Augusta, GA, has had a national reputation since George Walton became the youngest person to affix his signature to the Declaration of Independence. Augusta was the state's capital when the U.S. Constitution was signed, and one of Georgia's signers, William Few, was a Richmond County resident at the time he penned his name to the document.


President Woodrow Wilson grew up in Augusta, spending the Civil War years in in the town. His family lived in a handsome home across the street from the church that his father served as pastor. Known to family and friends as Tommy, the future 28th president of the United States claimed as his immediate neighbor and childhood chum Joseph Rucker Lamar, later an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. When these future leaders were youngsters, Augusta counted 15,000 citizens, making it one of the largest cities in the South after New Orleans and Charleston.


While those salient facts may have fallen from the collective national memory, Georgia's second largest city, since its consolidation with Richmond County, and second oldest city still receives substantial annual national and international exposure as the site of The Masters, hosted at the Augusta National Golf Course. This tournament, one of the world's most prestigious, draws viewers in an estimated 180 countries to tune television sets into the event each year.


Georgia's founder, James Edward Oglethorpe, who established Savannah and the Colony of Georgia in 1733, also established Augusta in 1737. Its name honors the then Princess of Wales, mother of George III, whose governance America's colonists found so onerous.


Consolidating city and Richmond County government in 1996 made the population count reach 200,000, thus ensuring its second position after Atlanta in size. While Augusta enjoys a prominent spot on the Savannah River, its role as a port is less important today than it was during the Civil War. Commercial traffic on the river out of Augusta ceased in 1978. But during the 19th century, thanks to the Augusta Canal, built in 1845, river commerce was vigorous. The canal was the site of the Confederate powder works, built to supply the Confederate forces with ammunition. Only a brick smokestack remains, but it's nearly an icon symbolic of Augusta itself.


The loss of textile mills brought the Augusta Canal's commercial viability to an end. But today the canal is an important National Heritage Area, one of only 18 in the nation. Visitors may climb aboard one of the Petersburg tour boats to savor a leisurely glide past historic sties and perhaps to spot one of the many species of fowl and other wildlife that securely abide along its banks.


The Savannah River plays another important role in Augusta's contemporary life. Skirting its banks, Riverwalk links several of the city's cultural institutions while providing an impetus for the renovation of the downtown commercial district.


Augusta's cultural life is rich. Local musical giants include both James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, and Jessye Norman, opera diva. Augusta offers its residents an opera company, a symphony and live theater. Most performances take place at the restored vintage Imperial Theatre. Now de-sanctified and converted to use as a cultural center, the splendid Neo-Romanesque Roman Catholic Sacred Heart Church is a major element in Augusta's cultural life, and serves as performance space for the Choral Society.


Focussed on art either produced in the South or produced by artists associated with this region, The Morris Museum of Art is one of the city's--and the South's-- crown jewels. The Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art, which occupies the historic (1818) Nicholas Ware House, offers classes and nurtures the local artistic community. Broad Street's studio galleries, chiefly between 10th and 13th streets, give the city's many local artists numerous outlets for selling their work. Called "Artists' Row," this stretch of Downtown Augusta also houses antique galleries.


Cost of living adds to the quality of life in Augusta. In 2000, the median home price was just $80,000, while nationally the figure was $111,800. Housing quality is good, too, with much of it constructed since 1980.


Today's residents find Augusta a superior setting for its excellent quality of life. Just two and a half hours east of Atlanta, it's also located a mere two hours from the beach and just two hours from the North Georgia Mountains. But its excellent restaurants and good shopping provide reason enough to stay home for both those purposes.