History of Columbia

Columbia was settled by Europeans in the early 1700s and chosen to be the site of South Carolina's new state capital in 1786. It was chartered as a town in 1805 and as a city in 1854. Columbia was named for Christopher Columbus, and it was South Carolina's first planned city (wide streets arranged in a grid pattern) and the second planned city in the United States (Savannah was the first). Despite this, Columbia did not have a single paved street until Main Street was surfaced in 1908.
 

The site for Columbia is a result of a compromise.  The Senators from the Low-country wanted the capital to stay in Charleston (it was convenient for them); The senators from the upper parts of the state wanted a more central location with access to all three rivers – Broad, Congaree and Saluda Rivers --which were vital shipping routes for good in the 18th century.

Columbia officially annual elections with a mayor and six council members in 1805.

Columbia officially became a city in 1854.

In February, 1865, Union troops, led by William Tecumseh Sherman, marched into Columbia.  A fire destroyed 500 buildings and affected 84 of 124 occupied blocks within the city.

The current City Hall was built in 1874.

 


 

Columbia is located in the center of South Carolina at the junctions of Interstates 20, 26 and 77. It is South Carolina's most populated city, the state capital, the county seat of Richland County, the home of the University of South Carolina's main campus, and the site of the South Carolina State Fair every October. A small part of Columbia also extends into Lexington County.  Columbia is nicely positioned in the center of the midlands and between the low-country and upstate. 

 

 

 

For more information on Columbia, visit the city's official website.