Augusta's History

Augusta, also the 2nd oldest city in Georgia, was founded in 1736 by General James E. Oglethorpe, who named the city for Princess Augusta, wife fo the Prince of Wales. The city is steeped in history as a pivotal site during the Revolutionary and Civil wars, boasting the only structure ever built by the Confederate States of America—the site of the old Confederate Powderworks. With the construction of the Augusta Canal in 1847, it became the second largest inland cotton market in the world during the cotton boom. Several historic neighborhoods and buildings grace the city, including the Cotton Exchange, est. in 1872, the boyhood home of Woodrow Wilson (28th President), the Ezekial Harris House (1797), Meadow Garden (home of George Walton, the youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence), and the Springfield Baptist Church, the oldest African American church in America. One can tour the Augusta Museum of History, the Sacred Heart Cultural Center, the Lucy Craft laney Museum of Black History, or even endeavor to participate in one of the many walking/driving tours.