15 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 157 buildings between them. Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1917 on and old-book passages.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1801.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Augusta’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Augusta is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Augusta’s overall grade.
Kentucky towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Kentucky town has 29.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Augusta’s 1,126 sits above most of its state (97% of Kentucky towns have fewer) while its 170 historic buildings outnumber those of 92% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±12.4 points). Two sources give 1786.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Augusta’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Augusta was founded by Philip Buckner in 1786 as a trading post along the Ohio River. The city was named after Augusta County, Virginia. The city grew quickly and in 1796 became county seat of the new Bracken County. The county seat was moved to Oxford, then back to Augusta, then finally to Brooksville in 1839.
In 1862, Confederate Colonel Basil W. Duke attacked the town as part of the Kentucky Campaign. While he was able to drive off a pair of Union gunboats in the Ohio River and defeat the local Unionist militia in house-to-house fighting, heavy losses forced him to abandon plans to cross into Ohio.
Passages that mention Augusta, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Augusta County, Virginia, in the history of the United States1918 · page 25Read the page →
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have been members of the Confederate States House of Representatives and members of and delegates to the United States House of Representatives up to *Amongother United States Senators under Augusta county influence, through havingbeen educated, as were some of those above, in the Virginia county of Roclibridge— once a part of Augusta county— by professors of Augusta county descent at Washington College, afterwards Washington and
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Augusta County, Virginia, in the history of the United States1918 · page 13Read the page →
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An object has been to include only those who resided before 1776 within Augusta county's confines as they then stood and those who trace to one who was at some time a resident of what at the time of this residence was within the then Augusta county's limits. If the ancestor did not become domiciled in some county carved from Augusta county until the new county's organization, the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Augusta, 1786 to 1937
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
In 1786, according to Wikidata. Augusta’s post office opened in 1801.
How does Augusta rank for history?
Augusta is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Augusta?
15 listings: 10 buildings, among them the Baker Vinyard and Wine Cellar (listed 1974, the first), 2 historic districts, the Water Street Historic District and the Augusta Historic District, with 157 contributing buildings, 2 sites, and 1 object. 170 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Augusta?
49% of Augusta’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±12.4 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky town; the median home was built in 1942.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (15), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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