.