NORTH AUGUSTA — Allen Attaway. Jim Cook, Albert Myniart, Nelder Parker, Moses Parks. David Phillips, Hampton Stephens, Thomas McKie Merriwether.
Their names were placed upon a banner and read out loud July 8.
An Egyptian proverb says that people die twice; once when they take their final breath and the second when their name is last spoken. On Wednesday, the 150th anniversary of the Hamburg Massacre, people gathered to say those names and ensure their memory lived on.
“The spot you are currently sitting in and occupying, after tonight, you will never look at this spot the same way again,” said Wayne O’Bryant, author and historian and member co-chair of the Hamburg 150th anniversary committee.
It was on that exact location on July 8, 1876 those men met their deaths. The wreath-laying was the first of several events highlighting the history of the Hamburg-Carrsville historic district.
The massacre “was an effort to overturn Reconstruction after the Civil War was over and after Black Americans got their civil rights,” said O’Bryant.
After the Civil War, Hamburg was a majority African American community. Three newly elected Black state representatives John Gardner, Samuel Lee and Prince Rivers lived in the community. During Aiken County’s establishment, three of the eight founding officers for Aiken County were African American, and July was leading into a heavily contested gubernatorial election. White Democrats organized “rifle clubs” in attempt to intimidate African American and white Republicans from voting, according to the historical marker dedicated to the massacre.
After a dispute between the two groups, about 200 white men attempted to disarm 38 African American militia members, leading to the violence.
The spot below the bridge contained a ring of death where men who were captured were brought to the area and executed, O’Bryant said.
Eighty-seven white men were charged in the massacre, but none were prosecuted.
The governor’s race went to Wade Hampton III and ultimately opened the door for Jim Crow laws in South Carolina.
Throughout the ceremony, thunder rumbled and dark clouds had threatened, but the only showers came at the end as people tossed rose petals off the bridge and they cascaded to the thick forest below.
The wreath-laying ceremony was the first of several events marking the anniversary. After the ceremony, people went to First Providence Baptist Church, which was founded in Hamburg, but later moved to Barton Road in North Augusta.
Hamburg was destroyed by a flood in 1929. Residents moved to higher ground, deconstructing homes, buildings and churches. It was first called New Hamburg but later became known as Carrsville.
The Hamburg-Carrsville African American Heritage District is a part of the Reconstruction Era National Historic Network, according to the National Parks Service website.
A commemoration ceremony will be at 10 a.m . Saturday, July 11 at First Providence Baptist Church with a concert at the church at 6 p.m. U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn will speak at the event. A benefit concert will be at Grace United Methodist Church at 7 p.m. July 24. The Les Reagan Singers will perform their “Songs From the Soul Concert” to benefit the Hamburg-Carrsville African American Heritage District and the Annual Commemoration of the Hamburg Massacre.
The fundraiser will help in developing a history trail. A few markers highlighting the area’s history have already been placed, but O’Bryant said the goal is to have a trail that will lead from the Hamburg site to the former antique mall on Highway 1, that once housed James Brown’s music studios.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years. She’s won multiple Georgia Press Association awards, is the recipient of the 2018 Greater Augusta Arts Council’s media award and was named best local writer by readers of Augusta Magazine in 2024 and 2025. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
