Img 0451

1920s

[Train Whistle] The Roaring 1920s brought prosperity to cities across the nation. A changed national attitude combined with more wealth and disposable income, resulted in a period of hype, hoopla, and speculation. To capitalize off of the nation’s prosperity Augusta promoted its many assets, intent on becoming the nation’s winter resort capital. The new Bon Air, Vanderbilt, and Forrest Hills Ricker Hotels joined with the Partridge Inn in providing all the necessary accommodations and amenities for winter residents. New residential developments included Lake Mont and Forrest Hills. Spectator sports included professional baseball, boxing, and golf. Tennis, rowing, and equestrian activities were popular pastimes. In 1930, Atlanta native Robert ‘Bobby’ Jones, and avid amateur golfer and winner of golf’s Grand Slam, desired to build a golf course that reflected his ideas on design. Jones and his friend Clifford Roberts, selected Augusta for the land and climate, eventually settling on the historic Fruitland Nursery property. The land was purchased in 1931 for $70,000. The Augusta National Golf Course embodied Jones’ ideals for his perfect course. Playing the course required strategy and skill, natural beauty was preserved whenever possible, natural hazards were utilized, and a minimum of artificiality was introduced. The inaugural Augusta National Invitation Tournament was held in 1934; its name was changed to the Master’s in 1939. [Train Whistle]

Augusta's Story
  1. Paleo-Indians
  2. Stallings Island
  3. The Age of Exploration: The DeSoto Exhibition; 1540
  4. Early Colonial Period; 1685 – 1736
  5. Late Colonial Period
  6. The American Revolution, 1776 - 1783
  7. Antebellum Society
  8. Dave: Enslaved Potter and Poet
  9. Cotton
  10. Civil War; 1861 - 1865
  11. Reconstruction
  12. The Golden Blocks
  13. The Augusta Canal and the Cotton Industry
  14. Petersburg Boat
  15. Industrial History
  16. Mill Life
  17. World War I
  18. The Great Fire of 1916
  19. 1920s
  20. World War II
  21. Savannah River Site
  22. Integrating Augusta
  23. The Augusta Riot
  24. 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s in Augusta
  25. Augusta and the Late 20th Century to Today
  26. Thank you to our partners