of business, and has perhaps as much trade as
any other place of its population in the country.
The country back of Augusta is very rich, and a
great amount of cotton, tobacco, and other pro-
duce is brought here and sent down the river.
There are 10 or 12 large commission houses en-
gaged in foreign trade, with a capital of about
$250,000. Augusta enjoys excellent facilities for
commercial intercourse with the interior by the
several railroads which centre here, and others
connected with them. Charleston and Savan-
nah, Milledgeville and Macon, Fort Gaines on
the Chattahoochee, Athens in Te., Montgomery,
the capital of Alabama, and other important
places are connected by railroad with Au-
gusta.

Augusta, Ky., c. h. Bracken co. 73 miles N.
E. from Frankfort.

Augusta, Me., c.h. Kennebec co. City, and cap-
ital of the state. Situated at the head of sloop
navigation on the Kennebec River. 43 miles from
the sea. It was first settled in 1771, and incor-
porated as a town in 1797. Population in 1820
2475; 1830,3980; 1840,5314; 1850,8231. Au-
gusta lies on hoth sides of the Kennebec, rising
each way by an easy ascent from the river. The
bridge, uniting the E. and W. parts of the town, is
a fine structure, 520 feet in length, built in 1799, at
a cost of $28,000. The town is well laid out,
neatly built, and contains many handsome struc-
tures.

There are nine or ten churches of the vari-
ous denominations. The state house in Augusta
is a spacious and elegant structure, located upon a
beautiful eminence about half a mile from the vil-
lage, on the road towards Hallowell, and com-
mands an extensive and very delightful prospect.
It is built of hammered granite, or rather gneiss,
of a white color, and very much resembles marble
at a distance The material of which it was built
was quarried near the spot on which it stands. In
front is an extensive common, adorned with trees
tastefully arranged, which, when grown into
shades, will afford a delightful promenade.—
The United States arsenal buildings are situated
upon the E. bank of the river, in view of the
village, and are chiefly constructed of stone, and
present a very fine appearance. The grounds
are extensive, beautifully arranged, and sur-
rounded by a costly iron fence. There are at
present about 2000 stand of arms deposited here,
besides cannon and other munitions of war.—
The state insane hospital, a splendid granite edi-
fice, an honor to the state and to humanity, occu-
pies a plat of elevated ground of seventy acres,
on the east side of the river. Its situation is un-
rivalled for the beauty of its scenery. It is much
admired for its external architecture and internal
arrangement. The centre building and wings
are 262 feet long; the centre building being 82
feet in length, 46 feet wide, 4 stories high, be-
sides the basement and attic, having a chapel in
the attic 80 by 40. The wings are 90 feet long
in front, and 100 in the rear, 38 feet wide, and 3
stories high, divided into 126 rooms, 120 of which
are designed for patients, with halls between the
rooms 12 feet wide running the entire length of
each wing, and communicating with the dining
rooms in the centre building. — The Cony Fe-
male Academy was incorporated in 1818, owing
its origin to the liberality of Hon. Daniel Cony.
The building is a commodious and handsome
edifice upon the east side of the river. At a
short distance is a large boarding house connected
with the institution. It has a fund of about
$10,000, and a well-furnished laboratory and li-
brary.— There are excellent public houses in
Augusta, the chief of which are the Augusta
House, near the state house, and the Mansion
House. — About half a mile above the village,
a massive dam has been erected across the Ken-
nebec, with locks, for the purpose of improving
the navigation of the river above, and of creating
a water power of great capacity. The length of
this dam, exclusive of the stone abutments and
lock, is 584 feet, and the height 15 feet above
ordinary high water mark, forming a pond of
the average depth of 16 feet, and 16j miles in
extent. The immense body of water, and the
great and unfailing supply thus brought into ap-
plication for manufacturing purposes, are almost
unsurpassed. The first cost of this great work
was about $300,000. This water power is al-
ready used to a very considerable extent in pro-
pelling various kinds of machinery. Several
saw mills, a large flouring establishment, sash,
door, and blind manufactories, machine shops,
and a cotton factory, with 10,000 spindles, are
in successful operation. — Augusta presents ad-
vantages for manufacturing establishments equal,
if not superior, to any in New England. It is
located in the heart of a large and powerful state,
rapidly increasing in population and wealth,
surrounded by a fertile country, rich in every
necessary agricultural product, and stored with
granite, clay, lumber, lime, iron ore, and every
building material. The facilities afforded here
for transportation are of inestimable value to a
large manufacturing town. Cotton and other
raw materials, and manufactured goods, may be
transported by water to and from the very doors
of the mills. The great Eastern Railroad from
Boston and Portland passes through this town,
in its course to Bangor. Steamboats pass from
Augusta to Boston in eleven hours. A steam-
boat plies daily on the river above the dam to
Waterville. This place cannot fail of becoming,
at no distant day, the site of very extdjyve and
profitable manufacturing operations.