Augusta Canal Industrial District

Augusta's canal runs nine miles along the Savannah River, carrying water from a lock and dam through downtown to power industry. Surveyed in 1844 and opened in 1846, it was built to give the city a new economic base as railroads reduced river trade. It was enlarged between 1872 and 1875, raising horsepower from 600 to 14,000. That expansion prompted large cotton mills on its banks: Enterprise, Sibley, John P. King and Blanche. Local investors organized them, importing machinery and managers from New England. The brick mills combine Italianate and Romanesque touches with practical features such as slow-burning outside stair towers, flat roofs and rows of windows for natural light. Sibley Mill stands on the site of the Confederate Powder Works, whose refinery chimney remains. The canal still supplies power and water, and most mills were operating when documented, while Blanche Mill had closed. The nominated district also covers the canal levees and the mill sites.