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Augusta in Richmond County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)
 

Original Augusta Common - 1736

 
 
Original Augusta Common - 1736 Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Mike Stroud, 2013
1. Original Augusta Common - 1736 Marker
Inscription. Common - " ... a large void space which will be useful for a thousand purposes, and among the rest, as being airy and affording a fine prospect of the town in drawing near to it"
   —Sir Robert Montgomery, 1717


Providing a common area is a city planning idea that is nearly unique among the colonial towns of the thirteen colonies of America.
When General James Oglethorpe ordered the first land survey of Augusta he had future expansion in mind. He foresaw new arrivals of colonists and the general increase in population, and reserved a Common of 600 acres around the town. Until growth came, the common could be used for fortifications, as pasture for cattle, sheep, and goats, "for the convenience of Air," and "for the use of the future inhabitants."
The Augusta Common surrounded the forty lots of the original town and was bounded by the outlying 50-acre Township Lots. In present day geography, it extended from the Savannah River south to present day Laney-Walker Boulevard, east to Second Street and west to Eighth Street. It provided room for Augusta's expansion by rectangular blocks through the middle nineteenth century. Augusta's urban design form evolved over time, changing as the Common lands were subdivided and granted out, and as the rectilinear plan became
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cross-cut by canals, railroads and highways.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Colonial EraSettlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1717.
 
Location. 33° 28.608′ N, 81° 57.956′ W. Marker is in Augusta, Georgia, in Richmond County. Marker is on Reynolds Street near Burum Alley. Located in Augusta Commons. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Augusta GA 30901, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Colonial Augusta (within shouting distance of this marker); General James Edward Oglethorpe (within shouting distance of this marker); James Edward Oglethorpe (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Mayham Tower (about 400 feet away); Augusta Cotton Exchange (about 400 feet away); James Brown (Plaza) (about 500 feet away); A Memorial To Eli Whitney (about 500 feet away); The Great Fire of 1916 (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Augusta.
 
Original Augusta Common - 1736 Marker along the promenade, northwest corner of the Common image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Mike Stroud, 2013
2. Original Augusta Common - 1736 Marker along the promenade, northwest corner of the Common
Augusta Common entrance - Oglethorpe Monument in the far distance image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Mike Stroud, 2013
3. Augusta Common entrance - Oglethorpe Monument in the far distance
General Oglethorpe Monument, centerpiece of Augusta Common image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Mike Stroud, 2013
4. General Oglethorpe Monument, centerpiece of Augusta Common
Plan of Augusta -sidewalk pavers image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Mike Stroud, 2013
5. Plan of Augusta -sidewalk pavers
Oglethorpe Orders - To Noble Jones, You are to lay out a town... on the Savannah River to be called Augusta, to consist of forty house Lots each of an acre...
Savannah Georgia 14th June, 1736
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on April 14, 2013, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 847 times since then and 16 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on April 14, 2013, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.

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Mar. 19, 2024