Augusta Area

THE BEST OF ALL WORLDS
Augusta
http://www.augustaga.gov
Augusta, Ga. is the ideal city for you to live and work! Although a half-million people call Georgia's second largest city home, you'll be pleasantly surprised by the small town feel this city exudes. We revel in our lack of traffic jams and the convenience of being within a short drive of anywhere in the metro area. At the same time, we also enjoy a plethora of first class amenities, including fine dining, professional sporting events, shopping at great stores and unique specialty shops and attending first rate cultural events and concerts. One of the most prestigious events in all of sports is the Masters Tournament, a tradition we have shared with the world since its inception in the 1930s. In a beautiful city at a beautiful time of year, a golf course of stunning perfection hides its toughness behind a serene facade of manicured botanical beauty. Once you walk the hallowed grounds of the Augusta National, you'll begin to understand what the allure and mystique of this fabled tournament is all about. But if artistry of the non-golf variety is what you long for, get ready. Augusta's growing arts community includes its well known ballet, opera, symphony and theater companies, touring Broadway productions that make stopovers in the Garden City and other annual events on Augusta's very busy cultural calendar.

Speaking of the calendar, it's very kind to Augusta in terms of climate. We don't have months of brutal cold—you can play golf in January in short sleeves. Thanks to Augusta's hot summers and great location, digging your toes into the sand of an Atlantic beach can be a quick and relaxing three-hour trip. Taking advantage of the area's mild climate for such recreation is easy for Augusta residents because their dollars go further here than they do elsewhere. Over the past decade, Augusta has been among the most affordable markets in the nation on overall cost of living indexes. Added to those quality of life factors, metro Augusta also has one of the largest and most skilled medical communities in the entire Southeast. Georgia's first heart transplant operation was performed in Augusta and the medical community continues to be on the leading edge of both transplant and research. The area also hosts one of the most highly regarded burn treatment centers in the Southeast and a new state-of-the-art children's hospital. The majority of Augusta's thousands of health care professionals are home grown. Georgia Health Sciences University (GHSU) formerly known as, and now home of the, Medical College of Georgia (MCG), is a public academic health center, with its main campus located in the Medical District of Augusta, Ga. It is the smallest of four research universities in the University System of Georgia (USG). In addition to the MCG Health Medical Center and the MCG Health Children's Medical Center GHSU currently has five undergraduate and graduate colleges the on main campus: The Medical College of Georgia, College of Dental Medicine, College of Nursing, College of Allied Health Sciences, and College of Graduate Studies. Each year, thousands of doctors, dentists, nurses, therapists, researchers and other health care professionals are trained. A student could go from preschool to PhD in metro Augusta's educational institutions and emerge with an education unrivaled anywhere. It is easy to see that Augusta, Ga., with its beauty and charm and its medical, cultural, educational and recreational opportunities, is indeed the best place to live and work! (Courtesy of Augusta Magazine).

North Augusta,
South Carolina
http://www.northaugusta.net
The City of North Augusta, S.C. is strategically centered in the Augusta-Aiken metropolitan area and conveniently located along the South Carolina banks of the Savannah River. North Augusta offers the best of both worlds—an idyllic small-town lifestyle amid all the benefits of big city living. In short, ours is an unparalleled quality of life! North Augusta residents enjoy an abundance of wholesome recreational and cultural activities, quaint neighborhoods, superior health care services, exceptional employment opportunities and numerous shopping and dining experiences. Among these are a large medical community, a strong military base, a U.S. Department of Energy facility and a number of Fortune 500 manufacturing and technology companies. Public education standings are among the highest in the state and higher education opportunities abound with a medical college, two technical colleges, a liberal arts college and two universities all just minutes away.

North Augusta celebrates a long and rich history. Breathtaking antebellum mansions and beautiful Victorian creations are eloquent reminders of the past. These historic treasures gracefully coexist with picturesque, well-manicured homes in friendly, affordable neighborhoods. Many of North Augusta's recent residential developments include beautiful new communities on the Savannah riverfront.

North Augusta is big on recreation. The city currently maintains 14 park and open space areas with facilities ranging from simple playgrounds and picnic spots to beautiful settings for quiet reflection. One such area, Wade Hampton Veterans Park, designed to mimic the Stars and Stripes of the American Flag, is dedicated to the honor and memory of the veterans of every war since the Revolution. Creighton Living History Park is a beautiful, natural setting for a host of community events, from free concerts to historical re-enactments.

The City's Riverview Park, the flagship of the city's extensive park system, features 149 acres with athletic fields, tennis courts, an 18-hole discgolf course, playgrounds, trails and campsites. Soccer, softball, baseball, football, basketball, volleyball and cheerleading are just a few of the year-round recreational opportunities available for the sports enthusiast.

The Riverview Park Activities Center offers locals a state-of-the-art recreation facility complete with four gymnasiums, two racquetball courts, weight room, game rooms and meeting rooms. The center also features a suspended indoor walking and jogging track and is the site of numerous sporting events and competitions, exercise classes and group meetings. Membership is open to out of state residents at a nominal daily or annual fee.

One of North Augusta's most popular recreational facilities is the Greeneway, a multi-purpose, 7+ miles of trail created out of an abandoned railroad right of way. Grab your roller blades, your bike or your running shoes and enjoy meandering through the natural terrain of the community and along the city's waterfront. In the future, the Greeneway will connect with planned citywide bicycle paths.

Try your hand at one of the city's newest private developments, The River Club Golf Course, designed by internationally acclaimed course architect Jim Fazio. Set along the banks of the Savannah River, the River Golf Club offers a unique setting, which includes large bent grass greens, numerous lakes, wetlands and dramatic bunkers. The River Golf Course is open to the public, offers five sets of tees, a challenging but fair layout and all the amenities to ensure a memorable golfing experience.

Virtually every weekend, horse lovers from all over the Southeast gather at the North Augusta Hippodrome for equestrian shows, barrel racing, cow roping and more. The Hippodrome serves as home base for the competitors in Augusta's annual National Barrel Horse Association National Championships and offers both an open-air and closed arena as well as stables to accommodate event participants.

The City of North Augusta and other community based organizations are host each year to numerous free, fun and family oriented festivals and events sure to entertain! Call the North Augusta Chamber of Commerce for more details, (803) 279-2323.

North Augusta has big plans for its future. From its role as a leading trading post in the 1700s, as a terminus of the Charleston-Hamburg railway of the 1800s, and as a resort for America's elite in the 1900s, North Augusta has seen the Savannah River transformed from a working river to a pleasure river. Re-integrating the river into community life has been a priority of North Augusta planners and developers for some time.

The River Club Golf Course, completed in 1998, is the first of many private redevelopment projects planned for the City's riverfront. A waterfront park, marinas, hotel and conference center and traditional neighborhoods are exciting developments that focus, once again, on the natural beauty of the river. With its natural beauty, incredible recreational advantages, location within a major metropolitan area, affordable housing and excellent employment opportunities, North Augusta has unlimited potential. Come for a visit or visit for a lifetime...you'll feel at home from the first hello! History of Fort Gordon http://www.signal.army.mil/ocos/rdiv/ HISTARCH/schist.asp Camp Gordon, named for Confederate Lieutenant General John Brown Gordon, was activated for infantry and armor training during World War II. During the war, its 55,000 acres served as a divisional training base for the 4th and 26th Infantry Divisions and the 10th Armored Division that fought in Europe in General George S. Patton's Third Army. (The inactivated 10th Armored Division still calls Fort Gordon home.) After World War II, more than 85,000 officers and enlisted personnel were discharged from Camp Gordon's Army Personnel Center. Other facilities included a U.S. Disciplinary Barracks and, beginning in 1943, a prisoner of war camp for German and Italian World War II captives. Camp Gordon, almost deserted after June 1948, came to life in September 1948 with the establishment of the Signal Corps Training Center. The post's training mission grew with the addition of the Military Police School in September 1948 and the activation of the Engineer Aviation Unit Training Center in January 1949 (the latter remained at Camp Gordon for only one year). The Korean conflict again placed Camp Gordon center stage in preparing Soldiers for combat. In addition to communications personnel at the Signal Training Center's Signal Corps Replacement Training Center and Signal Unit Training Group, MPs trained for combat assignments while the 51st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Brigade formed three detachments before moving to Camp Stewart, Ga. In 1950, the installation became the site for Military Government Training for the Army. Also during the decade, Camp Gordon was home to the only Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory in the continental United States as well as a Rehabilitation Training Center and a U.S. Disciplinary Barracks. In 1953, the Basic Replacement Training Center and the Advanced Leader's School provided basic training and advanced leadership training (both were inactivated in 1955). The Civil Affairs School arrived in 1955 as part of the Civil Affairs and Military Government School. Camp Gordon, becoming a permanent Army installation on March 21, 1956, was redesignated Fort Gordon. The U.S. Army Training Center (Basic) was activated here in 1957. During the Vietnam War, infantry, military police and signal Soldiers trained at Fort Gordon. While Signal Corps training continued to expand throughout the 1960s, other activities ceased through postwar deactivations and the Military Police School's move to Fort McClellan, Ala. In June 1962, all activities of the Signal Corps Training Center were reorganized under the U.S. Army Southeastern Signal School. Designating the installation the U.S. Army Signal Center and Fort Gordon, the Army consolidated all communications training at Fort Gordon on Oct. 1, 1974. The arrival of the Army's Computer Science School was only part of the impetus for the fort's tremendous growth during the 1980s. The following decade found its Mobilization Command deploying numerous troops to Southwest Asia during Operation Desert Shield-Desert Storm (1990-1991). Fort Gordon figures prominently in the post-Cold War national defense. Still the "Home of the Signal Regiment," it also supports the 35th Signal Brigade, 513th Military Intelligence Brigade, the National Security Agency/Central Security Service Georgia and the 7th Signal Command (Theater).