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Historic Property
Alternate Name:
North Augusta Dispensary
Street Address:
Georgia Avenue, North Augusta, SC
Site Number:
S108042001100111
Site Number:
2-26-22
Date Surveyed:
1973
Category:
Building
Construction Date:
circa 1891
Construction Method:
brick
Roof Materials:
standing seam metal
Signficant Architectural Features:
Rectangular, two-story commercial building with one-story additions on its SW side. Gable roof. Exterior is red brick laid in common bond. Front (SE elevation): symmetrical; first floor: ABA - A’s are segmental-arched window openings which have have been filled in with brick, and B is an entrance; second floor features three segmental-arched window openings containing 6/6 windows, which are in deteriorated condition; stepped front parapet has a cornice with brick corbeled brackets, and, along its top edge, a narrower corbeled brick cornice. The one-story addition at the south corner of the building is brick and is characterized by a cornice with decorative brickwork. OUTBUILDINGS:
Alterations:
altered - concrete block addition, etc.
Historical Information:
After the 1907 demise of S.C.’s state dispensary system, a dispensary system at the county level was established. Realizing that Georgia was to go dry in January 1908, the old Board of Control of Aiken County decided to establish a dispensary directly across from Augusta, Georgia. Many North Augusta citizens were opposed to the idea of a dispensary in their town; they held a mass meeting and passed a resolution calling for prohibition in Aiken County. An ordinance stating that no dispensary could be located on or in the immediate vicinity of Georgia Ave. or West Ave. passed unanimously at a city meeting; however, this ordinance was ruled unconstitutional. In spite of continued resistance from North Augusta and Augusta, the Shapiro building was secured and enlarged for the dispensary, which opened for business on December 23, 1907. The North Augusta Dispensary became a focal point for local WCTU activity; photographs of ladies picketing the dispensary are in existence. Because the dispensary was a financial success, no taxes were collected in North Augusta between 1 Nov. 1903 and 1 May 1909. North Augusta was able to use its share of the dispensary profits to make street and sidewalk improvements, have an excellent sewerage system for a small town, and purchase two chemical fire engines. Dissention over the dispensary was finally resolved in 1915, when South Carolina passed a prohibition bill. The old North Augusta Dispensary building is reputed to have been constructed and used as a commissary for the Hackinson and O’Keefe brickyard. At the time it was erected, the dispensary building was in North Augusta's central business district; the CBD has since moved. After the dispensary system ended, the building was used by T. L. Foreman, a leading figure in North Augusta, for a Ford dealership. The old dispensary building has also housed a box factory and a nightclub.
Source of Historical Information:
LSCOG survey files; The History of North Augusta, pp. 139-142. Adkins, Guy. "Building has a vivid history." Sunday Chronicle-Herald (Augusta, Georgia). (undated newspaper clipping in the LSCOG survey files);Al Lafavor, 125 Butler Avenue, North Augusta, South Carolina
Survey:
North Augusta Survey, 1982
Archives Location:
Box 11, Series 108042, Survey of historic resources (county by county data on surface properties), circa 1971-2014
