Augusta Canal

Infobox_nrhp | name =Historic Augusta Canal and Industrial District
nrhp_type =nhld


caption = Augusta Canal
location= Augusta, Georgia
locmapin =
area =
built =1845
architect= Multiple
architecture= Romanesque
designated= December 22, 1977cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1087&ResourceType=District
title=Historic Augusta Canal and Industrial District |accessdate=2007-10-13|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service]
added = May 27, 1971cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]
governing_body = Local
refnum=71000285

The Augusta Canal is an historic canal located in Augusta, Georgia. It was devised to harness the power of the fall line of the Savannah River for mills and to provide drinking water for the city. It is the only canal in the world still used for its original purpose of providing hydro-electric power to textile mills.

History

19th Century

The Augusta Canal was chartered in 1845 and completed in 1847, as a source of water, power and transportation for the city of Augusta. It was one of the few successful industrial canals in the American South. During the time of construction, the canal was headed by Henry Cumming and was designed by J. Edgar Thomson. In 1847, the first factories started, a saw and grist mill and the Enterprise Mill, were built. It would be one of many factories that would be built along the Augusta Canal.

By the time of the Civil War, Augusta was one of the few manufacturing centers in the South. The power afforded there led Confederate Col. George W. Rains to select Augusta as the location for the Confederate Powderworks. The twenty-eight buildings, which were the only ones constructed by the government of the Confederate States of America, stretched for two miles along the Augusta Canal. Other war industries started to establish along the canal making Augusta an important center for ammunition and war materiel.

Unlike most Southern cities after General Sherman's march through the South, Augusta ended the war in better condition. The population had doubled and hard currency was available to fiance recovery. The canal was enlarged in 1875.

A boom era saw the construction of the Enterprise Mill, King Mill, and Sibley Mill, the Lombard Ironworks and may others opened or expanded. Several people who lived on farms moved to the city to work at the mills. Largely employing women and children, the factories led to the rise of mill villages 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 generation equipment. By 1892, Augusta boasted both electric streetcars and street lights — the first Southern city to have these amenities.

20th Century

Flooding became 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 and to straighten the canal.

By the mid-twentieth 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.

National Historic Landmark

The canal is part of the Historic Augusta Canal and Industrial District, which was named a National Historic Landmark in 1977. It was also named a National Heritage Area by Congress in 1998, the first designated Nation Heritage Area in Georgia. [ [http://augustacanal.com/history.html Welcome to the Augusta Canal ] ]

Today

The Augusta Canal is the main source of drinking water in Augusta and is a centerpiece of the city. It also has been a center of redeveloping. Mills such as the Enterprise Mill have been converted to upscale offices and loft apartments and new buildings, such as the Kroc Center, will be built along the canal.

References

External links

* [http://www.augustacanal.com/haer-report.html History of the canal]
* [http://www.augustacanal.com/ Augusta Canal Website]
* [http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/Augusta/index.html Augusta, Georgia, a National Park Service "Discover Our Shared Heritage" Travel Itinerary]