Augusta is a city located in the U.S. State of Georgia. As of 2000, the population is 199,775. 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 city was originally named after Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, and was the second state capital of Georgia (alternating for a period with Savannah, the first).
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2 Demographics 3 History 4 Metropolitan Area 5 Sports 6 Major Attractions 7 Miscellaneous 8 Related Topics 9 External Links |
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 851 km² (328 mi²). 839 km² (324 mi²) of it is land and 11 km² (4 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 1.34% 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 Clarks Hill Dam is also built on the fall line near Augusta, forming Lake Strom Thurmond, formerly known as Clarks Hill Lake.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 199,775 people, 73,920 households, and 49,526 families residing in the county. The population density is 238/km² (616/mi²). There are 82,312 housing units at an average density of 98/km² (254/mi²). The racial makeup of the county is 45.55% White, 49.75% African American, 0.28% Native American, 1.50% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 1.01% from other races, and 1.78% from two or more races. 2.78% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 73,920 households out of which 33.60% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.80% are married couples living together, 20.80% have a female householder with no husband present, and 33.00% are non-families. 27.70% of all households are made up of individuals and 8.50% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.55 and the average family size is 3.13.
In the county the population is spread out with 26.80% under the age of 18, 12.00% from 18 to 24, 29.90% from 25 to 44, 20.50% from 45 to 64, and 10.80% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 32 years. For every 100 females there are 93.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 89.80 males.
The median income for a household in the county is $33,086, and the median income for a family is $38,509. Males have a median income of $29,667 versus $22,760 for females. The per capita income for the county is $17,088. 19.60% of the population and 16.20% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 27.20% are under the age of 18 and 14.10% are 65 or older.
Augusta is the second largest city in Georgia, after Atlanta.
The location of Augusta was first used by Native Americans as place to cross the Savannah River, because of Augusta's location on the fall line. But other than that, Augusta didn't even exist.
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 built 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, after 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 was begun on a road to connect Augusta to Savannah. This would make it possible for people to reach Augusta by horse, rather than by boat. Because of this, more people began to migrate inland to Augusta. Later on, in 1750, Augusta's first church, St. Paul's, would be built near Fort Augusta. It would become the leader of the local parish.
In 1777, under Georgia's new constitution, a new political structure would be laid out and Augusta's parish government would be replaced by a new county government, Richmond County, which was named after the Duke of Richmond.
During the American Revolution, Savannah would fall to the British. This would leave Augusta as the new state capital and a new prime target of the British. By January 31, 1779, Augusta would be 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 would fall into British hands once more before the end of the war.
From then until the American Civil War, Augusta would become a leader in the production of textiles, gunpowder, and paper. It would have a population of 12,493 by 1860, being just 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. But then came war.
Originally, Augustans welcomed the idea of war. A new powderworks that opened boosted trade and job opportuinities. Many Augustans went away to fight in the war, not knowing the terrors that awaited them. War would 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 this once quiet town. Things wouldn't settle down until the Yankees themselves finally arrived in 1986.
Unlike most Southern cities, Postbellum life for Augusta was very prosporous. By the beginning of the 20th century, Augusta had become one of the largest inland cotton markets in the world. In 1913, the Medical College of Georgia would be founded, and in 1914, University Hospital would be founded nearby. These two buildings would form the nucleus of a future medical complex. A new military cantonment, named Camp Hancock, would open nearby during World War I.
Prior to World War II, the U.S. army constructed a new fort near Richmond County that was named Camp Gordon. It would be finished just a few days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Many new soldiers would be brought to this camp to train to go off to war. While they were there, though, the townspeople treated them very nicely, causing many of them to come back to Augusta at the end of the war. But within the few months after WWII, trouble began to set in. Many of the GI's at Camp Gordon had been sent back home, and the importance of the army in the community seemed to almost come to an end. But then Augusta would go through its golden age.
In 1948, new life would come to the city when the U.S. army moved the Signal Training Center and Military Police School to Camp Gordon. Later on, in November of 1948, the Clarks Hill Reservoir would be created by a newly constructed dam, which would provide the city with a good supply of hydroelectric power. Then, in 1950, plans were announced to built the Savannah River Plant nearby, which would boost the city's population about 50,000. Augusta would move into the second half of the twentieth century on the threshold of becoming an urban industrial center in the South.
The Augusta Metropolitan Area comprises of 5 counties in 2 different states.
History
Metropolitan Area
Sports
Major Attractions
Miscellaneous
Related Topics
External Links