Introduction to Augusta

From its temperate climate to the year-round beauty of its parks and gardens, there's a lot to draw newcomers to Augusta - the Garden City.

Augusta is Georgia's second-largest city behind Atlanta, and it's the second-oldest city behind Savannah.

It was founded in 1736 by Gen. James Edward Oglethorpe and was named in honor of Princess Augusta, the wife of Fredrick, Prince of Wales. A $100,000 bronze-cast statue of Gen. Oglethorpe stands at the center of Augusta's newest urban park, Augusta Common, located in the 800 block of downtown's Broad Street.

With nearly half a million residents, the Augusta area has a variety of amenities, including a vibrant arts community and many fine restaurants.

And unlike other growing cities in the Southeast, the area has fewer of the traffic snarls that plague so many metropolitan areas.

In addition to the low cost of living and affordable housing, Augusta offers its residents a beautiful historic city with a diverse culture, active arts community and mild climate.

Augusta also has two professional sports teams: the Augusta Lynx of the East Coast Hockey League and the Augusta GreenJackets - a minor league (Single A) baseball team affiliated with the San Francisco Giants.

Augusta also is the proud host each spring to the Masters Tournament, one of golf's most prestigious events.

Augusta and the surrounding area boasts 21 private and 15 public golf courses.

Water recreation is also prominent. Several state parks dot the area, including Elijah Clark & Mistletoe state parks. Thurmond Lake is one of the largest man-made lakes east of the Mississippi River, with a 1,200-mile shoreline that is longer than the entire U.S. eastern seaboard.

Government, the health-care industry and manufacturers are the largest employers in Richmond County.

The U.S. Army's Fort Gordon military base has the most employees, with nearly 17,000 workers. More than 27,000 retiree family members from Fort Gordon call Augusta home.

Companies such as the Medical College of Georgia, University Hospital, Avondale Mills and E-Z-Go Textron employ the largest percentage of Augusta's work force, as do International Paper Co., Thermal Ceramics and the city and local school system.

Services, followed by retail trades, are the county's largest employment sectors, according to the Georgia Department of Labor.

The five-county area's work force stands at 201,400. Per capita income was $26,289 in 2002. The average unemployment rate during 2003 was 5 percent.

- From staff reports