Old Government House has been an historic part of Augusta for almost 200 years. Built in 1801, the house originally served as the headquarters for Richmond County government and consisted of the French style central block building, without the Regency porch and lace wrought iron ornamentation that you see today. These features were added by the building's first private owner, Samuel Hale, an Augusta mayor who occupied the house from 1821 to 1858. Several prominent Augustans lived in the house in the years that followed, and in 1877 the Murphey family purchased the house. They lived there for the next 75 years. Old Government House is sometimes still referred to as Old Murphey House after this family.
In 1954 the house was purchased by the Junior League of Augusta and was the site of many elegant social events before being given to Historic Augusta, Inc. to serve as their offices in 1972. In 1978 the building was sold to a developer with the intent of turning it into a restaurant, but instead it ended up passing through the ownership of several different developers from 1978 to 1987. By this time the house was badly in need of repairs, due to neglect, vandalism, and several incomplete renovation attempts. At this time Mayor DeVaney and the city council made the decision to purchase Old Government House, returning it to public ownership. After 2 years of renovations, Old Government House was re-opened to the public in 1989.
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