Columbia is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is the county seat of Boone County and home to the University of Missouri. Founded in 1821, it is the principal city of the three-county Columbia metropolitan area. It is Missouri's fourth most populous with an estimated 128,555 residents in 2022.
Missouri is a landlocked state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it borders Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas to the south and Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska to the west. In the south are the Ozarks, a forested highland, providing timber, minerals, and recreation. The Missouri River, after which the state is named, flows through the center and into the Mississippi River, which makes up the eastern border. With over six million residents, it is the 18th-most populous state of the country. The largest urban areas are St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, and Columbia; the capital is Jefferson City.
The history of Missouri begins with settlement of the region by indigenous people during the Paleo-Indian period beginning in about 12,000 BC. Subsequent periods of native life emerged until the 17th century. New France set up small settlements, and in 1803, Napoleonic France sold the area to the U.S. as part of the Louisiana Purchase. Statehood for Missouri came following the Missouri Compromise in 1820 that allowed slavery. Settlement was rapid after 1820, aided by a network of rivers navigable by steamboats, centered in the City of St. Louis. It attracted European immigrants, especially Germans; the business community had a large Yankee element as well. The Civil War saw numerous small battles and control by the Union. After the war, its economy diversified, and railroads centered in Kansas City, opened up new farmlands in the west.
The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the free state of Kansas.
Peace Park also known as McAlester Arboretum is a park and arboretum located on the University of Missouri campus in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It was renamed Peace Park after the Kent State Massacre, to which there is a memorial in the park. The park is near Francis Quadrangle and the Missouri School of Journalism. Across Elm Street is Downtown Columbia and the Columbia Missourian and the State Historical Society of Missouri. Peace Park is popular with students, faculty, and Columbia residents alike.
Darwin Alexander Hindman was an American politician and mayor of Columbia, Missouri. He was elected mayor in 1995 and finished his fifth elected term in April 2010 after announcing he would not be running for re-election at the end of that term. During Hindman's term as mayor, Columbia and three other cities received 25 million dollars in federal funding to run a pilot project to promote bicycling and walking as an alternative to driving. In 2009 he was one of three mayors to receive the Leadership for Healthy Communities Award, along with Michael Bloomberg of New York City and Gavin Newsom of San Francisco. He has been called the "Father of the Katy Trail." He was one of the longest serving members of the Columbia City Council.
Columbia Cosmopolitan Recreation Area, commonly referred to as Cosmo Park, is a city park in Columbia, Missouri. At 533 acres (2.16 km2), it is the largest park in Columbia. It is also the location of the annual Show-Me State Games.
True/False Film Fest is an annual documentary film festival that takes place in Columbia, Missouri. The Fest occurs on the first weekend in March, with films being shown from Thursday evening to Sunday night. Films are screened at multiple locations around downtown Columbia, including Ragtag Cinema, Jesse Hall, Missouri Theatre Center for the Arts, The Picturehouse, The Blue Note, The Globe, Rhynsburger Theater and the Forrest Theater in the Tiger Hotel. It offers one award each year, the True Vision Award.
KBIA, is a National Public Radio-member station in Columbia, Missouri. It carries regional news coverage, locally produced news shows, original talk shows, as well as NPR news programs including All Things Considered and Morning Edition.
Boone Hospital Center is a county-owned not-for-profit hospital in Columbia, Missouri. It is administered by Boone Health. The hospital is a regional referral center, providing services to 25 Mid-Missouri counties. It employs over 2000 people, making it one of the largest employers in Columbia.
The David Gordon House and Collins Log Cabin were two historic homes located at Columbia, Missouri. The David Gordon House is a two-story, frame I-house. The 13-room structure incorporated original construction from about 1823 and several additions from the 1830s, 1890s and 1930s. The Collins Log Cabin was built in 1818, and is a single pen log house of the story and a loft design. They represent some of the first permanent dwellings in Columbia. The house, located in what is now Stephens Lake Park burned after arson in the early 1990s. The log cabin survived has been relocated from Stephens Lake Park to the campus of the Boone County Historical Society.
Downtown Columbia is the central business, government, and social core of Columbia, Missouri and the Columbia Metropolitan Area. Three colleges — the University of Missouri, Stephens College, and Columbia College — all border the area. Downtown Columbia is an area of approximately one square mile surrounded by the University of Missouri on the south, Stephens College to the east, and Columbia College on the north. The area serves as Columbia's financial and business district and is the topic of a large initiative to draw tourism, which includes plans to capitalize on the area's historic architecture and Bohemian characteristics. The downtown skyline is relatively low and is dominated by the 10-story Tiger Hotel, built in 1928, and the 15-story Paquin Tower.
Maria Pellegrino Park is a municipal park in the western of portion of Marble Hill, Missouri, United States. The park is the largest of the five reserves in the municipality. Pellegrino Park features tennis courts, pavilions, playground equipment, picnic tables, restroom facilities, forest, and a two acre lake for fishing. The park began planning in 1969 and was established in 1972 on 31 acres of city owned land. The park was founded by Frank Pellegrino, the former president and chairman of the International Hat Company of St. Louis. The company operated one of its factories in Marble Hill until 1989, employing approximately 300 people. The park was built on land donated by the company located directly adjacent to International Hat's manufacturing plant. Pellegrino named the park in honor of his Italian-American mother, Maria Pellegrino. The plaque located at the entrance gate reads that the park is dedicated to her "as an expression of her concern for the betterment of her fellowman."
Boone County Historical Society was established in 1924. Located in Columbia, Missouri, United States, the Boone County Historical Museum has been collecting, preserving and exhibiting artifacts and records of the people of Boone County, Missouri.
The Treeline Music Festival, previously known as the Roots N Blues Festival and Roots N Blues N BBQ Festival, is an annual music festival that takes place in Stephens Lake Park in Columbia, Missouri. The festival features international, national, regional and local artists, both established and emerging, from the genres of roots, blues, gospel, country, folk, bluegrass, rock and soul. The Roots N Blues Festival is a three-day event that is typically held during the last weekend of September.
The School of Music is an academic division of the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. Its focus is the study of music, awarding baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral degrees as part of the College of Arts and Science. The institution's programs encompass composition, performance, conducting, music education, music history, musical theatre and musicology. Established in 1917 as the Department of Music, the school continues to play a prominent role in the cultural life of Missouri and is located in the Sinquefield Music Center, on the university's flagship campus in Downtown Columbia. The Fine Arts Building also houses classrooms, studios, and a recital hall. Its major performance venues are Jesse Hall, the Missouri Theatre, and Whitmore Recital Hall. The Missouri Tigers marching band, Marching Mizzou, performs at Faurot Field for Southeastern Conference football games. The school's ensembles have performed worldwide and can be heard weekly on the university's own KMUC 90.5 FM Classical, Mid-Missouri's classical music radio station. Alumni include singers Sheryl Crow and Neal Boyd, Canadian Brass founder Gene Watts, and jazz artist Mike Metheny.
The Smithton Land Company was a group of American pioneers who in 1818 established the frontier village of Smithton, Missouri in the Boonslick region of Missouri, then the Missouri Territory. In 1821 the settlement was renamed Columbia, Missouri and relocated slightly East of its original location. Smithton was the first county seat of Boone County. The company and town were named after Thomas Adams Smith, the receiver of the land office in Franklin, Missouri.
The Missouri Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in Columbia, Missouri. Founded in 1970 as the Missouri Symphony Society the professional orchestra brings symphonic classics, pops, and guest artist to Mid-Missouri. The orchestra is best known for its "Hot Summer Nights" music series. Other annual events include the Symphony of Toys, Young People's Concert, and Joy of Music Summer camp. The Symphony also performs around Missouri including the Lake of the Ozarks.
Columbia, Missouri, held an election for Mayor of Columbia, Missouri, on April 5, 2016.
