Since its founding in 1736, the city of Augusta has been built with the sheer grit and determination of our forebearers combined with enthusiasm for innovation, from the steam engine and airplane technology, to computer chips almost too small to be seen by the naked eye.
In the early days, as Augusta transitioned from a trading outpost to an agrarian economy, local farmers wisely switched from tobacco cultivation to that of cotton.
In the 1840s, Augustans helped usher in the Industrial Revolution by building the Augusta Canal and adding textile manufacturing to its core economy. This led to Augusta being labeled the “Little Lowell of the South,” referring to the industrial might of the canal.
At least one Augustan, Emily Tubman, saw the terrible inequity of slavery, where people labored long throughout the day with virtually no compensation, save for enough food to keep them going. Tubman fought against the “peculiar institution” by freeing her slaves and paying for their passage to freedom in Liberia.
It is a testament to Tubman’s character that many of her former slaves chose to stay as paid laborers rather than take the trip across the Atlantic to Africa.
Rather than stagnate, Augustans were always looking for opportunities, leading to advances in aviation and medicine as well as weapons development that would go on to play a major role in the defeat of tyranny and Fascism.
From the soldiers who built and served at Fort Augusta to the pilots who guided the Petersburg boats along the Augusta canal to the workers who manned the looms at the textile mills to the men and women who serve at Fort Gordon, Augusta’s working class have been the backbone of the city. Today, we celebrate these men and women, and we wish them a hearty, safe and fun Labor Day.
