Augusta, Georgia's Top Tours: A History Buff's Paradise

Although it's known for golf and the world-famous Master's Golf Tournament, there's so much more to do when you're visiting Georgia's second-oldest and second-largest city. Established in 1736, Augusta, Georgia, was initially utilized as a colonial trading post. Although it's come a long way since then, the city is still steeped in history. It served significant roles in the Revolutionary and Civil wars. If you're a history buff, when visiting Augusta, there are several tours that you should enjoy during your stay.

The Augusta Canal Interpretive Center and Petersburg Boat Tour will give you a great tour of the nation's only industrial power canal still in use for its original purposes. Built in 1845, the Augusta Canal is still an integral part of the community. During this 90-minute tour, you'll take a leisure boat ride down the canal on replica Petersburg boats and learn all about the rich history of the canal from its early trading days until the present.

Next, be sure to take the driving tour of historic Augusta where you'll learn all about the history of the elite of Augusta and how they lived. During this two hour tour you'll drive through the historic district of Summerville also known to the locals as "The Hill." This area began as a summer resort for wealthy Augustans who sought refuge from the heat and mosquitoes near the Savannah River. By the late 1800s Augusta's claim as a resort city attracted wealthy northerners who flocked to Summerville to build grand mansions that served as winter homes. You'll ride by tons of beautiful grand homes with revival styles of architecture including Greek, Gothic, Italianate, Spanish and Colonial to name a few.

Then you'll want to continue your learning experience by taking Augusta's Black Heritage Tour. While on this historic two hour driving tour, you'll see the Laney-Walker historic district, home to one of America's first black-owned banks and life insurance companies. Additionally, you'll get the opportunity to tour historic Springfield Baptist Church. Springfield Baptist Church is the oldest independently formed black Christian church in the United States still holding services on its original site. At this site, although eventually moved to Atlanta, Morehouse College was founded as well as the Georgia Equal Rights Association.

In addition to the driving tours, you'll also want to take a look at some of the great museums and cultural centers Augusta hosts. Some which come to mind are the Morris Museum of Art and the Augusta Museum of history. The Morris Museum of Art includes extraordinary permanent collections such as antebellum portraiture, landscape painting, still lifes, impressionist works and numerous other paintings. Another must see is the Sacred Heart Cultural Center, formerly a Catholic Church, which is a magnificent example of Romanesque Revival architecture featuring more than 15 patterns of exterior brickwork. Jewel-like stained glass windows imported from Germany and intricately carved marble grace the interior.

Additionally, there are several more historic sites to tour including former homes of many prominent, historic individuals such as world famous educator Lucy Craft Laney and the boyhood home of President Woodrow Wilson. As you can see, Augusta's a great place to visit rich in history and culture. Why not stop through?