Two permanent displays were recently unveiled at Aiken County Historical Museum.

One focuses on the history of North Augusta, and the second on Aiken County businesses.

"We aren't just Aiken. We are the county," said Elliott Levy, the museum's executive director.

The North Augusta exhibit includes photographs and other documents relating to the city's development, such as a 1912 map of the city. A miniature of the James U. Jackson statue also is on display.

Jackson, who founded North Augusta in 1902, and Henry Shultz, who established Hamburg across the Savannah River from Augusta about 50 years before North Augusta's founding, are featured prominently in the exhibit.

There are also photographs of Jackson's Hampton Terrace Hotel.

The Aiken County business exhibit will be expanded in the future, Mr. Levy said.

One of his favorite pieces in the merchant exhibit is a photo of an early 1900s baseball team that includes the county treasurer, a jeweler, a butcher and a newspaper editor.

Another exhibit, which is still under construction, focuses on Savannah River Site. Mr. Levy said the museum recently acquired photographs of one of the nuclear reactors being built.

A woman whose ex-husband had worked at the site had the photographs stored away. She was going to throw them out, but instead she called the museum.

Mr. Levy said the museum welcomes donations that pertain to Aiken County's history.

"But please, no more vacuum cleaners, typewriters or adding machines," he said.

Reach Charmain Z. Brackett at czbrackett@hotmail.com.