Picturing Augusta

Maybe it’s the heat this summer, but I can’t seem to get my mind out of the South. So, further exploring the theme of Southern culture, I’ll share a recent find called City of Dust. This blog showcases photographs and stories primarily of Augusta, Georgia—where I spent most of the hot summers of my childhood. Quoting the author:

Augusta is the second largest city in Georgia, but you wouldn’t know it by driving through downtown. The city center, although attempts at revitalization are underway, is largely vacant, the victim of suburbanization and the desire of most folks to shop in safe, pleasant malls. The city is old, worn-out, run-down, and oft-maligned. But, you know, the town has got soul.

One of my favorite Augusta stories is of the Haunted Pillar (above):

In 1829 a visiting preacher was said to have been mocked and scorned by Augusta’s citizens. He swore a curse on the city, predicting that only one pillar of its market would stand and, as if that wasn’t enough, even the pillar would be cursed. On February 8, 1878 a cyclone destroyed the entirety of the lower market and all that remained was one pillar, which was moved to its present location at Broad and 5th shortly afterwards. That’s almost fifty years after the original curse, so either the preacher was patient or believed that revenge is a dish best served cold. Be that as it may, people that have touched the pillar are reported to have been variously struck by lightning, felled by heartattacks, and killed in car crashes within minutes.

No word on whether City of Dust has seen any ill effects from photographing the pillar, but I don’t mind telling you that I’ve never gotten up the nerve to touch it. Though the author has recently moved away from Augusta, his archives of his time there are well worth diving into, starting with his very first post, here.