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History · Augusta

Augusta dates to 1832, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is . Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1890.

1832founded
1on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Augusta’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Augusta began

When was Augusta founded?

1832

Augusta dates its founding to 1832 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 498 in 18902020 census: 864194 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1836.

What stands out about Augusta’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1899, drew every building in Augusta.On the map since 19187 editions of the USGS map, 1918 to 1998. Watch Augusta change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1832: 194 years of Augusta.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Augusta’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Augusta’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewFort Custer Military Reservation, Bound…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Augusta, building by building, 1884–1899

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Augusta fire insurance map, 1884, sheet 11884Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the map

Augusta on the map, 1918 to 1998

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Augusta. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Augusta on the 1918 USGS mapAugusta on the 1947 USGS mapAugusta on the 1950 USGS mapAugusta on the 1961 USGS mapAugusta on the 1972 USGS mapAugusta on the 1985 USGS mapAugusta on the 1998 USGS map1918Galesburg sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Augusta.

The story so far

Augusta, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Augusta yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Augusta is a village in Kalamazoo County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, Augusta had a population of 864. The village is mostly within Ross Township, though a small portion extends south into Charleston Township. Augusta is situated on the M-96 highway, about five miles (8.0 km) northeast of Galesburg, and about seven miles (11 km) west of downtown Battle Creek. Kalamazoo is an additional ten miles (16 km) west of Galesburg. Fort Custer Recreation Area is immediately south of the village on the east side of the Kalamazoo River. Augusta was established in 1832.

Augusta was established in 1832. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 885 to 864 (-2%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Augusta, 1832 to 1918

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1832
    FoundingAugusta is established
  3. 1882Born hereWilliam T. Bovie is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1918On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Augusta, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Fort Custer Military Reservation, Bounded by Territorial, Dickman, & Longman Roads & Route 94 Business, Battle Creek, C…Date?Fort Custer Military Reservation, Bounded by Territor…
Today9 recent
Park Theatre Historical Marker2019Park Theatre Historical MarkerPark Theatre Historical Marker 22019Park Theatre Historical Marker 2Barn Theatre Historical Marker2019Barn Theatre Historical MarkerAugusta Creek2019Augusta CreekAugusta 22019Augusta 2Richard and Mary Woodward Gregory House2018Richard and Mary Woodward Gregory HouseBarn House and Curtain2014Barn House and CurtainBarn Family Photo 2014 012014Barn Family Photo 2014 01MIMap-doton-Augusta2005MIMap-doton-Augusta
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Fort Custer Military Reservation, Bounded by Territorial, Dickman, & Longman Roads & Route 94 Business, Battle Creek, C…
Retake this viewFort Custer Military Reservation, Bounded by Territorial, Dickman, & Longman Roads & Route 94 Business, Battle Creek, C…

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Augusta’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Augusta

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Augusta, census by census

02004006008001,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,025

Between 494 and 1,025 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Augusta’s Wikipedia page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Charleston Township1 historic placeA−Ross Township1 historic placeA−

Questions about Augusta’s history

What year was Augusta founded?

In 1832, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Augusta’s post office opened in 1836, and the census of 1890 counted 498 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (9), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.