Established in 1816 and initially completed on the Georgia bank of the Savannah River in 1819, it was moved to the former Belle Vue estate in the Summerville neighborhood of Augusta in 1827 due to health concerns after several fever epidemics.

The arsenal was moved to the new location the following year, with four large brick buildings connected by a twenty-two inch thick wall completed in 1829.

[1] Following the secession of Georgia from the Union, then governor, Joseph E. Brown, visited the arsenal on January 23, 1861, and demanded that the commander, Arnold Elzey surrender the facility to the state.

600 citizens of Augusta then volunteered for militia duty based on rumors that the state was going to take the arsenal from Elzey and his small contingent of 82 soldiers.

[4] By summer 1861, the Confederate Chief of Ordnance, Josiah Gorgas, determined to greatly expand the arsenal around the original nucleus.

His plans included building a "great arsenal of construction where ammunition, field and siege artillery projectiles and ordnance stores in general [would] be made in large quantities.

The arsenal was under threat in November 1864 during Sherman's March to the Sea, with equipment prepared for evacuation until the Union Army turned toward Savannah.

In 2004 it was converted to a small museum that displays dozens of artifacts, photographs, and various items uncovered during archeological excavations of the area.