Timeline of Columbus, Georgia

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Columbus, Georgia, US.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

19th century

• 1828
  • Columbus settled on site of formerly Creek village. ^[1]
  • Mirabeau B. Lamar begins publication of the Columbus Enquirer newspaper. ^{[2] [3]}
  • Methodist Church established. ^[1]
  • Old City Cemetery founded.
• 1829 - Baptist Church established. ^[4]
• 1830 - Population: 1,152.
• 1834 - Columbus Factory (textiles) in business. ^[5]
• 1836 - Columbus becomes "center of military operations" against the Creek during the Creek War of 1836, fought nearby. ^[1]
• 1840 - Wynnton School built (approximate date). ^[1]
• 1846 - Fire.
• 1847 - Columbus Board of Trade founded.
• 1850
  • Columbus Times newspaper begins publication. ^[3]
  • Population: 5,042. ^[6]
• 1853
  • Mobile & Girard Railroad begins operating. ^[1]
  • Columbus Iron Works built. ^[7]
  • Columbus Georgia Convention & Trade Center built.
• 1854 - Temple Israel founded.
• 1856 - Pemberton House built.
• 1860 - Population: 9,621. ^[8]
• 1865 - April 16: Battle of Columbus; Union forces win. ^{[1] [2]}
• 1867 - Rankin House built.
• 1868 - Eagle & Phenix Mill in operation. ^{[9] [10]}
• 1869 - Muscogee Mills in business. ^[11]
• 1870
  • Bethel Baptist Church built (approximate date). ^[12]
  • Population: 7,401. ^[6]
• 1871
  • Springer Opera House opens.
  • Lummus Cotton Gin manufactory relocates to Columbus. ^[1]
• 1879 - Confederate Monument erected. ^[13]
• 1880 - Population: 10,123.
• 1886
  • Columbus Evening Ledger newspaper begins publication. ^[3]
  • Future singer Ma Rainey born in Columbus. ^[13]
• 1887
  • Columbus Messenger newspaper begins publication.
  • Synagogue dedicated. ^[14]
• 1890 - Population: 17,303. ^[2]
• 1900 - Population: 17,614. ^[2]

20th century

• 1902 - Columbian Lodge No.7 Free and Accepted Masons building built.
• 1905
  • "Academic trade school" established. ^[1]
  • Cole-Hampton-Hatcher Grocery introduces flavored beverage Royal Crown Ginger Ale.
• 1910 - Population: 20,554. ^[2]
• 1914 - Grand Theatre built. ^[15]
• 1918
  • U.S. military Camp Benning established near Columbus.
  • Textile labor unrest. ^[11]
  • National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Columbus branch organized (approximate date). ^[16]
• 1920 - League of Women Voters of Columbus organized. ^[12]
• 1921 - Centennial Cotton Gin Company relocates to Columbus. ^[12]
• 1925 - Tom Huston Peanut and Candy Co. in business. ^[4]
• 1926 - Lake Harding reservoir created on the Chattahoochee River near Columbus. ^[4]
• 1928
  • WRBL radio begins broadcasting. ^[17]
  • Muscogee County Courthouse built. ^[1]
• 1929
  • Social Civic 25 Club organized. ^[18]
  • Columbus Municipal Airport commences operations. ^[19]
• 1930 - Spencer High School, the first African American high school in Columbus.
• 1936 - Junior League of Columbus established. ^[20]
• 1940
  • Bradley Theatre opens. ^[15]
  • Population: 53,280.
• 1944 - Muscogee County Airport (present-day Columbus Airport) commences operations. ^[21]
• 1949 - Columbus Symphony Orchestra active. ^[12]
• 1950
  • Columbus Drive-In cinema in business. ^[15]
• 1953
  • WRBL-TV and WTVM (television) begin broadcasting. ^[22]
  • Columbus Museum of Arts and Crafts opens.
• 1958 - Columbus College established.
• 1960 - Population: 116,779.
• 1962 - National Civil War Naval Museum opened.
• 1965 - B. Ed Johnson becomes mayor.
• 1966 - Historic Columbus Foundation formed. ^[23]
• 1970 - Population: 154,168. ^[8]
• 1971
  • Columbus joins with Muscogee County to form a consolidated city-county. ^[4]
  • Racial unrest. ^[12]
• 1972 - Metro Columbus Urban League established. ^[12]
• 1975 - Historic District Preservation Society organized. ^[24]
• 1976 - Chattahoochee Promenade built. ^[24]
• 1979 - Columbus' only Interstate highway, auxiliary Interstate 185 fully opens, provide a freeway connection for Columbus to mainline Interstate 85 and Atlanta. ^[25]
• 1980 - Population: 169,441. ^[8]
• 1983 - Richard Ray becomes U.S. representative for Georgia's 3rd congressional district. ^[26]
• 1988 - Columbus Ledger-Enquirer newspaper in publication. ^[3]
• 1990 - Population: 178,681. ^[8]
• 1993 - Sanford Bishop becomes U.S. representative for Georgia's 2nd congressional district. ^[27]
• 1996
  • First ever Olympic Softball competition held at South Commons complex July 21–30. ^[28]
  • Columbus Civic Center (arena) opens. ^[4]
  • City website online (approximate date). ^{[29] [30]}

21st century

• 2009 - National Infantry Museum founded.
• 2010 - Population: 189,885. ^[31]
• 2011 - Teresa Tomlinson becomes mayor.

See also

• Columbus, Georgia history
• List of mayors of Columbus, Georgia
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Muscogee County, Georgia
• Timelines of other cities in Georgia: Athens, Atlanta, Augusta, Macon, Savannah

References

1. Federal Writers' Project 1940.
2. Britannica 1910.
3. "US Newspaper Directory". Chronicling America. Washington DC: Library of Congress. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
4. Hellmann 2005.
5. White 1849.
6. Britannica 1878.
7. Americana 1912.
8. Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, US Census Bureau, 1998
9. Willoughby 1999.
10. "Chattahoochee Heritage Project". Alabama: Auburn University . Retrieved September 14, 2016.
11. Byrne 1997.
12. "Finding Aids". Columbus State University Archives. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
13. "Research". Historic Columbus Foundation. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
14. "Columbus, Georgia". Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities. Jackson, Mississippi: Goldring / Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life . Retrieved September 13, 2016.
15. "Movie Theaters in Columbus, GA". CinemaTreasures.org. Los Angeles: Cinema Treasures LLC. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
16. "Membership: Georgia", Report...1917 and 1918, NAACP annual report (1948), New York: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, 1919, pp. 10 v, hdl:2027/uiug.30112051986880
17. Jack Alicoate, ed. (1939), "Standard Broadcasting Stations of the United States: Georgia", Radio Annual, New York: Radio Daily, OCLC   2459636
18. Stephen G. N. Tuck (2001). Beyond Atlanta: The Struggle for Racial Equality in Georgia, 1940-1980. University of Georgia Press. ISBN   978-0-8203-2528-6.
19. "'Commuter' Offered In New Air Passenger Line To Columbus, Montgomery". The Atlanta Constitution . June 20, 1929. p. 14. Retrieved October 23, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
20. "History". Junior League of Columbus, GA. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
21. Rothwell, Fran (December 10, 1944). "CAA's Final Approval Seen As Linking City To 'Air World'". Ledger-Enquirer. pp. 1–2. Retrieved October 23, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
22. Charles A. Alicoate, ed. (1960), "Television Stations: Georgia", Radio Annual and Television Year Book, New York: Radio Daily Corp., OCLC   10512206
23. Lupold 1979a.
24. Lupold 1979b.
25. "Georgia Department of Transportation (January 1977)" (PDF). Georgia Department of Transportation, Maps Data.
26. "Georgia". Official Congressional Directory. 1991/1992- : S. Pub. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. 1983. hdl:2027/uc1.31158007157232 – via HathiTrust.
27. Civic Impulse, LLC. "Members of Congress". GovTrack . Washington DC. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
28. Olympic Games, 1996 Atlanta
    
29. "Columbus, Georgia Home Page". Archived from the original on November 1, 1996 – via Internet Archive, Wayback Machine.
30. Kevin Hyde; Tamie Hyde (eds.). "United States of America: Georgia". Official City Sites. Utah. OCLC   40169021. Archived from the original on December 7, 1998.
31. "Columbus city, Georgia". State & County QuickFacts. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved September 13, 2016.

Bibliography

• George White (1849), "Muscogee: Columbus", Statistics of the State of Georgia, Savannah: W. Thorne Williams, OCLC   1349061 – via Internet Archive
• John P. Campbell, ed. (1854). "Georgia: Muscogee County". Southern Business Directory. Charleston, SC: Press of Walker & James – via Google Books.
• Adiel Sherwood (1860), "Muscogee County: Columbus", Gazetteer of Georgia (4th ed.), Macon: S. Boykin
• "Columbus (2.)"  . Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 6 (9th ed.). 1878. p. 171.
• Industries of Columbus, Georgia. T. Gilbert. 1887. hdl:2027/loc.ark:/13960/t9280mb7z.
• Columbus, Her Trade, Commerce and Industries. Columbus: J. E. Land Publishing Company. 1892.
• "Columbus (Georgia)"  . Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 6 (11th ed.). 1910. p. 746.
• Frederick Converse Beach; George Edwin Rines, eds. (1912), "Columbus", The Americana, vol. 5, New York: Scientific American Compiling Department, hdl:2027/nyp.33433005016187 – via HathiTrust
• Nancy Telfair (1929). History of Columbus, Georgia: 1828-1928.
• Federal Writers' Project (1973) [1940], "Columbus", Georgia: a Guide to Its Towns and Countryside, American Guide Series, Athens: University of Georgia Press, pp. 214–223, ISBN   9781603540100 – via Google Books
• John S. Lupold (1979a). "Historic Columbus Foundation, 1966-1978". Georgia Historical Quarterly . 63 (1): 129–137. JSTOR   40580089.
• John S. Lupold (1979b). "Revitalizing Foundries, Hotels, and Grist Mills in Columbus". Georgia Historical Quarterly. 63 (1): 138–142. JSTOR   40580090.
• Frank J. Byrne (1997). "Wartime Agitation and Postwar Repression: Reverend John A. Callan and the Columbus Strikes of 1918-1919". Georgia Historical Quarterly. 81 (2): 345–369. JSTOR   40583648.
• Judith Grant (1999). Columbus, Georgia. Black America. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia.
• Lynn Willoughby (1999). Flowing Through Time: A History of the Lower Chattahoochee River. University of Alabama Press. ISBN   978-0-8173-5725-2.
• Kenneth H. Thomas Jr. (2001). Columbus, Georgia in Vintage Postcards. Arcadia. ISBN   978-1-4396-1094-7.
• Paul T. Hellmann (2005). "Georgia: Columbus". Historical Gazetteer of the United States. Taylor & Francis. pp. 224–225. ISBN   1-135-94859-3.
• David M. Owings (2015). Columbus. Images of America. Arcadia. ISBN   978-1-4396-5254-1.

External links

• "Columbus", New Georgia Encyclopedia , Georgia Humanities Council
• "Today in Georgia History". Georgia Historical Society; Georgia Public Broadcasting.
• Items related to Columbus, various dates (via Digital Public Library of America).
• "Genealogy & Local History". Columbus: Chattahoochee Valley Libraries.