The history of

Columbia, Missouri 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 five-county Columbia metropolitan area. It is Missouri's fourth ...

as an American city spans two hundred years. Founded by pioneers from

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

in 1821 to be the county seat of Boone County. Its position astride the

Boone's Lick Road The Boone's Lick Road or Boonslick Trail was an early 1800s transportation route from eastern to central Missouri in the United States. Running east-west on the North side and roughly parallel to the Missouri River the trail began in the river port ...

led to early growth as settlers flooded into the

Boonslick The Boonslick, or Boone's Lick Country, is a cultural region of Missouri along the Missouri River that played an important role in the westward expansion of the United States and the development of Missouri's statehood in the early 19th century. Th ...

and eventually the West. In the 21st century Columbia is Missouri's fourth largest city and educational center.

Prehistory and colonial period

The Columbia area was once part of the

Mississippian culture The Mississippian culture was a Native Americans in the United States, Native American civilization that flourished in what is now the Midwestern United States, Midwestern, Eastern United States, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from appr ...

and home to the

Mound Builders A number of pre-Columbian cultures are collectively termed "Mound Builders". The term does not refer to a specific people or archaeological culture, but refers to the characteristic mound earthworks erected for an extended period of more than 5 ...

. When European explorers arrived the area was populated by the

Osage The Osage Nation, a Native American tribe in the United States, is the source of most other terms containing the word "osage". Osage can also refer to: * Osage language, a Dhaegin language traditionally spoken by the Osage Nation * Osage (Unicode b ...

and

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

Native Americans. In 1678 La Salle claimed all of

for

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...

passed by the area on the Missouri River in 1803.

City founding

Columbia's origins begin with the settlement of

American pioneer American pioneers were European American and African American settlers who migrated westward from the Thirteen Colonies and later United States to settle in and develop areas of North America that had previously been inhabited or used by Nati ...

s from

and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

in an early 1800s region known as the

. Before 1815 settlement in the region was confined to small log forts because of the threat of Native American attack during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. When the war ended settlers came on foot, horseback, and wagon, often moving entire households along the

and sometimes bringing enslaved African Americans. By 1818 it was clear that the increased population would necessitate a new county be created from territorial Howard County. The Mouniteau Creek on the west and

Cedar Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae *Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona * ...

Creek on the east were obvious natural boundaries. Believing it was only a matter of time before a county seat was chosen, the Smithton Land Company was formed to purchase over to established the village of Smithton near the present-day intersection of Walnut and Garth. In 1819 Smithton was a small cluster of log cabins in an ancient forest of oak and hickory; chief among them was the cabin of

Richard Gentry Richard Gentry (August 25, 1788 – December 25, 1837) was an American politician and military officer who died during the Seminole Wars. The Missouri county of Gentry is named for him. He was the first mayor and founder of Columbia, Missouri. ...

, a trustee of the Smithton Company who would become first mayor of Columbia. In 1820 Boone County was formed and named after the recently deceased explorer

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyond the we ...

. The Missouri Legislature appointed John Gray, Jefferson Fulcher, Absalom Hicks, Lawrence Bass, and David Jackson as commissioners to select and establish a permanent county seat. Smithton never had more than twenty people, and it was quickly realized that well digging was difficult because of the bedrock. Springs were discovered across the Flat Branch Creek, so in the Spring of 1821 Columbia was laid off and the inhabitants of Smithton moved their cabins to the new town. The first house in Columbia was built by Thomas Duly in 1820 at what would become Fifth and Broadway. They renamed the settlement Columbia—a historical name for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Columbia's permanence was ensured when it was chosen as county seat in 1821 and the Boone's Lick Road was rerouted down Broadway.

Expansion and growth

The roots of Columbia's three economic foundations—education, medicine, and insurance—can be traced back almost to incorporation in 1821. Original plans for the town set aside land for a state university. Columbia College (distinct from today's), later to become the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

, was founded in 1839. When the state legislature decided to establish a state university, Columbia raised three times as much money as any other competing city and donated the land that is today the Francis Quadrangle. Stephens College had opened six years earlier in 1833 as the Columbia Female Academy. Soon other educational institutions were founded in Columbia such as Christian Female College, which later became the current Columbia College. The city benefited from being a stagecoach stop of the Santa Fe and

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

trails, and later from the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad. In 1822 the first hospital was set up by William Jewell. In 1830 the first newspaper was begun; in 1832 the first theater in the state was opened; and in 1835 the states first agricultural fair was held. By 1839 the population (13,000) and wealth of Boone County was exceeded in Missouri only by that of St. Louis County.

Civil War and Reconstruction

Columbia's infrastructure was largely untouched by the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, although several major battles occurred nearby at Boonville and

Centralia Centralia may refer to: Places Australia *Central Australia, sometimes called "Centralia" Canada * Centralia, Ontario ** RCAF Station Centralia, a former Royal Canadian Air Force training base ** Centralia (Essery Field) Aerodrome United States ...

. The town was heavily garrisoned by Union troops, and though the city was pro-union the surrounding areas of Boone County and the rest of central Missouri was decidedly pro-south. During reconstruction the town saw steady growth in size, and continued to expand in all directions.

20th century

The 20th century saw Columbia's prominence as an educational center rise even further. It became home to the headquarters of the

University of Missouri System The University of Missouri System is an American state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, and ten research and technology parks. Nearly 70,000 students are cur ...

, Stephens College and Columbia College. It became a transportation crossroads when U.S. Routes 63 and 40, the latter of which is concurrent with present-day

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 in ...

, were routed through the city. Soon after, the city opened the

Columbia Regional Airport Columbia Regional Airport is a commercial passenger airport serving Columbia, Missouri. Located about 12 miles (19 km) southeast of Columbia in Boone County, Missouri, it is the only commercial airport in Mid-Missouri and also serves the s ...

. During this time, two insurance companies established their own headquarters in Columbia:

Shelter Insurance Shelter Insurance Company is a mutual insurance company which focuses on auto, property, business, and life Insurance. It operates in fifteen U.S. states and the headquarters is in Columbia, Missouri. Shelter was founded in 1946 as the insurance ...

and

State Farm State Farm Insurance is a large group of mutual insurance companies throughout the United States with corporate headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois. Overview State Farm is the largest property and casualty insurance provider, and the la ...

. The latter 20th century saw tremendous growth and by the end of the century, the population was over 80,000 in the city proper.

Recent developments

In the early 2000s Columbia embarked on a plan to manage the continued growth. The city is today growing especially towards the Missouri River in southwest Boone County. The downtown district has maintained its status as a cultural center and is undergoing significant development in both residential and commercial sectors. The University of Missouri, which experienced record enrollment in 2006, is undertaking significant construction.

References

* Stephens, E. W. (1875) "History of Boone County." An Illustrated Historical Atlas of Boone County, Missouri. Philadelphia: Edwards Brothers * * Gentry, North Todd (1916) The ''Bench and Bar of Boone County'' Columbia.

E.W. Stephens Publishing Company The E.W. Stephens Publishing Company was an American publishing company in Columbia, Missouri founded by Edwin William Stephens. Operating from the late 19th century into the 20th century, the press produced newspapers, novels, non-fiction bo ...

*Havig, Alan R. (1984) ''From southern village to Midwestern city: An illustrated history of Columbia'' Windsor Publications *Crighton, John C.(1987) ''A History of Columbia and Boone County'' Published by Boone County Historical Society *Sapp, David (2000) "Boone County Chronicles" Columbia: Boone County Historical Society {{Columbia, Missouri