Augusta Public Library Local History and Genealogy

A local resident, Barbara Harley Johnson, has graciously donated three Augusta Telephone Directories to the Georgia Room today. The directories are from 1942, 1943, and 1945. They are so interesting! On the 1943 Telephone Directory cover, there is a red banner telling people:

STOP! THINK! Is the call you’re about to make really necessary? If not, please don’t make it. Help Keep Lines and Central Offices Clear for War business

At the bottom of the front page:

ATENTION Please Do Not Make Telephone Calls During or Immediately After an Air Raid Alarm As It Is Essential That the Lines Be Kept Free for Use by the Defense Authorities. If Your Telephone Rings, However, Answer It Promptly.

This little piece of Augusta history shows the sacrifices and concerns that Augustans shared with the nation during World War II. Thank you very much Mrs. Johnson for your gift to the Georgia Heritage Room and future local history buffs.

Aspasia Luster and Dottie Demarest

On January 19, 1861, Georgia suceeded from the union and was an independent state for a few weeks. During that time, Captain Arnold Elzey, the commanding officer of the United States Arsenal in Summerville, surrendered it to Governor Joseph E. Brown. The details were worked out on January 24th and the Arsenal was duly surrendered. 

The Augusta Volunteer Battalion was supposed to be reviewed by the governor and hold a parade on the 24th but it rained so heavily the parade was called off. Undeterred by the terrible weather, several militia groups marched to the Planter’s Hotel where the governor was staying and he spoke briefly to them from a balcony according to the Daily Chronicle & Sentinel.

The Augusta Volunteer Battalion, led by Captain Alfred Cumming, guarded the Arsenal while it was in state hands. According to the newspaper, there were “friendly relations” between the volunteers and the Federal troops while they were both occupying the Arsenal together.  Captain Elzey led the Federal troops out of the city on January 29th. It was reported in the newspaper that Captain Elzey resigned his commision in the United States Army after reporting to his new post at Fort Monroe and rose to the rank of general in the Confederate Army.

Tonia Owens and Russell Liner from the Information Desk of the Augusta-Richmond Public Library, suggested to Travis Hollaway that the church in the painting “Old Town Augusta” by Herbert Day might be Saint Paul Baptist Church and that seems to be the correct answer. Way to go Tonia, Russell and Travis!

Erik Montgomery, the Executive Director of Historic Augusta, put it all together for Mr. Clarke, the painting’s owner, and took the picture of the church as it is today. Here is part of his email:

The painting depicts the intersection of East Boundary and Telfair Streets.  The church in the painting is Saint Paul Baptist Church, a congregation that was founded in 1921 and that built the depicted building in 1926.  (Its original building was three doors down at the corner of East Boundary and Telfair in a converted house).  

The addresses of the buildings in the painting, from left to right, are as follows:

On the north side of Telfair Street…

7 Telfair Street – the shotgun house, demolished about 1953.

9 Telfair Street – the saddlebag house [with the center chimney], demolished about 1953.

11 Telfair Street – Saint Paul Baptist Church, still standing, but brick veneered after 1939 and before 1951.  The two entries in the corner towers have been converted into windows, and one central doorway now replaces the central window.

13 Telfair Street – the double-pen house with two chimneys, still standing 

Across Telfair on the south side, only one house is visible in the painting…

2 Telfair Street – the house with the gable-end chimney.

This was such a fun project! Thank you, Erik, for allowing us all to use our sleuthing abilities and thank you everyone who worked on it.