Mackay Trading House Site (Fort Mackay)
Augusta, Georgia, USA
White House Tract marker, Ezekiel Harris House parking area off Welch Lane, Augusta, GA 30904, USA
MARKER
VISITOR INFORMATION
Locate the original trading-house footprint from the 1975 study and historic maps. Do not use 1822 Broad Street as a confirmed Revolutionary venue or transfer Harris House visitor hours to this draft. Map point reviewed October 3, 2026: Visitor reference is the White House Tract historical marker at the Harris House parking area off Welch Lane. Its text directly describes MacKay’s trading post and the 1780 siege. This marker is a nearby interpretation point, not the original trading-house footprint; the later Harris House is a separate building. Visitor information reviewed October 3, 2026: The roadside marker directly interprets MacKay’s trading post and siege. The marker stands at the Harris House visitor parking area off Welch Lane; follow museum visiting arrangements. Harris House and its facilities are separate from the original trading house. Parking researched October 3, 2026: Parking serves the Ezekiel Harris House visitor reference at 1822 Broad Street, with the marker at the rear lot off Welch Lane. Use museum visitor spaces during an authorised visit or by arrangement; check the operator’s 2026 alternate-Saturday schedule. This is separate from the original trading-house footprint.
Visitor amenities reviewed October 3, 2026: No confirmed information was found for public restrooms. The NO entries reflect unverified provision, rather than confirmed absence. Check locally before relying on facilities.
No separate ticket or staffed hours are listed for the historical marker. It stands at Harris House’s visitor parking area; follow museum visiting arrangements and confirm permitted access before entering. Harris House museum admission and opening are separate from the original trading-house site.
Peak visitation season unconfirmed. No reliable site-specific monthly attendance pattern was established.
March-April or October-November for an authorized local-history or public-route context visit beyond summer heat. Resolve the Mackay/White House tract location and current access first.
HISTORIC SITES NEARBY
Nearby Historic Sites
miles
Landmark
WHO WAS HERE
0
PEOPLE WHO LIVED HERE
About Mackay Trading House Site (Fort Mackay / White House)
Mackay’s fortified trading house, also called the White House, was a British stronghold during the unsuccessful American attack on Augusta in September 1780. Its history was once mistakenly attached to the surviving Ezekiel Harris House. A nearby White House Tract marker interprets the episode while preserving that distinction.
The original trading house has not been identified as a surviving visitor building. The White House Tract marker at its parking area provides interpretation of the Revolutionary landscape without establishing the trading house’s exact foundations.
History happened here at Mackay Trading House Site (Fort Mackay / White House)
During the British occupation of Augusta, Mackay’s trading house became a fortified position. American forces attacked in September 1780 but failed to capture the stronghold. The episode belongs to the contest for Augusta before the successful American siege in 1781.
For a time, preservation efforts identified the standing house on Broad Street as Mackay’s Revolutionary building. Later historical and architectural investigation corrected that attribution: the surviving structure is the Ezekiel Harris House, from a later period. This change matters because a preserved building cannot establish a battle location when its identity is wrong. Archaeological studies and the White House Tract marker provide better leads for interpreting the original trading-post landscape.
PEOPLE WHO DIED HERE
PEOPLE AT REST HERE
EXTERNAL LINKS
Research reviewed October 2, 2026. Event IDs 440d9eea-ef8a-4f73-a49f-61f2f10da85e; Events Latest 10PM.csv rows 165.
https://dlg.usg.edu/record/dlg_ggpd_s-ga-bn200-pp6-bm1-b1975-bw5
https://dlg.usg.edu/record/gthp_gthp-slides_340
Map location reviewed October 3, 2026. Visitor reference is the White House Tract historical marker at the Harris House parking area off Welch Lane. Its text directly describes MacKay’s trading post and the 1780 siege. This marker is a nearby interpretation point, not the original trading-house footprint; the later Harris House is a separate building.
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=23265
Visitor classification and amenities reviewed October 3, 2026. Destination: White House Tract marker beside Harris House parking area.
Prose batch 2 researched October 3, 2026. Fast pass; proofing pending. Original footprint unresolved. Harris House attribution correction carried forward from earlier research; marker page unavailable during fast pass.
Parking researched October 3, 2026. Georgia’s official tourism listing explicitly confirms parking at the rear of Ezekiel Harris House; the retained White House Tract marker stands at that visitor lot. Parking serves the Ezekiel Harris House visitor reference at 1822 Broad Street, with the marker at the rear lot off Welch Lane. Use museum visitor spaces during an authorised visit or by arrangement; check the operator’s 2026 alternate-Saturday schedule. This is separate from the original trading-house footprint.
https://exploregeorgia.org/augusta/history-heritage/historic-homes/1797-ezekiel-harris-house