Feature a variety of collectibles for holiday, seasonal, decorative purposes and discover best deals on hot items available on ebay.

Vintage (1940-79)

The dead town of Hamburg, South Carolina was once a thriving upriver market located in Edgefield District (now Aiken County). It was founded by Henry Shultz in 1821 as a rival place of trade to Augusta, Georgia. more...

Home

Cultures, Ethnicities

Decorative Collectibles

All God's Children

Andrea by Sadek

ANRI

Armani

Avon

Bing & Grondahl Coll Plates

Boyds

Dept 56

Enesco

Faberge

Flambro

Hamilton Collector Plates

Harbour Lights

Harmony Kingdom

HOMCO

Hummel, Goebel

Josef

Knowles Collector Plates

Lefton Figurines

Lenox

Liberty Falls

Lilliput Lane

Limoges

Lladro

Midwest of Cannon Falls

Roman

Royal Copenhagen Coll Plates

Royal Doulton

San Francisco Music Box

Schmid

Baskets

Bells

Metal

Other

Bowls

Clocks

Contemporary (1980-99)

Early 20th Century (1900-39)

Modern (2000-Now)

Vintage (1940-79)

Eggs

Figurines

Angels

Animals

Cartoon, TV, Movie...

People

Flags

Frames

Animals

Christmas, Winter Scenes

Contemporary (1970-Now)

Music, Musical Instruments

Other Music Boxes

Religious, Inspirational

Salt & Pepper Shakers

Seashells

Shoes

Signs

Spoons

Vases

Wall Hangings, Mirrors

Religions, Spirituality

In fact Shultz, harmed by business dealings in Augusta, openly hoped to gain revenge with his new town. Augusta’s commercial connections were stronger, but Hamburg was more convenient to overland traffic from points north and enjoyed a thriving cotton trade for a time, collecting much of the produce of upcountry South Carolina. In its heyday, 60,000 bales of cotton worth $2,000,000 were brought by wagon to Hamburg each year. This cotton continued by pole boat or steam boat to the ports of Charleston or Savannah for subsequent shipment to manufacturers in New England or Europe. With the Augusta Canal (1848) and general expansion of railroads in the 1850's, strenuous overland hauls to Hamburg became unnecessary and the famous wagon traffic declined.

Despite its hardy and enterprising reputation, Hamburg quickly deflated once its commercial underpinnings were removed, and became a ghost town by the time of the Civil War. It gained a second life after the War as a haven for freedmen, and became the center of a social experiment as former slaves created their own government to succeed or fail on its own terms. This was crushed in the bloody 1876 Hamburg Massacre (or Hamburg Riot), a key event in South Carolina Reconstruction. Hamburg's charter was revoked by the new Redeemer legislature in 1877 and town became an industrial slum exposed to flood, fire, and neglect.

With the 1915 construction of a protective levee by its rival across the river, continued habitation in Hamburg became pointless. The town was finally swept away for good in the massive double flood of 1929, and the last holdouts were relocated to nearby bluffs at today's Carsville and Carpentersville neighborhoods. There are no visible remains of the original Town of Hamburg.

Geography

Named after Shultz's home town in Germany, Hamburg was located at 33.4799°N, 81.9579°W on the Savannah River flood plain directly across from Augusta, Georgia. Population at its peak in the 1840's Hamburg reached 2,000, and exceeded 1,000 in its postwar resurgence. Hamburg was developed on two tracts of land amounting to about 600 acres, with lots laid out over an area of 125 acres. Much of the site came to be destroyed by 'brick ponds' dug out in the mining of clay. Under protection of the Clarks Hill Dam and Lake, adjacent North Augusta has begun to grow back over old Hamburg.

Notable People and Places

Founder Henry Shultz was an immigrant that arrived in Augusta in 1806. In a career of mythical proportion, he made his mark with grandiose public works, spectacular business failures, and a masterful personality.