Augusta, Georgia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| City of Augusta | |||
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| Nickname: "The Garden City (of the South), Masters City Augusta National Golf Club" | |||
| Motto: We feel Good | |||
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| Coordinates: | |||
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| Country | United States | ||
| State | Georgia | ||
| County | Richmond County | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Deke Copenhaver | ||
| Area | |||
| - City | 306.5 sq mi (793 km²) | ||
| - Land | 302.1 sq mi (782 km²) | ||
| - Water | 4.3 sq mi (11.3 km²) | ||
| Elevation | 420 ft (128 m) | ||
| Population (2005) | |||
| - City | 195,769 | ||
| - Density | 648/sq mi (250/km²) | ||
| - Metro | 520,332 | ||
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) | ||
| Website: www.augustaga.gov | |||
Augusta is a city located in the U.S. States in the state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 195,182. In 1996, the governments of the City of Augusta and Richmond County combined to form a single governing body known as Augusta-Richmond County. The consolidated city-county is today simply known as "Augusta, Georgia" and not by the consolidated name. The area that comprises the city limits of Augusta (identified during the 2000 census as "the Augusta-Richmond County balance") includes almost all of Richmond County, except for the towns of Hephzibah and Blythe, which maintain governments separate from that of Augusta.
Augusta is located on the Georgia/South Carolina border, about 150 miles east of Atlanta. It is the second largest city and second largest metropolitan area in the state. Augusta is the birthplace of the Southern Baptist denomination, and the location of Springfield Baptist Church, the oldest autonomous African-American Baptist church in the nation. The region’s three largest employers include the Savannah River Site (a Department of Energy nuclear facility), the U.S. Army Signal Center, and Fort Gordon, and the Medical College of Georgia. The city’s famous golf course, the Augusta National Golf Club, hosts the first major golf tournament of each year, The Masters.
The city was originally named in honor of Augusta, Princess of Wales, daughter-in-law of King George II of Great Britain and mother of King George III of Great Britain, and was the second state capital of Georgia from 1785 until 1795 (alternating for a period with Savannah, the first).
Augusta's official nickname is The Garden City. It is also known as Masters City, since it plays host to the Masters golf tournament. The city recently adopted the motto, "We Feel Good", in recognition of native son and soul music legend James Brown.
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[edit] Geography and Climate
Augusta is located at (33.470, -81.975)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the Augusta-Richmond County balance has a total area of 793.8 km² (306.5 mi²). 782.5 km² (302.1 mi²) of it is land and 11.3 km² (4.3 mi²) of it (1.42%) is water.
Augusta is located about halfway up the Savannah River on the fall line, providing a number of small falls on the Savannah River. The city itself marks the end of a navigable waterway for the river. The Clarks Hill Dam is also built on the fall line near Augusta, forming Lake Strom Thurmond, also known as Clarks Hill Lake. Further downstream, near the border of Columbia County, is the Stevens Creek Dam, which separates the Savannah River from the Augusta Canal.
| Monthly Normal and Record High and Low Temperatures | ||||||||||||
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rec High °F | 82 | 86 | 89 | 96 | 99 | 105 | 107 | 108 | 101 | 97 | 90 | 82 |
| Norm High °F | 56.5 | 61.3 | 69.2 | 76.7 | 83.9 | 89.6 | 92 | 90.2 | 85.3 | 76.5 | 67.8 | 59.1 |
| Norm Low °F | 33.1 | 35.5 | 42.5 | 48.1 | 57.2 | 65.4 | 69.6 | 68.4 | 62.4 | 49.6 | 40.9 | 34.7 |
| Rec Low °F | -1 | 9 | 12 | 26 | 35 | 47 | 55 | 52 | 36 | 22 | 15 | 5 |
| Precip (in) | 4.5 | 4.11 | 4.61 | 2.94 | 3.07 | 4.19 | 4.07 | 4.48 | 3.59 | 3.2 | 2.68 | 3.14 |
| Source: USTravelWeather.com [1] | ||||||||||||
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 195,182 people, 72,307 households, and 48,228 families residing in the balance. The population density was 249.4/km² (646.0/mi²). There were 80,481 housing units at an average density of 102.8/km² (266.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the balance was 44.91% White, 50.37% Black or African American, 0.27% Native American, 1.52% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 1.02% from other races, and 1.78% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.79% of the population.
There were 72,307 households out of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.5% were married couples living together, 20.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.3% were non-families. 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.13.
In the balance the population was spread out with 26.8% under the age of 18, 12.0% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 93.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.7 males.
The median income for a household in the balance was $32,972, and the median income for a family was $38,431. Males had a median income of $29,663 versus $22,764 for females. The per capita income for the balance was $17,117. About 16.3% of families and 19.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.4% of those under age 18 and 14.0% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] History
[edit] Founding
Augusta was first used by Native Americans as a place to cross the Savannah River, because of Augusta's location on the fall line.
In 1735, two years after James Oglethorpe founded Savannah, he sent a detachment of troops on a journey up the Savannah River. He gave them an order to build at the head of the navigable part of the river. The job fell into the hands of Nobel Jones, who created the settlement to provide a first line of defense against the Spanish and the French. Oglethorpe then named the town Augusta, in honor of Princess Augusta, wife of Frederick, Prince of Wales.
The town was laid out on the flat slopes of the Savannah River, just east of the sand hills that would come to be known as "Summerville". The townspeople got along peacefully most of the time with the surrounding tribes of Creek and Cherokee Indians.
In 1739, construction began on a road to connect Augusta to Savannah. This made it possible for people to reach Augusta by horse, rather than by boat, and more people began to migrate inland to Augusta. Later, in 1750, Augusta's first church, St. Paul's, was built near Fort Augusta. It became the leader of the local parish.
Under Georgia's new constitution, a new political structure was laid out in 1777, and Augusta's parish government would be replaced by a new county government, Richmond County, which was named after the Duke of Richmond.
Bold text===The American Revolution and the 1800s=== During the American Revolution, Savannah fell to the British. This left Augusta as the new state capital and a new prime target of the British. By January 31, 1779, Augusta was captured by Lt. Col. Archibald Campbell. But Campbell soon withdrew, as American troops were gathering on the opposite shore of the Savannah River. Augusta again became the state capital, but not for long. Augusta fell into British hands once more before the end of the war.
From then until the American Civil War, with the establishment of the Augusta Canal, Augusta became a leader in the production of textiles, gunpowder, and paper. 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. The cost-savings of this link from the middle of the country to the Atlantic Ocean via the Savannah River increased trade considerably. Augusta had a population of 12,493 by 1860, being one of 102 U.S. cities at the time to have a population of over 10,000, and making it the second largest city in Georgia.
[edit] From the Civil War to World War II
Originally, Augustans welcomed the idea of the Civil War. The new Confederate Powderworks were the only permanent structures constructed and completed by the Confederacy. Over 2000 Augustans went away to fight in the war, but war did not set into the minds of Augustans until the summer of 1863. It was in that year that thousands of refugees from areas threatened by invasion came crowding into Augusta, leading to shortages in housing and provisions. Next came the threatening nearness of General Sherman's advancing army, causing panic in the streets of the once-quiet town. However, the city was never burned to the ground.
In 1828, the Georgia General Assembly granted a formal charter for the Medical Academy of Georgia, and the school began training physicians in two borrowed rooms of the City Hospital. By 1873, an affiliation was made with the University of Georgia, and the school became the Medical Department of the University. The school would become the Medical College of Georgia in 1956. In 1914, University Hospital was founded near the Medical College, forming the anchor of a heavily developed medical sector in the city.
Unlike most Southern cities, Postbellum life for Augusta was very prosperous. By the beginning of the 20th century, Augusta had become one of the largest inland cotton markets in the world. A new military cantonment, named Camp Hancock, opened nearby during World War I.
Prior to World War II, the U.S. Army constructed a new fort near Richmond County, Camp Gordon, which was finished a few days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Many new soldiers were brought to this camp to train to go off to war. While they were there, though, the townspeople treated them nicely, causing many of them to come back to Augusta at the end of the war. Within the few months after WWII, many of the GIs at Camp Gordon had been sent back home, and the importance of the army in the community seemed to almost come to an end.
[edit] Augusta's golden age
In 1948, new life came to the city when the U.S. Army moved the Signal Training Center and Military Police School to Camp Gordon. Later, in November 1948, the Clarks Hill Reservoir was created by a newly constructed dam, which provided the city with a supply of hydroelectric power. In 1950, plans were announced to build the Savannah River Plant nearby, which would boost the city's population about 50,000. Augusta moved into the second half of the twentieth century on the threshold of becoming an urban industrial center in the South.
The American Civil Rights Movement touched Augusta as it did the rest of the United States. In 1961, soul musician Ray Charles canceled a scheduled performance at the Bell Auditorium when he learned that the black attendees would be segregated from the whites and forced to sit in the balcony. A few days after the Kent State shootings and Jackson State killings in May 1970, six African-American students were killed by police for civil rights demonstrations. Racial tensions flared into a full blown riot with many buildings being set on fire.
Beginning in the late 1970s, businesses started leaving downtown Augusta for suburban shopping malls. That started a trend of urban abandonment and decay. To counter this trend, city politicians and business leaders promoted revitalizing Augusta's hidden riverfront (obscured by a levee) into a beautiful Riverwalk with parks, an amphitheater, hotels, museums, and art galleries. The first segment of The Riverwalk was opened in the late 1980s and later expanded in the early 1990s. However, the renaissance of the riverfront did not appear to be spilling over into Augusta's main street, Broad Street, as more businesses were leaving and more storefronts boarded up.
In 1995, members of the art community and downtown boosters started a monthly event called First Friday. It was a night festival whose aim was to bring crowds back to downtown. It featured local bands, street performers, and art galleries opened late. Since 1995, more businesses have returned to downtown, including many new restaurants and bars. A block of upper Broad Street has been named Artists Row and is home to several locally owned art galleries.
[edit] Government
- See also: List of mayors of Augusta, Georgia
In 1996, the City of Augusta and Richmond County consolidated to form one government - Augusta-Richmond County. The consolidated government consists of a mayor and 10 Augusta-Richmond County commissioners. Eight commissioners represent specific districts, while the other two represent super districts comprised of the other eight.
As of 2004, the Augusta-Richmond County government employs around 2,600 people. Some current holders of office are as follows:
- Mayor: David S. "Deke" Copenhaver
- Commissioners
- District 1: Betty Beard (Mayor Pro-Tem)
- District 2: Marion F. Williams
- District 3: Joe Bowles
- District 4: Sambo Jenkins
- District 5: Calvin Holland
- District 6: Andy Cheeks
- District 7: Jerry Brigham
- District 8: Jimmy Smith
- District 9: J.R. Hatney
- District 10: Don A. Grantham
- Sheriff: Ronald Strength
- Coroner: Grover Tuten
Politics in Augusta often tend to be racially based, and several former holders of office have been the centers of controversy. An Augusta State Senator, Charles Walker, was convicted on numerous federal felony charges in 2005 and was removed from his position. Around the same time, former Augusta State Representative Robin Williams (R) was also convicted on federal fraud charges. Linda Schrenko, a former Georgia State School Superintendent who is from nearby Columbia County, recently plead guilty to numerous federal corruption charges for embezzling state education money and funneling it to her unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign and for plastic surgery. She received an eight-year prison sentence for her crimes. A former mayor, Ed McIntyre, was convicted of bribery and extortion charges in the mid 1980s regarding the sale of city-owned riverfront real estate. Augusta and Richmond County also have a long history of political machines such as The Crackers, which had a monopoly on city politics for much of the first half of the 20th century. The Southside Mafia was a political machine that dominated county government for much of the latter half of the 20th century prior to consolidation in 1996.
[edit] Metropolitan area
Augusta is the largest city within a 3 county metropolitan Area that straddles the states of Georgia And South Carolina and is known as The Augusta-Aiken metropolitan statistical area. The metropolitan Area includes Augusta-Richmond County and Columbia County in Georgia and Aiken County in South Carolina. The US Census bureau estimates as of 2005 that the metropolitan area has 520,332 residents. [2]
Augusta is also the primary city within the CSRA Regional Development Center. The CSRA (Central Savannah River Area) is composed of 14 counties and 41 cities all within East Central Georgia. The CSRA is not a metropolitan statistical area, but rather a state economic partnership entity that offers member counties and cities assistance in planning, economic development, business lending,information technology, government services.
[edit] Education
The city of Augusta is served by the Richmond County Board of Education with 8 high schools 10 middle school, 36 elementary schools, 4 magnet schools, and 3 other schools.
- Academy of Richmond County, founded in 1783 [3]
- George P. Butler Comprehensive High [4]
- Cross Creek High [5]
- Glenn Hills High [6]
- Hephzibah High [7]
- Lucy C. Laney High [8]
- T.W. Josey High [9]
- Westside High [10]
- A.R. Johnson Health Science and Engineering Magnet High[11]
- Davidson Fine Arts [12]
[edit] Sports
- Baseball: Augusta GreenJackets [13]
- Hockey: Augusta Lynx [14]
- Arena football: Augusta Spartans [15]
- Soccer: Augusta FireBall [16]
[edit] Major attractions
- Augusta Canal
- Augusta Museum of History [17]
- Augusta National Golf Club
- Confederate Powderworks
- Clarks Hill Lake
- Downtown Augusta [18]
- Enterprise Mill
- Fort Discovery [19]
- Fort Gordon [20]
- Georgia Golf Hall of Fame [21]
- Georgia Golf Hall of Fame's Botanical Garden
- Haunted Pillar
- Augusta-Richmond County James Brown Arena [22]
- Lake Olmstead Stadium
- Lamar Building
- Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History [23]
- Morris Museum of Art [24]
- PDGA National Disc Golf Center [25]
- Riverwalk Augusta [26]
- Sconyers Barbecue
- Sibley Mill
- William B. Bell Auditorium [27]
- Woodrow Wilson's boyhood home [28]
- The Academy of Richmond County
[edit] Sister cities
[edit] Miscellaneous
- Augusta is host of The Masters [31] golf tournament every year, which is part of the Grand Slam in golf.
- Augusta is home of the annual Rockin' Rib & Music Fest [32], a rib cooking competition and music festival.
- C.S.R.A. Talks - Discussion Board Serving Augusta, Georgia and all of the Central Savannah River Area. http://www.csratalks.com [33].
- Augusta is served by Augusta Regional Airport [34] and the smaller Daniel Field.
- Augusta's largest newspaper is the Augusta Chronicle [35].
- Augusta is home to the Medical College of Georgia [36], Augusta State University [37] and Paine College [38].
- Augusta's Broad Street is the second widest street in America.
- E-Z-GO and Club Car, the two largest golf car manufacturers in the world, are centered in Augusta.
- Augusta is home to the Augusta Symphony Orchestra [39].
- Norfolk Southern and CSX run through the middle of downtown Augusta (CSX has to serve an industry, so they have trackage rights on NS.)
- The Butt Memorial Bridge was placed in memory of Archibald Butt and was the first memorial in the world to the RMS Titanic, and is the only such memorial in Georgia.
- Erskine Caldwell's book Tobacco Road was set in rural Richmond County. There is an actual Tobacco Road, a major thoroughfare that connects Fort Gordon with the Augusta Regional Airport. The area now bears little resemblance to the rural setting described in the novel.
- Georgia Pacific was originally founded in Augusta, as a lumber company, before moving to Washington state and, later, Atlanta. [40]
- Morehouse College was founded in the basement of Springfield Baptist Church as the Augusta Institute.
[edit] Transportation
- U.S. Route 1
- U.S. Route 25
- U.S. Route 278
- State Route 4
- State Route 10
- State Route 28
- State Route 56
- State Route 104
- State Route 232
- State Route 383
- State Route 388
- Interstate 20
- Interstate 520
Augusta is also served by city bus line Augusta Public Transit (APT) and a number of taxi services, but the main mode of transportation is by car. There is no major interstate that runs through the city of Augusta. Interstate 20 runs to the north of the city and Interstate 520 runs around the city. But there are 2 new proposed interstates that are to be built in Augusta with one of them Interstate 3 to run directly through the downtown area some kind of way. Augusta will also be the only city outside of the Atlanta area to have a major spaghetti junction at the intersection of Interstates 20 and 520.
Augusta is served by 2 airports. Augusta Regional Airport is the main airport in the city's south side. Daniel Field is a private airport off of Wrightsboro Road outside of Valley Park. The airport is mainly used by golfers and patrons of the Masters Tournament in April.
[edit] Notable residents
- Joseph E.G. Barrett, actor
- Raymond O. Barton, Major General who commanded the US 4th Infantry Division on D-Day and in the Battle of the Hurtgen Forest.
- William Capers Bass (1831-1894), born in Augusta, Methodist minister, professor and president of Wesleyan College [1]
- Robert Battey (1828-1895), born in Augusta, noted surgeon, professor, and medical pioneer[1]
- Ben S. Bernanke, current Federal Reserve chairman
- Emerson Boozer, former star running back for New York Jets
- James Brown (1933-2006), soul musician and pioneering funk musician and bandleader
- Henry Fraser Campbell (1824-1891), noted surgeon, professor, and medical pioneer[1]
- Alfred Cumming (1802-1873), first governor of the Utah territory [1]
- Paul Fitzsimons Eve, (1806-1877), born in Augusta, noted surgeon and academic, Surgeon General of Tennessee, perfected operation for vesical calculus and performed first hysterectomy in America [1]
- Scott Fernstrom, actor
- Ignatius Alphonso Few, (1789-1845), born near Augusta, Methodist clergyman and founder of Emory University[1]
- Laurence Fishburne, actor
- Vernon Forrest, world champion boxer
- Terri Gibbs, country/western singer
- Thomas Glascock, (1790-1841), born in Augusta, brigadier general in the Seminole Wars and United States Congressman from Georgia[1]
- Wycliffe Gordon, jazz trombonist. Attended Butler High School.
- Amy Grant, singer/songwriter (born in Augusta, but grew up in Houston)
- Deon Grant,NFL Player (Jaguars), graduate of T.W. Josey High School
- Todd Greene, baseball player
- Charles Henry Hall, (1820-1877), born in Augusta, was a noted Anglican clergyman and author. [1]
- Hulk Hogan, professional wrestler
- Charles Howell III, professional golfer
- Charles Anthony Hughes, actor
- Beau Jack, world champion boxer
- Jasper Johns, artist
- Seaborn Jones, (1788-1864), born in Augusta, United States Congressman from Georgia. [1]
- Josh Kelley, musician
- Wayne Kimberly, scholar
- Augustus Baldwin Longstreet, (1790-1870), born in Augusta, was a noted lawyer, Methodist clergyman, and humorist. [1]
- Matt Mangum, actor
- Alexander McKinstry, (1822-1879), Confederate Army officer and lieutenant governor of Alabama. [1]
- Lafayette McLaws, (1821-1897), born in Augusta, major general of the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. [1]
- Butterfly McQueen, actress (Prissy in Gone with the Wind)
- Montgomery C. Meigs, (1816-1892), born in Augusta, Quartermaster General of United States Army during the American Civil War. [1]
- Dan Miller, journalist/TV personality
- Larry Mize, professional golfer
- Steve Morse, guitarist. Attended the Academy of Richmond County.
- Wes Motley, actor
- Jessye Norman, opera singer
- Sir Mildred Pierce, musician
- Faith Prince, actor
- Austin Rhodes, political radio talkshow host
- Dub Taylor, character actor, grew up in Augusta
- Elton Taylor (grew up in Augusta)
- Joseph Wheeler- United States Army General in the Spanish-American War
- Marion F. Williams, Drag Racer
- Woodrow Wilson (spent his childhood in Augusta) - 28th U.S. President
- Aliciadine, Gospel recording artist, graduate of T.W. Josey High School
- Benjamin "Ben" Allen, born in Augusta, attorney, judge of Juvenile Court in Burke, Columbia and Richmond counties (GA), former GA State Representative
- Shay Roundtree, actor
- Leroy Irvin, professional football player
[edit] Television
- WJBF Channel 6, ABC affiliate.
- WRDW-TV Channel 12, CBS affiliate.
- WBEK-CA Channel 16, low powered television station carried the UPN network circa 2003.
- WCES-TV Channel 20, PBS member station (repeats WGTV, Athens).
- WAGT Channel 26, NBC affiliate. (The CW on Digital 26.2)
- WFXG Channel 54, FOX affiliate.
[edit] Newspapers
- Augusta Chronicle
- Augusta Herald (now defunct)
- Metro Spirit
- Augusta Focus
- El Augustino
- Hola Augusta
[edit] See also
- Richmond County Public School System
- Augusta National
- CSRA
- Augusta Economic Development Authority
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- City of Augusta Homepage
- Augusta Economic Development Authority Homepage
- Augusta Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau
- The Augusta Chronicle, founded 1785
- The Augusta Focus, minority newspaper owned by former state Sen. Charles Walker
- Augusta State University
- CNN.com article on Augusta's racially divided government
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
