Getting tired of the action on the greens? Don't worry, not every local site is related to golf. Augusta is full of history and these attractions are proof. Here are some of the places that Augustans show guests when they come to town.
Artists Row
Artists Row offers everything from original works by internationally renowned artists, to local fine art, pottery, hand crafted glass work, sculpture, unique regional crafts, photography, jewelry, and specialty gifts.
http://www.artistsrowaugusta.com/
Augusta Canal Interpretive Center
At the Augusta Canal National Heritage Area Interpretive Center at Enterprise Mill you'll learn the stories of people, progress and promise of a unique piece of American history. The Canal Interpretive Center that tells the story of how a city used its waterways to reinvent itself and define its destiny. The Center has been developed by the Augusta Canal Authority in partnership with the National Park Service.
http://www.augustacanal.com/Default.aspx?PageId=18
Petersburg Boat Tours: http://www.augustacanal.com/Default.aspx?PageId=32
Augusta Museum of History
The Augusta Museum of History is dedicated to collecting, preserving and interpreting history in relation to the past of Augusta and its environs for the education and enrichment of present and future generations.
Augusta Riverwalk
The Augusta Riverwalk is located directly on the beautiful Savannah River. Take a stroll down the shaded sidewalks of the riverwalk that line the Savannah River and enjoy what downtown Augusta has to offer.
The cool breeze from the Savannah River provides the perfect place for a picnic or go for a stroll under the shade trees.
http://www.augustariverwalk.com/
Boyhood home of President Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was inaugurated as the 28th President of the United States on March 4, 1913. His two-term administration was among the most notable in U.S. history. In 1917, during his second term, the United States entered the First World War and Wilson played an international role in the negotiation of the Treaty of Versailles and the organization of the League of Nations.
"Tommy" Wilson (1856-1924) spent the formative years of his childhood in Augusta, years that would affect him for the rest of his life. While living in Augusta Wilson experienced the hardships of the Civil War and Reconstruction. He also began his education, tasted leadership as president of the Lightfoot Baseball Club, and grounded his deep Presbyterian faith.
http://www.wilsonboyhoodhome.org/
Confederate Powderworks Chimney
At the beginning of the Civil War gunpowder supplies for the Confederate armies were insufficient. In 1861 Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy, charged Colonel George Washington Rains with solving this issue by creating a local supply of gunpowder. Rains chose the flat lands by the Augusta Canal as the most suitable site for making the much needed gunpowder. He named Major Charles Shaler Smith as architect to design the Confederate Powder Works.
The Confederate Powder Works, the only permanent edifice constructed by the Confederate States of America, was in operation until April 1865.
The Federal Government confiscated the powder works land and sold it between 1868 and 1871. By 1872, the buildings and structures remaining were deemed useless, and a project to widen the canal caused the demolition of most. At the request of Rains, the smokestack was left standing as a memorial to those who fought for the Confederacy.
The Powder Works Chimney is accessible anytime free of charge.
http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/augusta/sibleymill.html
Ft. Gordon Signal Corps Museum
The mission of the U.S. Army Signal Corps Museum and Fort Gordon is to function as a permanent historical and educational institution at Fort Gordon, providing training and education to the soldiers, military dependents at Fort Gordon and to the general public on all aspects of the history of the Signal Corps, the development of Fort Gordon and vicinity, and the U.S. Army.
http://www.signal.army.mil/ocos/museum/
Saturday Historic Trolley Tour of Augusta
Tours include a self guided tour through the Augusta Museum of History and a driving tour through historic Downtown Augusta that departs from the Augusta Museum of History at 2 p.m. Reservations are required at least 24 hours prior. All seats are $12 and depart from the Augusta Visitor Center.
http://www.augustaga.org/CalendarFolder/Events/Trolley-Tour
Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art
The Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art serves as the Central Savannah River Area's only independent non-profit visual art school and gallery.
Gallery hours are 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Tuesday – Friday and Saturday by appointment only (24 hours advance notice requested). Admission is free; donations are encouraged.
Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History
The Lucy Craft Laney Museum is the only African American Museum in the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA, Augusta and its Surrounding Areas). The museum, which opened in 1991, is a small house museum that was the former home of Lucy Craft Laney.
Lucy Craft Laney, one of the most influential educators in Georgia, called Augusta home until her death in 1933.
http://www.lucycraftlaneymuseum.com/
Morris Museum of Art
The Morris Museum of Art, located on the Riverwalk in downtown Augusta, Georgia, is the first museum dedicated to the art and artists of the American South. The collection includes holdings of nearly 5,000 paintings, works on paper, photographs, and sculptures dating from the late-eighteenth century to the present. In addition to the permanent collection galleries, the museum hosts eight to ten temporary special exhibitions every year.
The museum also houses the Center for the Study of Southern Art, a reference and research library that includes archives pertaining to artists working in the South.
