Do you say CSRA?
I didn’t grow up in Augusta, but we lived close enough to watch the likes of Charlie Britt and Trooper Terry (Terry Sams). Because we could watch Augusta television stations, I was familiar with the CSRA name, but was always been curious to how the Central Savannah River Area name came to be.
According to the Augusta Chronicle, it goes back to a contest held with sister paper the Augusta Herald in 1950. In the June 25, 1950, issue of The Augusta Chronicle, C.C. McCollum won a $250 prize when his suggestion was chosen from 2,500 entries evaluated by a panel of community leaders. Mr. McCollum was a teacher in Jefferson County.
The article states that in the beginning, the CSRA name was quite popular. Many businesses used it to promote their communitywide reach. “It stands for the Central Savannah River Area,” said Pat Blanchard, the president and CEO of Georgia-Carolina Bancshares, the holding company for First Bank of Georgia.
The newspapers also had support from local television and radio stations, including WGAC.
CSRA Counties List From Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce
- Georgia Counties: Richmond, Columbia, Burke, Jenkins, Lincoln, Wilkes, McDuffie, Jefferson, Taliaferro, Warren, Glascock, Hancock and Washington.
- South Carolina Counties: Aiken, Edgefield, Allendale, Barnwell and McCormick.
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