Hamburg, South Carolina slave market

Prior to 1856, there was a substantial cluster of slave-trading businesses in what is now the ghost town of Hamburg, South Carolina, which was located directly across the Savannah River from Augusta, Georgia.

Augusta is the market to which the planters of Upper and Middle Georgia bring their cotton; and if they want to purchase negroes, they step over into Hamburg and do so.

There are two large houses there, with piazzas in front to expose the 'chattels' to the public during the day, and yards in rear of them where they are penned up at night like sheep, so close that they can hardly breathe, with bull-dogs on the outside as sentinels.

"[2] In the early years, traders who had come down the "upper route" pitched tents beside the bridge to await buyers.

[3]: 32  Resident Georgians could import at will from across the river so long as they retained ownership for at least a year past the initial purchase date.