City founder James Oglethorpe named the city in honor of Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha (1719-1772), the wife of Frederick, Prince of Wales. She never became queen consort as Frederick died while his father was still on the throne, but her eldest son succeeded her father-in-law as King George III in 1760.

In the sporting world, Augusta is best known for hosting The Masters golf tournament each spring. The Masters brings over 200,000 visitors from around the world to the Augusta National Golf Club, and membership at Augusta National is widely considered to be the most exclusive in the sport of golf around the world.

Augustans have long been proud to point out that George Walton and Lyman Hall--two of the three Georgia signers of the Declaration of Independence--are buried in the city beneath Signers Monument in the middle of Greene Street. The monument's designers had hoped to rebury the third signer there as well, but it proved impossible to locate Button Gwinnett's bones as he had been killed during a duel in 1777 and was buried in an unmarked grave.

In 1735, two years after James Oglethorpe founded the city of Savannah, he sent a detachment of troops to explore the upper Savannah River and ordered them to build a fort. The expedition, led by Noble Jones, established Augusta as a first line of defense against potential Spanish or French invasion.

James Brown--also known as the "Godfather of Soul", "Mr. Dynamite", and "Soul Brother No. 1"--moved to Augusta when he was four or five. His mother eventually left the family to escape an abusive marriage, and Brown spent much of his youth on the streets of Augusta, hustling to get by. His first public performance was in a talent show at Augusta's Lenox Theater in 1944, which he won after singing the ballad "So Long".

The city's motto is "We Feel Good," in honor of Augusta resident James Brown's highest-charting song "I Got You (I Feel Good)", which showcases Brown exulting in how good he feels ("nice, like sugar and spice") now that he has the one he loves.

Augusta was the second state capital of Georgia from 1785 until 1795 (alternating for a period with Savannah, the first).

The Medical College of Georgia was founded in 1828 as the Medical Academy of Georgia. It is the oldest medical school in Georgia and the 13th oldest in the nation. Over the years, many advances have been made by MCG faculty, including the first hysterectomy performed in the United States and the first documented case of sickle cell disease.

Some cities are famous for their haunted houses, but one of the most haunted locations in Augusta is actually a pillar. The ten-foot tall brick pillar is the last remaining piece of a farmer's market located in downtown Augusta in the 1800s. According to local legend, the pillar was cursed by a street preacher after he was forbidden to preach outside the market. He was so angry that he swore the market would be raised to the ground leaving only a single pillar. Sure enough, just a few weeks later a tornado ripped through Augusta and destroyed the market--all except for one single column!

Ty Cobb, also known as "The Georgia Peach," began his career with the Augusta Tourists in 1904. He is known as the best player of the dead-ball era (before 1920), and still holds career records for stealing home (54 times) and as the youngest player ever to compile 4,000 hits and score 2,000 runs.