Columbia is a rural town in Houston County,

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, United States. It is part of the

Dothan, Alabama Dothan is a city in and the county seat of Houston County, Alabama, Houston County in the U.S. state of Alabama. A slight portion of the city extends into Dale County, Alabama, Dale and Henry County, Alabama, Henry counties. It had a population ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2010 census the population was 740, down from 804 in 2000.

History

Founded in 1820, Columbia served as a major trading center for communities throughout the Wiregrass Region of Alabama between 1822 and 1833, which coincided as its time as Henry County

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...

. Henry County which then comprised portions of present-day Covington, Dale, Barbour,

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, Crenshaw,

Bullock Bullock may refer to: Animals * Bullock (in British English), a castrated male cattle, bovine animal of any age * Bullock (in American English), a young bull (an uncastrated male bovine animal) * Bullock (in Australia, India and New Zealand), an o ...

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, and

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

counties. It lost the county seat status to Abbeville in 1833. Bordering the

State of Georgia Georgia is a state in the Southeastern United States. It borders Tennessee and North Carolina to the north, South Carolina and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Florida to the south, and Alabama to the west. Of the 50 U.S. states, Georgia i ...

and the Chattahoochee River, Columbia was a major port-of-call for steamboats and was known to many as "Old Columbia". The town was incorporated on April 29, 1880 and was the center of education, culture, commerce, and trade. Columbia was the largest town in the area during the 19th century and remains one of the area's oldest continuously operating municipalities. Columbia received its first cotton textile mill in 1891 and its first electric plant in 1892. A branch of the Henry County Courthouse was located here from 1889 until Columbia became part of Houston County in 1903. Columbia got electric street lights in 1900 and its first electric utility company in 1914. At the turn of the 20th century, Columbia was bypassed by the Alabama Midland Railway in favor of Dothan. As the railroads continued to take freight trade away from the riverboats. Columbia's position as a principal trade center began to decline; however, Columbia sustained itself as a thriving farming community through the mid-20th century.

Old Columbia Jail

Erected sometime in the early 1860s, the Old Columbia Jail is today one of the last wooden jails still standing in Alabama. Originally, there were two cells, each measuring 10x15 feet. Interior walls are studded every two inches with iron spikes to prevent prisoners from being able to escape. The Columbia Women's Club and the Columbia Bicentennial Committee have completely renovated the building for use as a museum to preserve some of the articles of historical interest to Columbia citizens.

Purcell-Killingsworth House

The Purcell-Killingsworth House, also known as "Traveler's Rest" was completed in 1890 by William Henry Purcell (1845–1910), a prominent Columbia business man and politician. Purcell had many business interests including a steamboat landing on the Chattahoochee River. This was the boyhood home of Bishop Clare Purcell (1884–1964) who, in 1955, was elected President of the

United Methodist Council of Bishops The United Methodist Council of Bishops is the organization of which all active and retired bishops in the United Methodist Connection are members. In the United Methodist system of polity, the Council of Bishops is the executive branch of the chur ...

, the highest place of recognition ever achieved by a native-born Alabama Methodist minister. In 1946, the Purcell Family sold the two acre homestead to Mr. & Mrs. Henry Killingsworth who have meticulously restored this imposing Victorian mansion. It was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on December 16, 1982."Purcell-Killingsworth House". (1989). Historic Chattahoochee Commission. Historic marker in Columbia, Alabama.

Geography

Columbia is located in the northeastern corner of Houston County at . The town is located on the

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

-Alabama state line along Alabama State Routes 52 and 95. AL-52 is the main east–west route through the town, leading east to the Georgia state line, and west to Webb. AL-95 begins in the town and leads north to Abbeville. Alabama State Route 134 also begins in the town, leading west to

Headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, Jo ...

. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and (1.75%) is water.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 690 people, 343 households, and 192 families residing in the town.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 804 people, 344 households, and 226 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 462 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 74.38%

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, 24.50%

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African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.62% Native American, 0.12% from other races, and 0.37% from two or more races. 0.50% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 344 households, out of which 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.4% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% were non-families. 33.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.98. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.7% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 21.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $27,500, and the median income for a family was $36,339. Males had a median income of $29,821 versus $18,393 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $15,248. About 12.3% of families and 18.0% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 24.0% of those under age 18 and 18.6% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Dave Edwards, former

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

and

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

player * Monte Irvin, born in Columbia, member of the Baseball Hall of Fame * B'Ho Kirkland, born in Columbia, played for the Alabama Crimson Tide and went on to play for the

Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL) The Brooklyn Dodgers were an American football team that played in the National Football League from 1930 to 1943, and in 1944 as the Brooklyn Tigers. The team played its home games at Ebbets Field of the baseball National League (baseball), Na ...

. * Clare Purcell, born in Columbia, American

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South and the Methodist Church, elected in 1938.

Gallery

File:Columbia, Alabama Post Office 36319.JPG, Columbia Post Office ( ZIP code: 36319) File:Rossie Purcell Public Library Columbia, Alabama.JPG, Rossie Purcell Public Library File:Columbia First Baptist Church Columbia, Alabama.JPG, Columbia First Baptist Church File:Old Columbia, Alabama Jail.JPG, The Old Columbia Jail File:Purcell-Killingsworth House.JPG, The Purcell-Killingsworth House File:FRONT AND SIDE VIEW, N.E. - S. M. Dunwoody House, Abbeville Highway, Columbia, Houston County, AL HABS ALA,35-COLUM,3-1.tif, S. M. Dunwoody House. Taken as part of the

Historic American Buildings Survey The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

(HABS) File:FRONT AND SIDE VIEW, N.W. - Tom Bowden House, Greenwood Street, Columbia, Houston County, AL HABS ALA,35-COLUM,4-1.tif, Tom Bowden House. Taken as part of the HABS File:REAR AND SIDE VIEW, N.W. - J. B. Taylor House, Washington Street, Columbia, Houston County, AL HABS ALA,35-COLUM,2-2.tif, J. B. Taylor House. Taken as part of the HABS File:REAR AND SIDE VIEW, S.W. - Teague-Regell House, South and Washington Streets, Columbia, Houston County, AL HABS ALA,35-COLUM,1-2.tif, Teague-Regell House. Taken as part of the HABS

References

{{authority control Towns in Houston County, Alabama Towns in Alabama Dothan metropolitan area, Alabama Alabama populated places on the Chattahoochee River