The Historic Heartland · One of Georgia's original counties
Richmond County, Georgia
The county hub for Augusta and its neighbors: the consolidated city-county government, the Riverwalk, the canal, Phinizy Swamp, and the communities of Richmond County, Georgia.
Richmond County is one of Georgia's original counties, created in 1777, and Augusta is its seat. Since 1996 the city and the county have been one government, which makes the county conversation and the city conversation the same one. The full Augusta guide carries the city side in depth.
The county in three facts
Richmond County, in plain terms
One government
Augusta and Richmond County consolidated in 1996 after a 1995 referendum. A mayor and ten commissioners run city and county services together; Blythe and Hephzibah stayed separate.
The river and the canal
The Savannah River runs the county’s eastern edge, and the 1845 Augusta Canal still carries water and history through the city from the headgates north of downtown.
The medical district
Augusta University, Piedmont Augusta, and Wellstar MCG Health anchor the region’s healthcare economy, with Fort Gordon on the county’s southwest side.
Communities
The places inside the county
Augusta
City guideThe county seat and the consolidated city-county government: the Riverwalk, the canal, the museums, the medical district, and the full CityGuideGA guide.
Open the Augusta guideBlythe
MunicipalityThe small city on the southern edge of the county, one of the two municipalities that stayed separate when Augusta and Richmond County consolidated.
Hephzibah
MunicipalityThe city south of Augusta, the other municipality that kept its own government through the 1995 consolidation.
The consolidated government
One city-county government since 1996
Augusta and Richmond County consolidated into a single city-county government, approved by a 1995 referendum and completed July 1, 1996. The mayor and ten commissioners, eight from districts and two at-large, run city and county services together. The municipalities of Blythe and Hephzibah were excluded and keep their own governments.
What that means day to day: one government for the county seat and the county, one set of services, and one ballot. The school question is still address-specific, through the Richmond County School System, and the exact address still decides the district and the zone.
The county's identity
The canal is the county's oldest working landmark, built in 1845 to power the mills that made Augusta an industrial city. Today its towpath trails and the Discovery Center at Enterprise Mill are the everyday outdoor answer.
Attractions and outdoor recreation
What draws people to the county
Augusta Riverwalk
Downtown Augusta, along the Savannah River
The brick promenade along the Savannah below the downtown bluffs, with fountains, gardens, the Jessye Norman Amphitheater, and the museums at its edges. Free and open daily.
Official sourceAugusta Canal National Heritage Area
Enterprise Mill, 1450 Greene Street, Augusta
The 1845 industrial canal with free towpath trails and the interactive Discovery Center at Enterprise Mill; Petersburg boat tours run seasonally, and every tour ticket includes Discovery Center admission.
Official sourcePhinizy Swamp Nature Park
1858 Lock and Dam Road, Augusta
Free boardwalks and trails through a 1,100-acre urban wetland with herons, otters, and alligators, open daily from dawn to dusk.
Official sourceMorris Museum of Art
1 10th Street, Augusta, on the Riverwalk
The museum devoted to the art and artists of the American South, with more than 6,000 works in its permanent collection.
Official sourceAugusta Museum of History
560 Reynolds Street, Augusta
The city history museum with the permanent James Brown: The Godfather of Soul exhibit and the railroad and banking galleries.
Official sourceSacred Heart Cultural Center
1301 Greene Street, Augusta
The 1897 former church on Greene Street, free to visit on weekdays, with 94 stained-glass windows and 15 styles of brickwork.
Official sourceBeyond the county line
The neighbors, labeled honestly
Augusta's daily geography crosses two states and three counties. Evans and Martinez are in Columbia County, Georgia; North Augusta is in Aiken County, South Carolina; and Aiken, Thomson, Waynesboro, and Harlem are the small cities on the roads out.
The full city index carries every covered Georgia city at its own address. Rob Dietrich, REALTOR® · Georgia Real Estate License #384162 · eXp Realty, LLC · Equal Housing Opportunity.