Augusta: No Clubs Required

The Savannah River at the Savannah Rapids Park credit: photo by Andrew Kornylak

Augusta is no Savannah — that’s true. For its two-hundred-and-seventy-five-year history, the city has struggled along as the overlooked and less fashionable daughter of British general James Oglethorpe. Of the two cities that abut the Savannah River, the one that shares the name certainly takes the lion’s share of attention. But each spring, Augusta reenters the national consciousness as television cameras make sweeping pans of the impossibly green fairways and luxuriant azaleas at the venerable Augusta National Golf Club, with its prestigious national membership that has included past presidents and
Bill Gates. Visiting sportscasters and golf fans alike tout the city’s hospitality and charm to an international viewing audience — and Augustans enjoy the week basking in the spotlight.

It’s also true that, if you watch the coverage carefully, you’ll notice that the myopic camera lens never strays to the other side of Washington Road — the other side of the city’s demographics, with their solid grounding in the conservative middle class (the Southern Baptist denomination was born here in 1845 and continues to dominate today). Gentrification has not yet conquered the lower-income neighborhoods near historic downtown, and whereas Savannah’s historic homes, protected by local and federal preservation mandates, have been restored, Augusta’s charming old wooden houses lie in relative disrepair. These downtown dwellings stand in stark contrast to the generous backyards and freshly painted shutters less than a mile away in the Summerville community, where stately homes and landscaped lawns rest along tree-lined boulevards, beneath century-old deodar cedars. It is there, and in the gated communities and country clubs of Columbia County, that many with money prefer to live.

But, no matter their address, Augustans are quick to embrace their Southernness. The city works hard to welcome guests for the Masters each spring, and sweet tea flows from every restaurant. Barbecues at the lake are a major pastime from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and debutantes are presented to polite society each winter by the city’s several cotillion clubs. True to its nickname, the Garden City, Augusta has more than one camellia society and many garden clubs. In summer months, roadside stands peddle okra, squash, and peaches. Cotton and soybeans also grow in red clay.

The surrounding region is a playground for outdoors enthusiasts. Located along the Fall Line between the Piedmont and the Coastal Plain, pine forests and rolling landscapes are home to quail, turkey, and deer. Edgefield, just across the river, in South Carolina, is home to the National Wild Turkey Federation. Fox hunters make their way to the Edisto-Mount Vintage Hounds in Edgefield, or the Whiskey Road Foxhounds in neighboring Aiken County, home of a nationally known equestrian scene. The Aiken Polo Club has hosted tournaments for more than one hundred years. The Aiken Triple Crown — held over three weekends each March — includes Thoroughbred racing, a steeplechase, and a round robin polo tournament, drawing thousands of spectators, wide-brimmed hats, and parties galore. Lake Thurmond, on the Savannah River, is one of the ten most popular sites maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Its more than seventy thousand acres of water are home to largemouth bass, bream, crappie, striped bass, hybrid bass, and catfish.

Downtown Augusta still reminds one of when the city flourished as a center for cotton exchange. One street over from the river trade, Broad Street thrived with merchants selling clothing, furniture, sporting goods, housewares, and everything else that a family might need. By the 1970s, commerce moved to the malls and shopping centers on the outskirts of town, and former mainstays such as Cullum’s department store and Bowman Brothers variety store closed. The once-bustling Broad Street area gave way to empty storefronts. But a handful of businesses refused to abandon downtown, and in the 1990s city planners began to plot revitalization. One of the first major projects was the development of the Riverwalk: A winding esplanade now leads visitors along the calm waters, by playgrounds, an outdoor amphitheater, and two prized museums — the Morris Museum of Art, home to one of the South’s best Southern art collections, and Fort Discovery, a field trip destination for schoolchildren.

Tourism in downtown Augusta might seem unlikely today; yet, shortly after the Civil War the city began playing host to wealthy Northerners who took the overnight train south to enjoy mild winters in rooms rented out by local residents. Augusta’s days as a winter resort ended after the Second World War — when better highways and airplanes made travel farther south easier and more affordable; but vestiges of this tourist exchange live on every April when many Augustans leave town and rent their homes to golf fans. Downtown Augusta has made use of the hand-me-downs from her bygone glory and is coming into her own with the hip, artsy crowd. Some of the extant mills have found a second life as loft apartments, and Broad Street’s theaters and music are becoming increasingly popular — a glimmer that Augusta as a sophisticated cosmopolitan center is a work in progress.

And if decades of being overshadowed by the aristocratic charm of Savannah have challenged Augusta, the Garden City proves it can still turn heads every April when the golfers come to town. And as long as the bronze statue of Augusta’s native son James Brown presides over Broad Street, the city’s soul lives on.