The Arts & Heritage Center of North Augusta has created a new permanent exhibit component about the Hampton Terrace Hotel. This famous historic venue was open from 1903 until it was destroyed by fire in 1916 and hosted a variety of notable guests like John D. Rockefeller and President-elect William Howard Taft. SC Humanities supported this exhibit with a Mini Grant.
The Arts & Heritage Center of North Augusta recently displayed a temporary exhibit about the famous Hampton Terrace Hotel that attracted a lot of local interest. The Center Director said, “It was extremely popular, and we knew that the community wanted more info on the famed hotel.” The new permanent exhibit consists of multiple panels and several artifacts. The majority of the exhibit is currently open to visitors, although two artifacts will be added in July. A grand opening and ribbon cutting will take place on Thursday, September 21, 5:00 – 8:00 p.m.
The Hampton Terrace Hotel was the boyhood dream of the founder of North Augusta, James U. Jackson, who wanted to develop the city into a resort town. The five-story, 300 room hotel sat in prominence on a hill, overlooking the countryside for miles around, and it was an immediate success upon opening. In 1903, it was reportedly the largest wooden structure in the world. The hotel burned down on New Year’s Eve 1916. The exhibit tells the story of the hotel from its inception to its destruction and the desire to build again.
The Arts & Heritage Center of North Augusta’s mission is to provide an educational venue to showcase and promote the arts and regional history. The center is located at 100 Georgia Avenue, North Augusta, SC 2984, and admission is free. It is open Monday – Friday from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Learn more: https://www.artsandheritagecenter.com/.
The mission of SC Humanities is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. Established in 1973, this 501(c) 3 organization is governed by a volunteer 20-member Board of Directors comprised of community leaders from throughout the state. It presents and/or supports literary initiatives, lectures, exhibits, festivals, publications, oral history projects, videos and other humanities-based experiences that directly or indirectly reach more than 250,000 citizens annually. South Carolina Humanities receives funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities as well as corporate, foundation and individual donors. The National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.
