Summerville Post Volume 34, No. 1
Winter 2010
The Newsletter of the Summerville Neighborhood Association
The Historic Partridge Inn Celebrates Centennial Anniversary in 2010 The Partridge Inn, a landmark of Southern style and hospitality, will celebrate a century of service in 2010. This historic hotel has stood the testament of time and continues to be a Summerville landmark, drawing visitors from around the globe and serving as a central gathering place for Augustans. The Partridge Inn began as a two-story house, the home of the Walton family, one of whose members, George Walton, was a Georgia signer of the Declaration of Independence. In the 19th century, New York hotelier Morris Partridge acquired the property late and began a small boarding house for his Northern visitors. Within two years of opening his establishment, Mr. Partridge was already adding the first of what would be five expansions to his burgeoning venture. After extensive renovations, 60 rooms were added enabling The Partridge Inn to open as an ‘official hostelry’ on January 8, 1910. On January 9, 1910, The Augusta Chronicle reported that “Partridge Inn Opened Saturday: New Sixty Room Hostelry in Summerville Finished – Several Parties of People Expected During Week.” In its early days, a U.S. Post Office, Summerville Drug Store, Flower Shop, News and Book Shop, Barber Shop, Ladies’ Hairdressing and Manicure Parlor were all conveniently located in the lobby of The Partridge Inn. The ballroom was a primary gathering area and has served as the setting for a number of Augusta’s high society events. Most notably, in 1923, the hotel’s magnificent ballroom was the site of a dinner for President Warren Harding, an event the Augusta Chronicle described as “the grandest in the history of the city.”
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