Summerville, (commonly referred to locally as "The Hill"), is a large, affluent residential area and

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...

located northwest of downtown

Augusta, Georgia Augusta is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta, the third mos ...

. The district is site of the historic homes of

John Milledge John Milledge (1757February 9, 1818) was an American politician. He fought in the American Revolution and later served as United States Representative, 26th Governor of Georgia, and United States Senator. Milledge was a founder of Athens, Georgi ...

George Walton George Walton ( – February 2, 1804) was a Founding Father of the United States who signed the United States Declaration of Independence while representing Georgia in the Continental Congress. Walton also served briefly as the second chief ex ...

, and Thomas Cumming.

History

18th century

Summerville was built in the 1780s, and established as a separate village from the city of Augusta.

19th century

During the mid to late 1810s, downtown Augusta experienced a small epidemic of

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

, which caused little effect in Summerville. In 1820, a major outbreak of

fever Fever or pyrexia in humans is a symptom of an anti-infection defense mechanism that appears with Human body temperature, body temperature exceeding the normal range caused by an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, s ...

nearly wiped out the entire garrison at the U.S. Arsenal. After a recommendation from an officer, the U.S. Arsenal purchased land that is the present-day site of

Augusta University Augusta University (AU) is a public research university and academic medical center in Augusta, Georgia, United States. It is part of the University System of Georgia and has satellite medical campuses in Savannah, Albany, Rome, and Athens, Geo ...

. By 1850, Summerville became a four-season community. More permanent buildings and year-round homes sprang up as the town prospered. In 1861, Summerville was officially incorporated as a city with the boundaries defined as a circle for one-mile. Later on, Summerville became a fashionable luxury resort and

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

capital with the construction of many hotels. This caused a large transformation — from a small summer resort for local residents to a winter playground for wealthy industrialists and politicians from the

northern United States The Northern United States, commonly referred to as the American North, the Northern States, or simply the North, is a geographical and historical region of the United States. History Early history Before the 19th century westward expansion, the ...

. Two hotels, The Partridge Inn and the Bon Air Hotel, hosted captains of industry and former

presidents of the United States The president of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States, indirectly elected to a four-year term via the Electoral College. Under the U.S. Constitution, the officeholder leads the executive bra ...

. Some built winter homes in the area, while others stayed permanently, escaping the harsh winters of the northern U.S.

20th century

When the city of Augusta

annex Annex or annexe may refer to: Places * The Annex, a neighbourhood in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. * The Annex (New Haven), a neighborhood of New Haven, Connecticut, United States. * Annex, Oregon, a census-designated place in the United ...

ed Summerville in 1912, it lost its status as a separate town. Four years later, a fire swept through downtown Augusta, destroying much of the business district and neighborhoods along lower Broad Street. This caused a housing boom for Summerville.

21st century

Residents of Summerville and surrounding neighborhoods plan to meet on December 4, 2022 to discuss re-establishing Summerville as a city separate from Augusta–Richmond County. Local attorney Wright McLeod cites public safety, taxation, and the inefficiency of the consolidated government as reasons from splitting from Augusta–Richmond County.

Historic district

On May 22, 1980, Summerville was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

, bounding from Highland Ave., Heard Ave., Wrightsboro Rd., Milledge Rd., and Cumming Rd.

Historic sites

* Summerville Cemetery *Appleby Library *

Augusta Arsenal The Augusta Arsenal was a 19th-century fortification in Augusta, Georgia. Established in 1816 and initially completed on the Georgia bank of the Savannah River in 1819, it was moved to the former Belle Vue estate in the Summerville (Augusta, Georgi ...

Partridge Inn The Partridge Inn, in Augusta, Georgia, is a hotel in the Curio Collection by Hilton. Its current full name is The Partridge Inn Augusta, Curio Collection by Hilton. A portion of the hotel began as part of a private home in 1836. The area deve ...

— historic hotel that opened in 1860, many northerners stayed to escape the winters of the North (open to this day) *

Stephen Vincent Benet House Stephen or Steven is an English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is widely regarded as the firs ...

— historic home on campus of

* College Hill — home of

from 1795 to his death in 1804 *Bon Air Hotel * Reid-Jones-Carpenter House - Individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it now houses the Alan Fuqua Center for Young People. * Salubrity Hall

Architecture

Structures

The

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

of Summerville include examples of

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

, and many other types. Engine Company No

Notable people

* Thomas Cumming (1765-1834), first mayor of Augusta, Georgia *

John Warne Herbert Jr. John Warne Herbert Jr. (August 3, 1853 – August 26, 1934) was an American lawyer who was a member of the 1869 Rutgers Queensmen football team, Rutgers team in the 1869 college football season#First football game ever played, first ever colleg ...

(1853-1934), played in first ever collegiate football game; business executive *

(1757-1818), American politician and former Georgia governor *

(1749-1804), Founding Father and signer of Declaration of Independence * Richard H. Wilde (1789-1847), American politician

References

External links

— district map (Adobe Acrobat format)
Summerville Historic District (National Park Service)
{{National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in Augusta, Georgia Geography of Augusta, Georgia Houses in Augusta, Georgia