Augusta
Consolidated city-county
Downtown Augusta Augusta National Golf Club Riverwalk Augusta on the Savannah River The University Hall at Augusta University Sacred Heart Cultural Center Augusta Canal with Enterprise Mill in the background Old Government House
Seal
Nickname:  "The Garden City"
Motto:  "We Feel Good"
Show Augusta Show Georgia Show the United States Augusta's location in Georgia
Coordinates: 33°28′12″N 81°58′30″W / 33.47000°N 81.97500°W / 33.47000; -81.97500
Country	United States
State	Georgia
County	Richmond
Established	1736[1]
City-county consolidation	1996[1]
Founded by	James Oglethorpe
Named for	Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha
Government
• Mayor	Garnett Johnson (I)
Area [2]
• Consolidated city-county	306.44 sq mi (797.70 km2)
• Land	302.28 sq mi (782.90 km2)
• Water	4.17 sq mi (10.80 km2)
Elevation [3]	136 ft (45 m)
Population  (2020)[4]
• Consolidated city-county	202,081
• Rank	116th in the United States 3rd in Georgia
• Density	668.52/sq mi (258.12/km2)
• Urban	431,480 (US: 95th)
• Urban density	1,578.8/sq mi (609.6/km2)
• Metro [5]	611,000 (US: 95th)
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP codes	30901, 30904, 30906, 30907, 30909, 30912,[6] 30815
Area codes	706, 762[7][8]
Website	AugustaGA.gov

Augusta (/əˈɡʌstə/ ə-GUSS-tə) is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Georgia's third most populous city (after Atlanta and Columbus), Augusta is located in the Fall Line section of the state.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Augusta–Richmond County had a 2020 population of 202,081,^[4] not counting the unconsolidated cities of Blythe and Hephzibah.^[9] It is the 116th most populous city in the United States and the 95th-largest metropolitan area. The process of consolidation between the city of Augusta and Richmond County began with a 1995 referendum in the two jurisdictions. The merger was completed on July 1, 1996. Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta metropolitan area. In 2020 it had a population of 206,000,^[5] making it the second-largest metro area in the state (after Atlanta) and the ninth most populous urban center in the Deep South.

Augusta was established in 1736 and is named in honor of Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha (1719–1772), the bride of Frederick, Prince of Wales and the mother of the British monarch George III.^[1] During the American Civil War, Augusta housed the principal Confederate Powderworks.^[10] Augusta's warm climate made it a major resort town of the Eastern United States in the early and mid-20th century. Internationally, Augusta is best known for hosting the Masters golf tournament each spring. The Masters brings over 200,000 visitors from around the world to the Augusta National Golf Club. Membership at Augusta National is widely considered to be the most exclusive in the sport of golf around the world.

Augusta lies approximately two hours away from downtown Atlanta by car via I-20. The city is home to Fort Eisenhower, a major U.S. Army base. In 2016, it was announced that the new National Cyber Security Headquarters would be based in Augusta.^[11]

History

Establishment

The area along the river was long inhabited by varying cultures of indigenous peoples, who relied on the river for fish, water and transportation. The site of Augusta was used by Native Americans as a place to cross the Savannah River, because of its location on the fall line.

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 created a settlement as a first line of defense for coastal areas against potential Spanish or French invasion from the interior.^[12] 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.^[13] 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.^[14] 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.^[15] 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,^[16] each found to have been shot in the back.^[17] The noted singer and entertainer James Brown was called in to help quell lingering tensions, which he succeeded in doing.^[16]

Hyde Park contamination

In 1993, an area known as Hyde Park in Augusta, Georgia, was investigated by the EPA for contamination. The investigation totaled $1.2 million.^[18] 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.^[18] 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.^[18]

Geography

Augusta is located along the Georgia/South Carolina border, about 150 mi (240 km) east of Atlanta and 70 mi (110 km) west of Columbia. The city is located at 33°28′12″N 81°58′30″W / 33.47000°N 81.97500°W / 33.47000; -81.97500 (33.4700, −81.9750).^[19]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the Augusta–Richmond County balance has a total area of 306.5 sq mi (793.8 km²), of which 302.1 sq mi (782.4 km²) is land and 4.3 sq mi (11.1 km²) (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.^[20]

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 (7.4 °C) in January to 81.6 °F (27.6 °C) in July; there are 53 nights with the low reaching the freezing mark, 82 days reaching or exceeding 90 °F (32 °C), and 5.5 days reaching 100 °F (38 °C) annually. Extreme temperatures range from −1 °F (−18 °C) on January 21, 1985 up to 108 °F (42 °C) 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 (270 m) lower than downtown Atlanta. The heaviest recorded snowfall was in February 1973 with 14.0 inches (36 cm)^[21] Freezing rain is also a threat in wintertime.

Historic districts

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.^[25]

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

Rank	Name	Image	Height (feet)	Height (meters)	Floors	Year	Ref
1	Lamar Building		238	72	19	1918	[26]
2	River Place Condominiums		222	68	18	1991	[27]
3	Augusta University on Broad		220	67	17	1967	[28]

Demographics

Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=Augusta,_Georgia
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