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The 1783 session of the Georgia Legislature passed an
act moving the Capital to Augusta because it was nearer
the center of population. On February 22, 1785, the
General Assembly held its last meeting in Savannah and
Augusta officially became the second capital of Georgia.
Augusta was named for the Princess of Wales, wife of
Prince Frederick. Founded in 1735 by Oglethorpe's men,
Augusta was a fort and trading post. During Augusta's
decade as state capital several historic events
occurred. In 1785, lawmakers created the nation's first
state chartered institution of higher learning - the
University of Georgia. In 1788, Georgia became the
fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution.
In 1791, the nation's new president, George Washington,
visited Augusta.
The state's worst political scandal, the Yazoo Land
Fraud, took place in Augusta in 1795. At that time
Georgia stretched westward to the Mississippi River.
Land companies bribed members of the General Assembly to
pass a law which allowed the companies to buy 35 million
acres of Georgia's western lands extending to the Yazoo
River. This land, which today encompasses Mississippi
and Alabama, was sold for less than two cents per acre.
The companies then made large profits by selling the
land to the public. |
Augusta is located at 240km east of Atlanta. It is founded in
1735, Augusta is a thriving resort community and a mecca for
golfers the world over. It's the site of the Master's Golf
Tournament, played at the Augusta National Golf Club each April.
One of its more recent undertakings is the parklike Riverwalk on
the banks of the Savannah River. The riverfront, which had been
cut off from the city by a massive levy, was neglected for many
years. One of the more striking sights in town is the twin-spired
Sacred Heart Cultural Center. It used to be a Catholic Church,
having been opened by Jesuits in 1900, but it held its last mass
in 1971. It was restored in 1987 to its former beauty. |
