Address: 1420 Twiggs Street
Owner: Augusta Georgia Land Bank Authority
History and Significance: Dr. Scipio S. Johnson was a prominent member of Augusta’s African American community and lived at 1420 Twiggs Street from the time of its construction in the 1920s until his death in 1932. Dr. Johnson was a graduate of the Haines Institute, Lincoln University, and Howard University. Dr. Johnson was a pharmacist and for a time operated Johnson Drug Store out of his house located at 1420 Twiggs Street. Dr. Johnson also served on the Board of Directors for the Penny Savings Bank. Johnson Drive in Augusta was named in his honor. The two-story red brick home located on a corner lot is one of the larger homes found in the historic African-American neighborhood known as Bethlehem. The Craftsman-style home has always severed as a residence, and now sits vacant and boarded up. The steeply pitched roof that is a character-defining feature on the front of the house has been overgrown with vines, and the roofing material is beginning to deteriorate. Many of the historic windows have been removed. The rear wooden porch is also deteriorating and needs to be stabilized. One block South, Historic Augusta has listed the Hornsby House at 1518 Twiggs Street to its 2008 Endangered Properties List. Currently held by the Augusta Georgia Land Bank Authority, the intention is for the house to be rehabilitated as part of the Laney-Walker/Bethlehem Revitalization Project. Historic Augusta hopes it will receive high priority status before it is too late.
Threat: Vacancy, development pressure from surrounding neighborhood, condition continues to deteriorate
Potential Uses: Single family home, income producing residential apartments; commercial office space; community center
Preservation Tools: Contributing historic structure in the Bethlehem Historic District which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, which makes it eligible for all programs of the National Register, including available grant funds and the tax incentives for certified rehabilitations.