The Augusta Canal is a historic
canal
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...
located in
Augusta, Georgia
Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Georgi ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. The canal is fed by the
Savannah River and passes through three levels (approximately total) in suburban and urban Augusta before the water returns to the river at various locations. It was devised to harness the water power at the
fall line
A fall line (or fall zone) is the area where an upland region and a coastal plain meet and is typically prominent where rivers cross it, with resulting rapids or waterfalls. The uplands are relatively hard crystalline basement rock, and the coa ...
of the Savannah River to drive mills, to provide transportation of goods, and to provide a
municipal water supply
A water supply network or water supply system is a system of engineered hydrologic and hydraulic components that provide water supply. A water supply system typically includes the following:
# A drainage basin (see Water purification#Sources of ...
. It is the only canal in the US in continuous use for its original purposes of providing power, transport, and municipal water.
History
19th Century
The Augusta Canal was initially completed in 1845 as a source of water, power, and transportation for the city of Augusta. It was one of the few successful
industrial
Industrial may refer to:
Industry
* Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry
* Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems
* Industrial city, a city dominate ...
canals in the
Southern United States
The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
. During the time of construction, the city's Canal Commission was headed by
Henry Harford Cumming
Henry Harford Cumming (1799–1866) was an important figure in antebellum Augusta, Georgia.
His main business was in cotton but he also engaged J. Edgar Thomson to design the Augusta Canal, in order to run his mills and had started a law firm wi ...
. Cumming personally paid railroad engineer
John Edgar Thomson to conduct the initial survey for the project. In 1847, construction began on the first factory, a saw and
gristmill
A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...
at the present site of
Enterprise Mill
The Enterprise Mill is a historical residential and office complex along the Augusta Canal in Augusta, Georgia. Enterprise is located at the corner of Transportation in Augusta, Georgia#Greene Street, Greene Street and Transportation in Augusta, G ...
. The Augusta Manufacturing Company, a sprawling four-story textile "manufactory", soon followed. They would be the first of many factories built along the Augusta Canal.
By the time of the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, Augusta was one of the few manufacturing centers in the South. The power and water transportation afforded by the canal were among the factors that led
Confederate
Confederacy or confederate may refer to:
States or communities
* Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities
* Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...
Col.
George Washington Rains
George Washington Rains (1817 – March 21, 1898) was a United States Army and later Confederate States Army officer. A skilled engineer and inventor; he was instrumental in providing the Confederacy with much-needed gunpowder throughout the ...
to select Augusta as the location for the
Confederate Powderworks
The Confederate Powderworks (a.k.a. the Augusta Powderworks) was a gunpowder factory during the American Civil War, the only permanent structures completed by the Confederate States of America.Bragg, C. L. (2001) "The Augusta powder works: The Con ...
. The 28 buildings, which were the only ones designed, constructed, and paid for by the government of the
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...
, stretched for along the Augusta Canal. Other
war industries were established along or near the canal, making Augusta an important center for
materiel
Materiel (; ) refers to supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commercial supply chain context.
In a military context, the term ''materiel'' refers either to the specif ...
.
As the Civil War moved into Georgia in 1864, there was fear that US General
William Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), achieving recognition for his com ...
's troops would move to attack Augusta and her massive gunpowder factory. But
Sherman's march through the South left Augusta untouched. As a result, the city ended the war in reasonably better physical and economic condition than many Southern cities. The population had doubled and hard currency was available to finance recovery, including expansion of the canal.
![Historic Augusta Canal and Industrial District -Sibely and King mills](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Historic_Augusta_Canal_and_Industrial_District_-Sibely_and_King_mills.JPG)
The canal was enlarged in 1875. A boom era saw the construction of the Enterprise Mill, King Mill, and
Sibley Mill
The Sibley Mill is a historic building located on the Augusta Canal at 1717 Goodrich Street near downtown Augusta, Georgia, United States. Designed by Jones S. Davis, it was built on a site previously occupied by the Confederate Powderworks, ...
, the Lombard Ironworks; many other plants opened or expanded. Many people who lived on farms moved to the city to work at the mills, including women and children. The factories led to the rise of
mill villages
A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more mills or factories, usually cotton mills or factories producing textiles. Europe
Italy
* ''Crespi d'Adda'', UNESCO World Her ...
in their precincts.
In the 1890s, the city replaced its old water pumping station with impressive structure at mid-canal that is still used by the city of Augusta today. As the electric age began to dawn, Augusta began to turn the canal's falling water power to drive the first electrical generation equipment. By 1892, Augusta boasted both
electric streetcars and
street lights — the first Southern city to have these amenities.
20th Century
Flood
A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...
ing was a big problem in Augusta during the early 20th century. Following major floods in the 1920s and 1930s, the Federal Works Progress Administration deployed hundreds of workers to make repairs and improvements, build a new
spillway
A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure th ...
and to straighten the canal.
By the mid-20th century, the canal came into a period of neglect.
Textile factories began to close and the city's industrial activity began to shift south of the city. At one point in the 1960s, city officials considered draining the canal to build a
superhighway.
Flickers of interest in reviving the Augusta Canal began appearing in the 1970s. A state park was proposed, but never materialized. In 1989, the
state legislature created the Augusta Canal Authority, the body that has jurisdiction over the canal today. In 1993, the Authority issued a comprehensive Master Plan, outlining the Canal's development potential. In 1996, the US Congress designated the Augusta Canal a
National Heritage Area
In the United States, a National Heritage Area (NHA) is a site designated by Act of Congress, intended to encourage historic preservation of the area and an appreciation of the history and heritage of the site. There are currently 62 NHAs, some ...
, the first such designation in Georgia.
21st Century
![Augusta Canal tour departs from Enterprise Mill](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Augusta_Canal_tour_departs_from_Enterprise_Mill.jpg)
The Augusta Canal Authority moved forward with its master plan. In 2003, the Augusta Canal Interpretive Center (now Discovery Center) opened in the revitalized Enterprise Mill. In late 2003 and early 2004, two modern-day Petersburg boats, inspired by the cargo vessels that once plied the canal with bales of cotton and farm goods, began operation for guided tours.
The King and the Sibley
textile mill
Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods ...
s are now owned by the Augusta Canal Authority.
National Designations
The canal is, along with four historic industrial areas, part of the Historic Augusta Canal and Industrial District, which was named a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
in 1977. It was also named a National Heritage Area by Congress in 1996, the first designated National Heritage Area in
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
.
The Augusta Canal & Industrial District was designated as a
National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark
__NOTOC__
The following is a list of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks as designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers since it began the program in 1964. The designation is granted to projects, structures, and sites in the United State ...
by the
American Society of Civil Engineers
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
in 2018.
Today
![Enterprise Mill Augusta Georgia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Enterprise_Mill_Augusta_Georgia.jpg)
The Augusta Canal is a principal source of
drinking water
Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, a ...
in Augusta and is a
centerpiece of the city. It also has been a focus of redevelopment. Textile mills such as the Enterprise and Sutherland mills have been converted to upscale offices and
loft apartment
A loft is a building's upper storey or elevated area in a room directly under the roof (American usage), or just an attic: a storage space under the roof usually accessed by a ladder (primarily British usage). A loft apartment refers to large ...
s. New projects, such as the
Kroc Center and Canalside Apartments have been constructed. Other developments such as Harrisburg Canal Village, and Augusta Canal Mill Village
trailhead
A trailhead is the point at which a trail begins, where the trail is often intended for hiking, biking, horseback riding, or off-road vehicles. Modern trailheads often contain rest rooms, maps, sign posts and distribution centers for information ...
are proposed or under construction.
![Canoes at Augusta Canal headgate area](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Canoes_at_Augusta_Canal_headgate_area.jpg)
The canal is best known today for its
recreational facilities, including daily guided tours on electric tour boats, paddling and kayaking, and for its
multi-use trail
A shared-use path, mixed-use path or multi-use pathway is a path which is 'designed to accommodate the movement of pedestrians and cyclists'. Examples of shared-use paths include sidewalks designated as shared-use, bridleways and rail trails. A ...
. The
towpath
A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge. This mode of transport w ...
on the canal's first level forms a backbone for the recreational trail system, complemented by newer trails including the River Levee Trail, Third Level Trail, and the
Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association (SORBA)
single-track mountain bike trail.
Augusta Canal Discovery Center at Enterprise Mill
![Augusta Canal Discovery Center main sign a](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Augusta_Canal_Discovery_Center_main_sign_a.JPG)
Enterprise Mill in
Augusta is also the site of the ''Augusta Canal Discovery Center at Enterprise Mill'', (known as the Interpretive Center from 2003-2013.) The interactive museum details how the canal was built and how it works,
hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...
, the history of the mills along the canal and the life of mill workers, and the 20th century decline of the mills and the effects on the canal. Boat tours of the Canal start from the Discovery Center.
Crossings
See also
*
Butt Memorial Bridge — carries
15th Street over the Augusta Canal
*
History of Augusta, Georgia
Augusta, Georgia was founded in 1736 as part of the British colony of Georgia, under the supervision of colony founder James Oglethorpe. It was the colony's second established town, after Savannah. Today, Augusta is the third-largest city in Geo ...
*
List of National Historic Landmarks in Georgia (U.S. state)
*
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Columbia County, Georgia
References
External links
*
Augusta Canal Discovery Center at Enterprise Mill*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110518150026/http://www2.wjbf.com/special_section/2010/oct/08/you-want-augusta-canal-history-theres-ap-ar-937112/ Out There Somewhere - Augusta Canal App George Eskola, WJBF, News Channel 6, ABC, October 8, 2010
*
*
{{authority control
Canals opened in 1847
Buildings and structures in Columbia County, Georgia
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state)
Historic districts in Augusta, Georgia
National Historic Landmarks in Georgia (U.S. state)
National Historic Landmarks in Augusta, Georgia
Canals in Georgia (U.S. state)
Geography of Augusta, Georgia
Museums in Augusta, Georgia
Transportation museums in Georgia (U.S. state)
Industry museums in Georgia (U.S. state)
Textile museums in the United States
Canal museums in the United States
Works Progress Administration in Georgia (U.S. state)
Buildings and structures in Augusta, Georgia
Transportation in Richmond County, Georgia
Transportation in Columbia County, Georgia
Augusta Canal National Heritage Area
National Heritage Areas of the United States
Historic American Engineering Record in Georgia (U.S. state)
Canals on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state)
Dams on the Savannah River
1847 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)
National Register of Historic Places in Augusta, Georgia
Buildings and structures in Richmond County, Georgia
Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks