The Industrial Revolution had a massive impact on the American South and especially so in Augusta. The Augusta Canal was built in 1845 as a source of power, followed in 1848 by the construction of the first factories along the canal banks to use the power generated by the water. Still today, the canal is used for its three original purposes; hydropower, drinking water, and boat transportation. With the Canal to Cloth tour, you can immerse yourself in the lives of canal workers in an experience that is authentic to Augusta and the Augusta Canal.
Play a Role
The tour starts when you take on the role of a new worker in an 1880s textile factory along the Augusta Canal. Pay attention to the characters who will “train” you, taking you through the steps in how textiles are made, from cotton to cloth.
Cotton to Cloth
Various characters will show you the process of turning raw cotton into cloth: preparation, spinning, weaving and finishing, including the workings of an authentic loom.
Earn Your Pay
As a “trainee,” you’ll earn $2 a week for working six days a week, 10 hours a day. Pay will be in “scrip,” which you may use in the Discovery Center Gift Shop at the end of the tour for a special discount.
Ride a Petersburg Boat
A Petersburg boat captain will take you on the journey of bringing the cotton down the canal and to the textile mills. Listen to stories of his adventures.
Child Workers
It was not uncommon for children to start work in the mills as young as age 7. Watch and listen as a 10-year-old boy explains his job of being a doffer, which was replacing full bobbins with empty ones on the spinning machine.
See Power Being Generated
After you return to the present day, your guide will top off your experience with a behind-the-scenes visit to the hydroelectric powerplant at the Discovery Center, where you’ll see the two 1920s umbrella generators and the turbines turning to generate the energy that powers the Center. Then complete your experience with a visit to the Gift Shop.
Thanks
We thank Destination Augusta and Veneto Collaboratory for making the Canal to Cloth Immersive Experience possible and for choosing Augusta Canal Discovery Center as an Authentic Augusta Experience.
The Canal to Cloth Immersive Experience comes to life through a partnership with the actors of The Augusta Players and The Augusta Junior Players.
