Known for a singing sister and an important Civil War battle, this small Kentucky town offers interesting history and fun celebrations.
In Augusta, Kentucky, tour historic buildings including The Rosemary Clooney House, built about 1840. Ms. Clooney sang with her sister Betty as the Clooney Sisters. She starred in Irving Berlin’s White Christmas and other films. Her nephew George Clooney got his start in movies as an extra during filming of James Michener’s Centennial in Augusta. View the collection of photos, costumes and other memorabilia from the Clooneys’ lives in Rosemary’s historic home. The city puts on a White Christmas Parade in early December each year.
The Clooney house overlooks O’Neil Landing, a green space along the Ohio River with a pleasant riverwalk. Nearby is Appelman Park, with tennis courts and a swimming pool.
Heritage Days in early September commemorates Augusta’s role in the Civil War. Walk along the river for a self-guided tour of landmarks from the Battle of Augusta that left the city ruined and 30 Confederate soldiers dead. Brick structures from the 1800s served as residences, a mill, a store and a field hospital during the war.
See stately homes that survived the battle. The Buckner-Weldon Home was built about 1800 by William Buckner. His father Philip Buckner traveled from Augusta County, Virginia, in the late 1700s and brought 40 families to settle in Kentucky. Note the Piedmont entrance of the Col. Joshua Taylor Bradford Home & Office. This home and others had reconstructed façades for the 1978 filming of Centennial.
The small town has varied celebrations throughout the year. Attend the Augusta Riverfest Regatta in July, Germantown Fair in August, Swingtime on the River in September and the Turning of the Leaves Festival in October.
Ride the Brown-Augusta Ferry on foot or motorcycle or by car across the river to or from Ohio. Ferry services have operated here since 1798. If you’re driving, Augusta is about 45 miles (70 kilometers) southeast of Cincinnati, Ohio, and 70 miles (110 kilometers) northeast of Lexington, Kentucky. The Mary Ingles Scenic Byway runs through the town.
