Books

Acts of the State of Georgia 1845. Columbus, Georgia, 1846.

Derry, J. T. Georgia: A Guide to its Cities, Towns, Scerny, and Resources. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1878. Includes one-page description of canal.

Corley, Florence Fleming. Confederate City, Augusta, Georgia, 1860-1865. Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina, 1960. Chapter on industries in Augusta during the Civil War, with emphasis on the Confederate Powder Works.

Coulter, Ellis Merton. Old Petersburg and the Broad River Valley of Georgia, Their Rise and Decline. Athens: University of Georgia, 1965, Describes Petersburg boat and its use on the Savannah River and Augusta Canal.

James, Thomas P. Handbook of the State of Georgia. Atlanta, 1876. Includes brief description of the canal.

Jones, Thomas P. A Manual of Georgia for the Use of Immigrants and Capitalists. N.d. Like James and Derry, a booster publication with brief description of the canal.

Jones, Charles C., and Dutcher, Salem. Memorial History of Augusta, Georgia. Syracuse, New York: D. Mason & Co., 1890. Though dated, contains the most often cited history of the canal. Also valuable for its verbatim reproduction of the canal ordinance and charter.

Hinton, Eugene H. A Historical Sketch of the Evolution of Trade and Transportation of Augusta, Georgia. Together with a Synopsis of the Rate Adjustments from the East. Atlanta: The Southeastern Freight Association, 1912. Easy-to-use reference for 19th century statistical information compiled from Department of Commerce publications.

Holly, Byron. The Enlarged Augusta Canal, Augusta, Georgia. New York: Corlies, Macy & Co., 1875. Ten-page pamphlet describing enlarged canal by the engineer.

Malone, Patrick M. The Lowell Canal System. Lowell Massachusetts: Lowell Museum, 1976. Synopsis of HAER study of Lowell.

Mayor’s Message and Official Reports of the Department of the City of Augusta with Report of Board of Health for the Year 1903. Augusta: Richards & Shaver, 1904. Called the Augusta Yearbook, this is an annual publication started at least by 1892 and continued to the present. Included in it is the report of the canal superintendent.

Myers, Robert Manson. The Children of Pride, A True Story of Georgia and the Civil War. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1972. Invaluable source for biographical information on 19th century Georgians.

Phillips, Ulrich B. American Negro Slavery. New York, 1918.

Phillips, William. Special Report of the Engineer of the Augusta Canal to the Board of Managers on the Matter in Controversy between the Augusta Canal Company and the Augusta Manufacturing Company. Augusta, 1856. Invaluable compilation of statistics about the function of the canal as supplier of waterpower. Contains extensive description and analysis of Augusta Mfg. Co.’s hydro-mechanical works.

The Topography and Hydrography in the Vicinity of Augusta, Georgia, and the History of the Currents of the Savannah River in Time of Freshets. Augusta: John M. Weigls & Co., 1892. Covers water drainage system of Augusta, which includes the canal.

Rowland, A. Ray. A Guide to the Study of Augusta and Richmond County, Georgia. Augusta: The Richmond County Historical Society, 1967. The road map for Augusta’s past.

Wade, John Donald. Augustus Baldwin Longstreet, A Study of the Development of Culture in the South. New York: Macmillan Co., 1924. Biography of a pre-Mark Twain provincial humorist who briefly resided in Augusta.

White, George. Statistics of the State of Georgia. Savannah: W. Thorne Williams, 1849. Contains a two-page history of the canal by William Phillips.

 

Unpublished Materials

"City Council Minutes," May 8, 1841, to May 24, 1845, and December 5, 1872, to December 21, 1875. Vault, Municipal Building, Augusta, Georgia. Primary source for actions of the City Council during canal construction. Annual Mayor’s report in December gives a review of previous year’s activities.

German, Richard Henry Lee. "The Queen City of the Savannah: Augusta, Georgia, During the Urban Progressive Era, 1890-1917." Ph.D. dissertation, University of Florida, 1971. Better on the Progressive Era than the post-Civil War era.

Griffin, Richard W. "The Augusta (Georgia) Manufacturing Company in Peace, War, and Reconstruction, 1847-1877." Business History Review 32 (Spring 1958): 60-71. Good business history, but contains little on technology.

Haltermann, Bryan M. "From Father to Son: Henry H. Cumming and Joseph B. Cumming of Augusta, Georgia." Unpublished manuscript in the possession of the author, Augusta, Georgia.

"Record of Reports and Other Matters Appertaining to the Augusta Canal." Vault, Municipal Building, Augusta, Georgia. These two Canal Record Books contain the detailed monthly engineer’s report, 1845-1859.

"Report on Augusta Canal Project, The City Engineering Department Job Number 69-037." October 1970. City Engineer’s Office, Municipal Building, Augusta, Georgia. Analysis of the feasibility of building a hydroelectric plant on the canal.

 

Newspapers

Daily Chronicle and Sentinel. Augusta, Georgia, 1845-1847, 1869-1875.

Chronicle and Constitutionalist. Augusta, Georgia. "Trade Issue," October 9, 1887.

Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper. Augusta 14, 1880.

Harpers Weekly. New York. February 26, 1887.