1959-60 Purchased Lot (Walton Way) 

 

After meeting in rented quarters for 5 years, in 1959 with a membership of 45, we began planning to buy land and build a building. Early member BJ Annis tells the story of the beginning of the building fund. Several church members were sitting at her kitchen table drinking coffee one evening when they decided the "wandering" had gone on long enough. They each pulled out a bill from their billfold and threw it on the table to start the building fund right then.

 

Someone learned that "old" Judge Hammond, the city curmudgeon and heretic might be willing to sell part of his camellia garden. Kay (Ohannesian) and Jim Sutherland started visiting the Judge and convinced him that we were not the typical religious organization, so he agreed to sell a 9/10 acre lot for $2,700. Obtaining this property was a real coup, as he sold it well below market value. The old Judge was a bit of a non-conformist himself and wanted to encourage us, although he was never a prospective member. The story goes that when Judge Hammond's friends and family tried to talk him out of selling to us, his response was "but I like those people". Everyone was pleased with the beautiful lot, great location, and low price.

 

Member and architect Don Kelly donated the architectural plans for the building. The original blueprint included plans for a future formal building, but financial considerations limited the building to the basic meeting room (now known as the Common Room) and the Sunday School rooms. The estimated building cost was $27,000 for a 3400 square foot building, including plumbing and heating--but no air conditioning. Bids came in over the cost and 2 classrooms were dropped. Some members offered to make loans to the church and others donated stock to the building fund. In November, 1960, within a year of purchasing the lot, the new Unitarian Fellowship House was dedicated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1959—Home at Last

May, 1966—We lost the oak tree on the left when we erected the new sanctuary in 1985. Eventually, we created parking on either side of the building.

October, 1974

On November 6, 1960, the building that became the permanent home of the Unitarian Fellowship of Augusta was dedicated on the present site. The Augusta Chronicle-Herald covered the opening with an article and a picture of the new building.  The Rev. H. Paul Osborne of the Unitarian Church of Charleston spoke on “Why I am a Unitarian.”

 

The dedication marked a new era for the Unitarian Fellowship and the beginning of Unitarian Universalism and religious liberalism as firmly established forces in the Augusta religious community.