The old town of Augusta was settled in 1821 by frontiersman Daniel McLean and his brother-in-law John Sheridan, and the Aldrich, Davis, Edens, Kyle, Madden, and Wilson families soon settled there as well. Indian troubles in the 1830s included the Edens-Madden massacre and the killings of McLean and Sheridan. Ioni, later Augusta, Lodge No. 93, A.F. & A.M., was organized in 1852. The community was known as Boston until a post office established in 1857 was named for the daughter of Capt. John T. Smith. The town had a male and female academy and about 24 stores and shops, and ranching and forestry replaced the original cotton economy.