North Augusta, South Carolina

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

North Augusta is a city in Aiken County, South Carolina on the north bank of the Savannah River. North Augusta is a suburb of the city of Augusta, Georgia. The population was 17,574 at the 2000 census.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 External links

[edit] History

North Augusta is located on the fall line of the Savannah River, across from Augusta, Georgia. Three earlier towns have stood in the same general area. The English established a trading post known as Savannah Town over 300 years ago. This town was abandoned when Augusta, Georgia proved to be more prosperous and attractive to traders. Campbelltown was established as a trading point for tobacco and Indian traders over 200 years ago. Again, competition, sometimes violent opposition, from the Georgia side of the Savannah River, coupled with a recession in the tobacco market spelled the end of Campbelltown in the early 1800's.

With the explosion of the cotton economy, this area became an important market for the increasingly valuable produce of planters throughout upper Georgia and South Carolina. In 1821 the town of Hamburg was established by the mechanical genius and entrepreneur Henry Shultz in direct commercial competition with Augusta. In 1833 the South Carolina Railroad was established, further connecting the cotton collected at Hamburg to the seaport of Charleston. The 1848 construction of the Augusta Canal channeled produce from upriver away from Hamburg. The final blow came when a bridge linked the South Carolina Railroad to Augusta allowing traffic to bypass the doomed town of Hamburg. Henry Shultz died in poverty and reportedly is buried upright on the bluff overlooking Hamburg with his back to Augusta.

Avoiding the commercial pretensions of its predecessors, North Augusta was founded as a residential and resort town. Much of its development be traced back to the establishment of the Hampton Terrace Hotel, built in 1902 by James U. Jackson on a hill overlooking the city of Augusta. At the time, the hotel was one of the largest and most luxurious in the nation, and it served many of the travelers who visited Augusta in the early part of the century. By the time the hotel burned down on New Year's Eve 1916, North Augusta was a thriving suburb of the city and remains a major part of the Augusta metropolitan area today.

On April 21-23 2006, North Augusta celebrated its 100th anniversary.

[edit] Geography

Location of North Augusta, South Carolina

North Augusta is located at 33°30′47″N, 81°57′46″W (33.512935, -81.962640)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 45.5 km² (17.6 mi²). 44.5 km² (17.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.9 km² (0.4 mi²) of it (2.05%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 17,574 people, 7,330 households, and 4,764 families residing in the city. The population density was 394.5/km² (1,021.7/mi²). There were 7,923 housing units at an average density of 177.9/km² (460.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 77.65% White, 18.77% African American, 0.28% Native American, 1.18% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 1.01% from other races, and 1.05% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.41% of the population.

There were 7,330 households out of which 32.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.8% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.0% were non-families. 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.2% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 88.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $41,083, and the median income for a family was $53,172. Males had a median income of $40,565 versus $25,889 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,391. About 9.8% of families and 11.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.6% of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over.