City of Aiken

City of Aiken Drinking Water Report Info
To those of you needing more than a casual look, welcome to historical Aiken. Come and enjoy our town with its lovely parkways and shaded streets, its double avenues and historic mansions and revel in a bit of our fascinating folklore. Among the numerous things which have helped to form Aiken, three of the primary events are the railroad, the Winter Colony have an impact on and the most important commercial effect for the location, the Savannah River Site.The Beginning The South Carolina Canal and Railroad Company turned into established in 1828. William Aiken, president of the Railroad Company and one in every of South Carolina’s main cotton traders, hired Horatio Allen, a outstanding engineer who later constructed the Brooklyn Bridge, to build a railroad from Charleston to Hamburg, South Carolina, a site on the Savannah River. Work started in 1830 and on October 2, 1833, the first train arrived inside the newly mounted metropolis of Aiken, named in honor of the first railroad president. In 1834, engineers Alfred Dexter and C. O. Pascalis laid out the city with its extensive streets and parkways, and Aiken turned into chartered in 1835. Aiken attracted many site visitors, in particular rich Charlestonians who spent their summers at the "area of retreat from the heat and malaria of unhealthier areas." In 1865, as the War Between the States neared a end, Confederate General Joseph Wheeler took his position in the town of Aiken to oppose Sherman’s raid and placed an give up to the Union strengthen westward. It became one among Sherman’s uncommon defeats alongside the way.The Winter Colony Aiken recovered quick from the War and in 1870 commenced to draw rich Northerners, who have been lured to the place by means of the possibilities for equestrian sports activities, accordingly setting up Aiken’s celebrated “Winter Colony.” Among those who wintered right here turned into Thomas Hitchcock, who with the Whitney’s mounted the tract of land referred to as Hitchcock Woods for public use.The restorations skilled in homes and church buildings reflect the wealth and sophistication of the population in the course of the Winter Colony generation and illustrate its effect on the community. Hayne Avenue, Colleton Avenue, South Boundary and Whiskey Road are vintage, fashionable residential avenues which attracted both local residents and wintry weather traffic to construct stunning homes. Historic downtown Aiken keeps to function a vibrant business hub for the community and affords a unique identification and appeal for the region.Savannah River Plant (a/ok/a Savannah River Site) The ancient importance of the web page is excellent understood through recalling the conflict-time urgency that the Nation felt in 1949 whilst the Soviet Union exploded a nuclear weapon. The Nation turned into stunned, and President Harry Truman selected to reply to a perceived openly competitive action.The Savannah River Plant (now SRS) changed into the principal U.S. Step in that reaction. Truman requested the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and the Du Pont Company to layout, construct, and operate a facility to produce nuclear materials (mainly tritium and plutonium) for the "extraordinary" (hydrogen) bomb. The first public declaration of the Site was made in November 1950 and floor changed into broken in February 1951. The first manufacturing reactor turned into taken essential in December 1953. The extraordinary production assignment hired as much as 38,582 people in building extra than 2 hundred systems on the 300-square-mile Site.The Site succeeded in meeting the Soviet undertaking, and made a large contribution to winning the Cold War. Not handiest did the Site meet every product shipment, on time and inside pleasant specs, but did so with an unheard of safety record and with environmental stewardship that changed into many years in advance of its time.(Historic records above is compliments of the SRS Heritage Foundation.)These three occasions, despite the fact that now not the best principal occasions in our records, had a super impact on defining and shaping Aiken. We desire you’ll be intrigued to research more about our captivating past and experience Aiken’s present when you visit..