This is one of Augusta's most rewarding museums, a place that manages to tell a 12,000‑year story…read morewithout ever feeling overwhelming. The Augusta Museum of History is the city's oldest historical institution, founded in 1937 and now the only accredited museum in the Central Savannah River Area, which gives it a level of curatorial depth you can feel as you move from room to room. The museum's signature exhibition, Augusta's Story, begins with the region's earliest Indigenous cultures, including artifacts from the Stallings Island people, and then moves through the Colonial Era, the antebellum period, the Civil War, and the city's twentieth century reinventions. You see everything from slave‑made pottery to a 12‑pounder bronze Napoleon cannon tube and an 1869 steam fire engine tied to the devastating 1916 fire that reshaped parts of the city. It's a rare chance to see Augusta's full arc laid out in a way that feels comprehensive. The museum also excels at capturing the city's cultural identity. The James Brown gallery is a highlight, celebrating the life and global influence of the "Godfather of Soul" with photographs, stage pieces, and biographical context that show how deeply he shaped Augusta's modern identity. Several media options to watch him performing and to hear other leading figures discuss his influence. The golf and Masters Tournament section offers a thoughtful look at how the sport became intertwined with the city's reputation, and the medical history exhibit includes an impressive wall of antique medicine bottles that gives you a sense of how local healthcare evolved over generations. One of the most enjoyable parts of the visit is the Transportation Corridor, which brings Augusta's mobility story to life with a 1914 steam locomotive, a 1917 steam trolley, a reconstructed 1930s gas station, and a range of early vehicles. Walking through the restored streetcar and stepping into the rail car for photos adds a tactile, playful element that balances the more traditional exhibits. Upstairs, the museum's radio history exhibit traces the rise of WBBQ, one of Augusta's most influential stations, including a "then and now" section installed for its 60th anniversary. There are also exhibits on local law enforcement and firefighting, as well as a gallery of regional legends that highlights entertainers, athletes, writers, and other notable Augustans. The entire museum is comfortably explored in about two hours, which makes it an easy and rewarding stop whether you're spending a full day downtown or pairing it with the Morris Museum of Art or the Riverwalk. It's the kind of place that leaves you with a clearer sense of Augusta's character, from its earliest settlements to the voices and industries that shaped the city you see today. Don't miss it. [Review 203 of 2026 - 904 in Georgia - 25392 overall]

We were in town for the weekend and decided to pay this place a visit. The admission price was…read moreonly a dollar so you really can't go wrong with that price. The first floor has a pretty extensive history of the city and was very interesting. The second floor has about five other sections including golf, James Brown, medical, and locals.

Spent some time wandering in Aiken, SC yesterday. They were closed when I arrived, but I did take…read moresome memory pics. The outside is well maintained with beautiful flowers surrounding. Across the street is the little train depot, great place for photos and meet ups. They do have train that take visitors around to see some of the sites. Check the schedule online for more details. Seem to be a very cool interactive place for kids. I will update once I actually go inside. I recommend to start your tour here for inside tips from the locals.

Definitely worth visiting. I stopped here on a long lunch break while I was traveling to work in…read moreAiken. It's a great spot to bring the kids, whether it's a stop on the road to other adventures or your main destination.

Amazing trip with Capt. Mike on a beautiful afternoon. Great tour with great historical info…read more Teriffic and would highly recommend this! Perfect in every way!

This had to be the best day ever in the lake ever with Capt Tyler !! Experienced and made us…read morefeel so welcome !! Learned alot about Lake Murray ! Had so much fun with friends and family !! Laughed so much !! Ty Capt !! You Rock !!

The Savannah River Site is a nuclear facility which is closer to the river than Aiken, but as a…read moreDepartment of Energy site it's not somewhere you can just rock up to and look around. This small building in Aiken offers a window into its history. While it was really only a couple of rooms, a lot of information is stuffed in here. The history of how the site came to be used for generation of nuclear materials intersects with the Cold War, space travel, and environmental research. Because the site is federal, it had a very different approach to racial integration than the surrounding land, which is also striking. The museum is free and walkable from Aiken's notoriously charming downtown. It won't take up your whole day, but it's worth stopping in.

I really enjoy going to national lab museums and this was a very cool one to visit. Highly…read morerecommend to any museum lovers and DOE supporters to check it out and see the awesome paraphernalia this place has to offer!

Aiken is a pleasant moderately sized town, but this museum is bigger than anything one could…read morereasonably expect here. The building is really a complex, a repurposed residential estate, with multiple levels. I arrived with an hour and a half before closing and used most of that time just skimming all the rooms, even though some areas were closed for installation. And it was free! The result is a lot of very specific content, from entries on food to war history to the nuclear facility nearby. Aiken County is surprisingly large and includes not only the town of Aiken but a broad swath of land that stretches to the river across from Augusta, and exhibitions here do focus on North Augusta and other towns in the area. Even one of the bathrooms had some information on military latrines as a sort of exhibit. The museum covers a lot of big historical events from a local perspective, so you'll get a window into the Civil War and a sense of the Colonial era and Native American history. I did not receive a tour as there was only one person working there, but it would likely be an interesting tour.

Spent the weekend wandering around Aiken, SC looking at history. The Historical Museum was closed,…read morebut I did take some pics for my memoires. Hopefully I will go back for the Banksia tour soon. The mansion grounds are well maintained from the outside. Free parking is available. Will update once I actually do the tour.

The scope of the canal here is quite impressive and to me, reminiscent of the canal that runs into…read morethe heart of Washington DC, as this one is from around the same time and has a notable aesthetic similarity. This one doesn't go all the way to the mountains, but you could easily spend a day on it on foot, and biking and boating are options as well. The infrastructure was good, and multiple open bathrooms and water fountains were available. The paths were generally quite wide (as former towpaths) and had plenty of space for bikes and pedestrians to share, with a couple of interesting exceptions. I didn't do any tours, but I expect the history is worth pursuing.

AUGUSTA, GA: known for the Masters Golf Tournament, the city of Augusta is also a charming town…read morefull of restaurants, shops, history, and a beautiful river walk. It is a great area to walk the pup, enjoy outdoor dining, find a small business for a unique souvenir, and see the Savannah River! With relatively mild temperatures in the fall and winter, it is a great time to visit! The summers are hot, hot, hot!

Located in front of the Aiken Chamber of Commerce, this marker recalls an important scientific…read morediscovery that took place not far from here. The marker is on two sides. On the front, "The Detection of the Neutrino, 1956. On August 27, 1956, at the Savannah River Plant (now Savannah River Site), Drs. Clyde L. Cowan, Jr. (1919-1974) and Frederick Reines (1918-1999) used P Reactor to detect the neutrino, a sub-atomic particle hypothesized in 1930 but unconfirmed until their experiment, one of the most significant in modern physics." And on the reverse, "The Nobel Prize In Physics, 1995. In 1995 Dr. Frederick Reines was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his and Dr. Clyde L. Cowan's detection of the neutrino at the Savannah River Plant. The Nobel citation called their experiment "a pioneering contribution that opened the doors to the region of 'impossible' neutrino experiments." [Review 14749 overall, 249 of 2021, number 788 in South Carolina.]

Spent a weekend wandering around Aiken, SC looking at more history. This beautiful bldg is a work…read morein progress, under construction currently. I did take a few outside pics just for my memories. The bldg was built in 1889 and is a history lesson in itself. The inside will be history of origin for African Americans and our heritage during the Civil Rights Movement. They do have a wonderful website with up to date information. I look forward to the opening!

To say this is a work in progress is an understatement. it is a force in motion! The history of the…read morebuilding, beginning in 1889, to the present efforts demand its attention. The internal construction will provide an educational experience starting with the origin of African Americans and their heritage, a Middle Passage experience, then a telling of the Civil Rights Movement and the current work being done in attempts at equality. It is within walking distance of downtown and hosts a number of events throughout the year. I look forward to what it will look like when the construction is complete.

Redcliffe is one of the hidden gems of the CSRA. There are so many different things to enjoy here,…read moreand everyone can find something they love and a reason to keep coming back. There's a museum, house and grounds tour, natural trails, big fields for kids to run around in, and beautiful gardens to enjoy. The house tour was great and our guide was extremely knowledge. They did a fantastic job of striking a good line between not white washing history but also not painting all historical figures as purely evil people - that's a hard balance to achieve but they did it. The house is really a spectacular architectural achievement and you should absolutely do a tour if you come here. The library alone is worth the entry fee. There's also several original outbuildings which are even more unique since many of those are not preserved on other plantations. The nature trails and grounds are also great to just walk around in. Our kid had a great time running around, and we saw several birds of prey and even an owl!

It makes me sad that I had time only for a brief stopover. One has to drive down a dirt road to get…read moreto this, but it seemed quite worthwhile. A visitor center was open, though it was surrounded by what the park ranger called "garden spiders", which are not aggressive towards humans and whose bite, if provoked, is painful but not deadly. I've seen Australia-level spiders and lived to tell the tale, but these were definitely no joke; arachnophobes beware. The site includes a mansion, a cactus garden for some reason, and a variety of other buildings. Notably, the slave quarters housed extensive exhibitions. I'm not sure if this park was always so given the way history is treated in some parts of the south, but at least now it has a thorough historical take. I did not have time for the tour, but one can reasonably hope that whatever tour guide you get it will be worthwhile.