June lunchtime lecture on historic black cemetery - Cedar Grove

As part of its continuing Brown Bag History Series, the Museum will present Cedar Grove Cemetery, a lecture given by Mr. Arthur Holmes on Wednesday, June 3, 2009 at 12:30 p.m.

A historic black cemetery located in downtown Augusta, Cedar Grove was constructed in 1820, when the City of Augusta allotted 40 acres of land for slaves to be laid to rest. These simple, unmarked graves now rest beside some of Augusta’s most prominent black business owners and educators, including R.A. Dent, the first black from Augusta elected to the Legislature, Rev. W. P. Russell who opened the Free African School at Ellis and Ninth Streets in 1865, and Mrs. Amanda Dickson Toomer, the richest black woman in the United STates, following the death of her father, and plantation owner, David Dickson.

Mr. Arthur (Audie) Holmes is an Assistant Professor of History at Paine College, where he teaches history and geography in the Division of Social Sciences. Holmes also taught for Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice for a number of years. During his lecture, he will speak of how the cemetery was first constructed and designated for slaves (free and unfree alike) by the City and some of the famous and not-so-famous individuals buried at Cedar Grove.

The Brown Bag History Series is an educational lecture series provided monthly by the Augusta Museum of History, and is an ideal lunch-time break for downtown professionals, retirees, and students. The lectures are free to Museum members and $3 for non-members. Participants should bring a lunch and the Museum provides beverages and dessert. Refreshments are served beginning at 11:30 a.m.; the lecture runs from 12:30 – 1:00 p.m.

Museum digs up the past with annual Archeology Day

In recognition of Georgia Archeology Month, the Augusta Museum of History and the Augusta Archeological Society will present Archeology Day on Saturday, May 23, 2009 from 10 am - 4 pm at the 1797 Ezekiel Harris House. Archaeologists will be on hand to identify and classify prehistoric and historic artifacts and artifact collections; Paleo-Indian and Dalton period projectile points will be formally recorded; and artifacts from local historic sites will be on
display, including artifacts from the Ezekiel Harris House. Children will enjoy flint knapping and primitive weapon demonstrations and all visitors will have the opportunity to take a guided tour of the 1797 Ezekiel Harris House.

Admission for this 1797 Ezekiel Harris House event is FREE. The 1797 Ezekiel Harris House is located at 1822 Broad Street in the Harrisburg neighborhood. In case of rain, Archaeology Day will be held at the Augusta Museum of History.

Museum to host lecture on anniversary of 1970 Augusta Riots

Thirty-nine years ago, the residents of Augusta, Georgia experienced three days of race riots that shocked the region, state, and nation as a whole. With the national eye on the city of Augusta, what started as a peaceful protest of the killing of 16 year old black teenager, Charles Oatman, in the Richmond County jail surged to a 700-person riot in Augusta neighborhoods fully populated by black residents.

Nearly four decades later, the Augusta Museum of History is pleased to present a lecture, Augusta is Burning given by Mr. William R. (Bill) Coleman, Jr. , on the thirty-ninth anniversary of the Augusta Riots, Monday, May 11, 2009, 6:30 pm at the Museum. Mr. Coleman will cover certain conditions and attitudes that existed in the nation, the state, and the local community at the time to have made such a riot possible.

The catalyst for the May riot was an approved march on Augusta's city hall to protest the killing of Oatman, a mentally-disabled teenager, in the county jail on May 9, 1970. Oatman had been beaten to death in his cell two days before, and authorities charged his two black cellmates with murder. Black residents held police responsible for the killing. But what was intended to be a peaceful rally on May 11, 1970, turned ugly as the crowd of 300 demonstrators descended upon the marble-faced county building in downtown Augusta. They ripped the Georgia state flag from its standard and burned it. Then they marched the two blocks to Broad Street, the city's main shopping district, and began surging in and out of stores, jostling counters and picking up merchandise. Until the crowd reached the downtown black neighborhoods, amassed to 700 and were completely out of control.

Mr. William Coleman presents a unique perspective on the race riots that erupted in Augusta, Georgia on May 11, 1970. His talk will include actual news film footage of the riots and he will explain the role he played as an attorney representing some of those arrested for their participation in the riots. As a young lawyer at the time, Coleman was appointed by the Chief Superior Court Judge to represent the persons arrested for the riots who wished to have a lawyer. In addition, the Honorable Grady Abrams, a city councilman at the time will be attending and taking part in the discussion.

“As a young lawyer at the time, it was both scary and a privilege to be part of this remarkable time in Augusta’s history. I look forward to this opportunity to share my point of view and role during these events”, commented Mr. Coleman.

Augusta is Burning will be held in the Museum Theater of the Augusta Museum of History and is free of charge to the general public. Galleries will be closed during the lecture.

Springtime at the 1797 Ezekiel Harris House

Amid the hustle and bustle of Broad Street in downtown Augusta, it's hard to imagine the 1797 Ezekiel Harris house as it originally was, an isolated house in the country along a dirt road. Ezekiel Harris bought two lots of the White House Tract in 1794. Among those 323 ½ acres, he built what has come to be “the finest eighteenth-century house surviving in Georgia...", according to The Smithsonian Guide to Historic America. Over the years, the land was sold bit by bit as it passed from the hands of one family to another, resulting in the neighborhood of Harrisburg. But as you walk through the dogwoods and roses in bloom and see the apples starting grow, it is a little easier to remember the beauty of nature the Harris family would have been surrounded by.

AMH Education Manager, Heather Sellers captured a few springtime shots of the grounds of the 1797 Ezekiel Harris House. Take a look at the beauty of springtime in Augusta.

Artifact of the Day - Surveyor's Compass and Chain

Augusta, Georgia's second oldest city, was founded in 1736 on the western bank of the Savannah River. General James Edward Oglethorpe, the colony’s founder, ordered the settlement and chose its location at the head of navigation of the Savannah River below the shoals created by the fall line.

Oglethorpe’s vision was to establish an interior trading post for purchasing furs and other commodities from Native Americans to compete with New Savannah Town, a small outpost on the South Carolina side of the river. Augusta thrived as a trading post from the beginning, with several of the South Carolina traders moving their base of operations to the new settlement. By 1739 a fort was completed (Fort Augusta), and the official surveyor of the colony, Noble Jones, laid out the town. Noble Jones' colonial plan of Augusta was similar to that of Savannah, but not quite as elaborate.

Jones' plan of the "Old Augusta Town" included one large square or plaza, was four streets deep and three streets wide. Fort Augusta was adjacent to the 40 town lots on the west side near the river. Augusta named two of its original streets for Georgia’s colonial governors: Reynolds Street for John Reynolds, and Ellis Street for Henry Ellis. These streets are still prominent features of the Downtown Augusta and Piched Gut (now Olde Town) historic districts.

Here is Noble Jone's original town plan for Augusta:

Above are two artifacts on display in Augusta's Story - a Surveyor's Compass and Surveyor's Chain. Noble Jones would have used similar equipment to lay out the town of Augusta in 1739. The Surveyor's chain was used to measure distances during land surveys, and is made of bent metal, hooked together much like a crude metal fence. The Surveyor's Compass was used to determine exact location. This finely made compass includes levels, mounting hardware, and a wooden travel case.

Check them out and learn more about the founding of Augusta on your next visit to the Augusta Museum of History.

Have you wordled???

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Image courtesy of http://www.wordle.net

Our Family Fun Day series continues with Botanicals of the South Family Fun Day this Saturday (April 4th) from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Families are invited to glimpse the Natural South, learn of William Bartram and how he recorded species of plants, flowers, and trees, discover Baron Von Reck’s voyages through Georgia, and create their own leaf rubbings to take home.

The film, The Curious Mr. Catesby, will be on view in the History Theater. The documentary explores the life and works of Mark Catesby, who as an explorer, was the first to conduct a critical study of the lush and varied habitat of North America, particularly the southeast colonies and the environs of the Lowcountry and Piedmont areas. His meticulous paintings and etchings of birds and plants captured the diverse natural beauty of colonial America 100 years before Audubon.

Family Fun Days are FREE with regular Museum admission: $4 for Adults, $3 for Seniors, $2 for Children, and free for members and children under age 5. It will be a great day for any of your Masters guests with children arriving in town early for the tournament, or if you just want to escape the hustle and bustle of a busy weekend!

For more information about Botanicals of the South Family Fun Day or additional family programming, contact the Museum at (706) 722-8454.