Augusta is Georgia's second oldest city and was founded in 1736 along the banks of the Savannah River as an Indian trading post by Georgia's founder, General James Edward Oglethorpe. The city was named in honor of the new bride of Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales and son of George II, King of England.<br>Augusta served as a colonial military outpost, the center of Georgia's eighteenth century tobacco trade, and a Revolutionary War battle site. Former twice Georgia Governor and the youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence George Walton predicted that Augusta would become "the mart of the whole country above it" when the war was over. He was right. The town tripled in size. Great things were done here. The Constitution of the United States was ratified and a new constitution for Georgia was drawn up here. Augusta was the capital of Georgia from 1785 until 1795. <br> Henry H. Cummings organized and carried out the construction of the Augusta canal. When it was finished in 1847, it conveyed water from above the rapids down to Thirteenth Street. Because the canal was in Augusta and because the railroad crossed the river here, the Confederate States of America chose Augusta as the location for its powder factory. <br> In 1886, the Cotton Exchange Building was built and served as the headquarters for the members of the Augusta Cotton Exchange, a market for buying and selling cotton that stretched across the globe. In fact, at the height of the cotton boom, Augusta was second only to Memphis in the volume of inland cotton trade. <br> Augusta also became a winter resort in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Large hotels, such as the Partridge Inn and the Bon Air, attracted wealthy northern visitors like John D. Rockefeller for extended stays on the "Hill", also known as Summerville. Golf Architect Bobby Jones played his best golf at several courses on the "Hill." He liked the climate and scenery so much, he built his dream course on the Berckmans Nursery tract, today known as the famous Augusta National Golf Club. In 1934, his Masters Tournament began. <br> In 1986 Augusta celebrated its Semiquincentenary, 250 years of growth and prosperity. <br> About Augusta <br> Augusta is located along the Georgia-South Carolina border, formed by the Savannah River. The area lies about halfway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Appalachian Mountains. The city of Augusta lies within Richmond County, and the two were consolidated in 1996 to form one government. The metropolitan area spills over into Columbia County, which lies upriver to the northwest. Across the river is Aiken County, South Carolina. North Augusta, SC is just across the river via several bridges. The City of Aiken is about 12 miles away. Several other Georgia and South Carolina counties combine with Richmond, Columbia, and Aiken Counties to form the Central Savannah River Area, commonly referred to as the CSRA. <br> The CSRA is rich in industry. It is the home of EZ GO and Club Car, the two largest makers of golf carts in the world. Kimberly Clark, Amoco, Sweetheart Cups, Proctor & Gamble, Federal Paperboard, Columbia Nitrogen, and other major manufacturers have facilities here. Graniteville Company, part of Avondale Mills, is one of the worlds largest suppliers of denim and other heavy fabics. Bridgestone/Firestone has just built the world's most technologically advanced tire factory in Graniteville, and will soon be producing over 20,000 tires per day. And of course, the Savannah River Site, located in Aiken and Barnwell Counties, is a major Department of Energy facility.