A new historical marker is in place, with Highland Park Drive as the host site for a celebration of local railroad history. The marker was put in place Jan. 21 after a talk at Aiken County Historical Museum and a brief gathering at the Laurens Street access point to Hitchcock Woods, and the focus of attention is the Inclined Plane, an invention from the early 1830s to help some of the United States' first trains to deal with slight changes in elevation. In this case, the new creation allowed relatively fast travel between Charleston and what was then known as Hamburg (on the edge of present-day North Augusta). 

Aiken Standard reporter

Bill Bengtson is a reporter for the Aiken Standard. He has focused most recently on eastern Aiken County, agriculture, churches, veterans and older people. He previously covered schools/youth, North Augusta and Fort Gordon. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia and Whitman College, and also studied at Oregon State University and the University of Guadalajara.

To support local journalism, sign up for a subscription. See our current offers »