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Columbus is the county seat of
Platte County, Nebraska Platte County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 34,296. Its county seat is Columbus, Nebraska, Columbus. The county was created in 1855. Platte County comprises the Colum ...
, situated at the confluence of the Loup and Platte rivers roughly 85 miles (137 km) west-northwest of
Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...
and 75 miles (121 km) northwest of Lincoln by road, near the county's southern edge. With an estimated population of 24,464 as of 2024, it is the 10th-most populous city in Nebraska. Initially settled in May 1856 along the historic Great Platte River Road, the city was named for
Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...
; its location along the proposed transcontinental railroad made it especially attractive to early settlers. Despite the construction of a hydroelectric plant, the Great Depression hit the region especially hard. Since, its economy has pivoted to one based on agriculture, manufacturing, and services such as healthcare. Today, Columbus is governed by a mayor and a city council. The city is located in the Omaha media market, and has 6 radio stations licensed to it; it is also home to the '' Columbus Telegram'', a newspaper published five days per week. A campus of
Central Community College Central Community College is a Community colleges in the United States, two-year Nebraska public college with three campuses, in Columbus, Nebraska, Columbus, Grand Island, Nebraska, Grand Island, and Hastings, Nebraska, Hastings. In addition the ...
is located 4 miles (6 km) outside Columbus; its sports teams are the Raiders.


History


Native Americans and Exploration

In the 18th century, the area around the confluence of the Platte and the Loup Rivers was used by a variety of Native American tribes, including
Pawnee Pawnee initially refers to a Native American people and its language: * Pawnee people * Pawnee language Pawnee is also the name of several places in the United States: * Pawnee, Illinois * Pawnee, Kansas * Pawnee, Missouri * Pawnee City, Nebraska * ...
,
Otoe The Otoe ( Chiwere: Jiwére) are a Native American people of the Midwestern United States. The Otoe language, Chiwere, is part of the Siouan family and closely related to that of the related Iowa, Missouria, and Ho-Chunk tribes. Histori ...
,
Ponca The Ponca people are a nation primarily located in the Great Plains of North America that share a common Ponca culture, history, and language, identified with two Indigenous nations: the Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma or the Ponca Tribe of ...
, and
Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...
. The Pawnee are thought to have descended from the Protohistoric Lower Loup Culture; the Otoe had moved from central Iowa into the lower Platte Valley in the early 18th century; and the closely related Omaha and Ponca had moved from the vicinity of the Ohio River mouth, settling along the Missouri by the mid-18th century. In 1720, Pawnee and Otoe allied with the French massacred the Spanish force led by Pedro de Villasur just south of the present site of Columbus. In 1739, the French traders Pierre and Paul Mallet stayed at the Pani-Maha village near this site while making the first known French voyage to Spanish-ruled Santa Fe. In the 19th century, the " Great Platte River Road"—the valley of the Platte and North Platte Rivers running from Fort Kearny to Fort Laramie— was the principal route of the westward expansion. For travellers following the north bank of the Platte, the Loup River, with its soft banks and quicksands, represented a major obstacle. In the absence of a ferry or a bridge, most of these followed the Loup for a considerable distance upstream before attempting a crossing: the first major wave of Mormon emigrants, for instance, continued up that river to a point about three miles downstream from present-day Fullerton.Mattes (1969), p. 132.


Settlement and early history

The site of Columbus was settled by the Columbus Town Company on May 28, 1856. The group took its name from
Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...
, where most of the settlers had originally lived. The townsite was selected for its location on the proposed route of the
transcontinental railroad A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous rail transport, railroad trackage that crosses a continent, continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks may be via the Ra ...
.Evans, Marion Reeder (1936). "80 Years of Progress". ''Columbus 1856-1936''. The Art Printery. Just west of the Columbus site, the Elk Horn and Loup Fork Bridge and Ferry Company, headed by James C. Mitchell, had laid out the townsite of Pawnee. In 1855, Mitchell had obtained from the
First Nebraska Territorial Legislature The First Nebraska Territorial Legislature first met in Omaha, Nebraska, on January 15, 1855. The Council Bluffs and Nebraska Ferry Company provided the first meeting place, which was a building "constructed for public purposes". Standing out from ...
the right to operate a ferry across the Loup River. The two companies consolidated in November 1856. At the time of its initial settling, the land Columbus occupied still belonged to the
Pawnee Pawnee initially refers to a Native American people and its language: * Pawnee people * Pawnee language Pawnee is also the name of several places in the United States: * Pawnee, Illinois * Pawnee, Kansas * Pawnee, Missouri * Pawnee City, Nebraska * ...
. However, in 1857, the Pawnee signed a treaty whereunder they gave up the bulk of their Nebraska lands, save for a reservation on what is now
Nance County, Nebraska Nance County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,380. Its county seat is Fullerton. In the Nebraska license plate system, Nance County is represented by the prefix 58 (it had the fifty-eig ...
.Hyde, George E. (1951). ''Pawnee Indians''. University of Denver Press. p. 183. In 1858, the Platte County Commissioners passed an act of incorporation making Columbus a town;Platte County, Part 2
''Andreas' History of the State of Nebraska''. Retrieved 2009-12-13.
at this time there were 16 citizens. It became the county seat shortly thereafter. In that same year, at the recommendation of the U.S. Army, a ferry across the Loup was installed; contemporary documents suggest that the Mitchell company had failed to act on its right to operate such a ferry.


Railroads and growth

Growth of the town was slow until 1863. In that year, construction began in Omaha on the transcontinental railroad. The
Homestead Act The Homestead Acts were several laws in the United States by which an applicant could acquire ownership of Federal lands, government land or the American frontier, public domain, typically called a Homestead (buildings), homestead. In all, mo ...
, passed the previous year, attracted a host of settlers to the Plains and gave rise to increased emigrant traffic business. The ferry across the Loup was replaced by a seasonal pontoon bridge, used in the summer and taken up in the winter. The railroad reached Columbus in June 1866, when the city's population was about 75. The energetic and eccentric promoter George Francis Train envisioned building "a magnificent highway of cities" from coast to coast along the Union Pacific route; Columbus was to be one of these. In 1865, he bought several hundred lots in the city. In the following year, seeing the nearby townsite of Cleveland as a threat to his plans for Columbus, he bought the only building on the site, a hotel, and moved it to Columbus. He renamed the building the Credit Foncier Hotel, after his land company, Credit Foncier of America;Curry, Margaret.
''History of Platte County''
Culver City, California: Murry & Gee, Inc., 1950.
in it, he set aside a room permanently reserved for the President of the United States. Train believed that the capital of the United States should be in the geographic center of the nation, and promoted Columbus as "...the new center of the Union and quite probably the future capital of the U.S.A."Howard, R. W. (1962) ''The Great Iron Trail: The Story of the First Transcontinental Railroad.'' Putnam. p. 206. Columbus grew and prospered during the 1870s, as a result of both expanding agriculture in Platte County and traffic on the railroad. During the decade, the population of the county grew threefold, and Columbus became the trade center for an eight-county area. The Black Hills Gold Rush in 1875 led the city's merchants to promote it as a staging and outfitting area for gold seekers, who could ride the railroad to Columbus and then travel overland to the gold fields. In 1879, Columbus became the focus of a war between railroad companies. The Burlington and Missouri proposed to develop a line from Lincoln through Columbus and into northwestern Nebraska, and urged the citizens of Platte County to vote a bond of $100,000 for construction expenses.
Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...
financier
Jay Gould Jason Gould (; May 27, 1836 – December 2, 1892) was an American railroad magnate and financial speculator who founded the Gould family, Gould business dynasty. He is generally identified as one of the Robber baron (industrialist), robber bar ...
, displeased at the prospect of competition, informed the voters of the county that if the measure passed, he would do his best to ruin Columbus. After a heated campaign, the measure passed despite Gould's threats. The Burlington and Missouri built a line from Lincoln to Columbus, but stopped there; for their diagonal route across Nebraska, they chose one that crossed the Union Pacific at Grand Island rather than Columbus. Gould sought to make good on his threat. When the Union Pacific developed its subsidiary Omaha, Niobrara and Black Hills Railroad, he directed that it cross the Loup River at Lost Creek, then run south to join the Union Pacific's main line at Jackson (since renamed Duncan), bypassing Columbus. Fortunately for Columbus, an ice jam destroyed the Lost Creek bridge in the spring of 1881. Railroad officials agreed to reroute the line down the north bank of the Loup to Columbus in exchange for a $25,000 contribution from the city.


Automobile age

In 1911, the Meridian Highway project was launched with the formation of a Meridian Road association in Kansas. Later that same year, John Nicholson, originator of the highway, spoke at a meeting in Columbus, at which the Nebraska Meridian Road Association was organized. The proposed north–south transcontinental highway crossed the Platte and the Loup rivers at the Columbus bridges. In 1922, it was designated a state highway. The completion of the Meridian Bridge in 1924, replacing a seasonal ferry across the
Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...
at the Nebraska-South Dakota border, made the highway a year-round route from Canada to Mexico. In 1928, the route became U.S. Highway 81.Slattery, Christina, Chad D. Moffett, and L. Robert Puschendorf (2001). Retrieved 2010-04-14. In 1913, the
Lincoln Highway The Lincoln Highway is one of the first transcontinental highways in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated Octob ...
was established as an east–west transcontinental highway. It followed the Platte River route across Nebraska; ultimately, about half of its mileage was on the Union Pacific right-of-way.Puschendorf, L. Robert (2007). Retrieved 2010-04-14. It also crossed the Loup on the bridge at Columbus.Fraser, Clayton D. (1991). Retrieved 2010-04-14. In 1926, the route became U.S. Highway 30. Traffic on the two transcontinental auto routes through and near central Columbus spurred a burst of commercial construction. Hotels were expanded and new ones built; service garages were opened. To make the route through Columbus more attractive to motorists, the city undertook to illuminate and pave the downtown streets. By 1925, all of the city's major commercial thoroughfares were paved, and almost every lot along 13th Street (the Lincoln Highway) between 23rd and 29th Avenues was occupied by a commercial building.Kooiman, Barbara M. and Elizabeth A. Butterfield (1996). Retrieved 2010-04-14. Rural Platte County suffered badly from the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
. Grain and livestock prices had been high during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, engendering a
bubble Bubble, Bubbles or The Bubble may refer to: Common uses * Bubble (physics), a globule of one substance in another, usually gas in a liquid ** Soap bubble * Economic bubble, a situation where asset prices are much higher than underlying fundame ...
in farmland; to acquire additional acres, farmers had secured them with mortgages not only on the newly purchased land, but also on their older holdings. The fall in the prices of agricultural commodities, combined with drought-induced crop failures in 1934 and 1936, forced many such farmers to abandon their lands.Olson, Ralph Eugene (1937).
''Water Power Development on the Lower Loup River: A Study in Economic Geography.''
Master's thesis, Department of Geography, University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Retrieved 2010-04-14.
The civic and commercial leaders of Columbus aggressively sought federal and state funds for local construction projects during this time. In 1931, the Meridian Viaduct was completed, carrying the combined Meridian and Lincoln highways across the Union Pacific tracks and eliminating a grade-level crossing. In 1930–31, the aging and inadequate bridge across the Platte was replaced; in 1932–33, a new bridge was built at the Loup crossing.


Hydro power

The most expensive and ambitious of Columbus's Depression-era public-works efforts was the construction of the Loup Project. This was a canal running from a diversion weir on the Loup River in Nance County to the Platte River about below the mouth of the Loup.Firth, Robert E. (1962). ''Public Power in Nebraska''. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. The waters of the canal run through two
hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...
generating stations: one north of
Monroe Monroe or Monroes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Monroe (surname) * Monroe (given name) * James Monroe, 5th President of the United States * Marilyn Monroe, actress and model Places United States * Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorp ...
with a capacity of 7,800 kW; and one at Columbus with a capacity of 45,600 kW. Initially financed with a loan and grant of $7.3 million from the
Public Works Administration The Public Works Administration (PWA), part of the New Deal of 1933, was a large-scale public works construction agency in the United States headed by United States Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was ...
, construction of the diversion structure, canal, and powerhouses began in August 1934Farritor, Sharon (2006). ''Power and Progress: The History of Loup Power District 1933-2006''. Published by Loup Power District. and was finished, apart from some final details, in September 1938. At its peak, in October 1936, the project directly employed 1,352 people. To make payments on the Loup Project bonds, the Loup River Public Power District had to find a market for its electricity. Rural electrification was not expanding rapidly, and private power companies in Nebraska were only willing to buy a small fraction of the project's power. Although the provisions of the
Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 The Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA), also known as the Wheeler-Rayburn Act, was a US federal law giving the Securities and Exchange Commission authority to regulate, license, and break up electric utility holding companies. I ...
gave East Coast holding companies an incentive to sell off their Nebraska subsidiaries, bankers were unwilling to finance their sale to the Loup District because of its debts from the canal project. In 1939, Consumers Public Power District was formed in Columbus. The new organization's purpose was to buy power from the Loup Project and from the Tri-County and Sutherland projects on the Platte in central Nebraska, and to market it to consumers and municipal utilities. To this end, it was authorized to issue revenue bonds for the purchase of privately held power companies. By 1942, it had purchased all of the private electrical utilities in Nebraska outside of the immediate vicinity of Omaha; by 1949, the last of the private utilities had been bought up, making Nebraska the only state in the nation to be served entirely by public power.


World War II to 2000

With the arrival of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Columbus's boosters sought a war plant for Columbus. They persuaded the federal government to purchase in northeastern Columbus, and to build a railroad line to the site. Before construction of the projected aluminum-extrusion plant could begin, however, it became clear that the war would end soon and that the plant would not be needed."Community Facts: Columbus, Nebraska".

Nebraska Public Power District.
Retrieved 2010-04-15.
The site was sold as surplus property to the Loup District for a fraction of its original cost; the district turned it into an industrial site. In 1946, Behlen Manufacturing built a factory on the site; the rest of the available land was occupied soon thereafter. Columbus Public Schools in 1968 cut off non-resident students in order to become financially solvent, leaving students north of town without an education. In response, Lakeview Community Schools was formed. There are also several Catholic schools in Columbus, including Scotus Central Catholic High School. Columbus made headlines in 1997 when 25 million pounds of beef from a Hudson Foods plant in the city were recalled. At the time, it was the largest recall in United States history. In 1999, the East-Central District Health Department was formed as the Platte-Colfax County District Health Department. Platte County, including Columbus, is one of four counties served by the
health department A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entity, Subnational entities, such as State (administrative division), states, county, counties an ...
, which is located in Columbus along with the Good Neighbor Community Health Center.


2000-present

Over 20% of Columbus residents are Hispanic or Latino, as of the 2020 census. In 2009, Fernando Lopez, Karen Gomez and Maria Davila founded Columbus-based Centro Hispano Comunitario de Nebraska which provides immigration, education and business services in three counties. A Columbus man died during the Midwestern flooding in 2019. He had been trying to help someone stranded in the floodwaters when the bridge he was crossing collapsed. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Columbus City Council passed a mask mandate in a special meeting held in late November. The council voted four to four on the mandate and Mayor Jim Bulkley broke the tie in favor of the mandate. In January 2021, the council voted on an amended ordinance which required masks only if cases hit a certain level. The ordinance expired on Feb. 23, 2021. Voters in the 2020 election approved a community building project, with space for a library, a potential children's museum, an art gallery, coffee shop, community room and City Hall. A previous library ballot measure had failed in 2017. Demolition of the library began in May 2021. The Columbus Community Building held its grand opening in July 2023 with the Library and City Hall moving into the building immediately, followed by the Columbus Arts Council, Children's Museum, and a coffee shop. A fire smoldered at the Columbus
Archer Daniels Midland The Archer-Daniels-Midland Company, commonly known as ADM, is an American multinational food processing and commodities trading corporation founded in 1902 and headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. The company operates more than 270 p ...
facility for several weeks in summer 2021. Columbus' fire chief resigned less than a week after the public found out about the
fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...
.


Government

Columbus is governed by a
mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
and city council, which has eight members who represent four wards. The council members are elected for four-year terms on a staggered basis. Columbus' mayor is also elected for a four-year term. The current mayor is Jim Bulkley and the current council members are Council President Rich Jablonski, Ron Schilling, Hope Freshour, J. Prent Roth, Troy Hiemer, Cynthia Alarcón, Katherine Lopez, and Charlie Bahr. Evelyn Kusek was the first female city council member and served as the first female council president in 1967 and 1968. Sandra Riley served as the second female city council president in 1991, 1992 and 1993. Beth Augustine-Schulte served as the third female city council president in 2021, 2022, and 2023.


Geography

Columbus is located west of Omaha and northwest of Lincoln. It is on the north side of the Loup River near its confluence with the Platte River. U.S. Highways 30 and 81 intersect in the city, and the main line of the Union Pacific railroad passes through it. The city lies at an elevation of . It is built on the flat terrain of the Platte River valley; rolling hills rise to the north of the city. According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.


Climate

Columbus has a monsoonal hot-summer
humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
''Dwa'') typical of this part of Nebraska, characterized by cold, dry winters and hot, humid summers. Precipitation is concentrated between April and October with a maximum during the late spring and early summer, and averages annually.


Demographics


2020 census

The 2020 United States census counted 24,028 people, 9,535 households, and 5,732 families in Columbus. The population density was 2,323.8 per square mile (897.2/km). There were 10,028 housing units at an average density of 969.8 per square mile (374.5/km). The racial makeup was 74.64% (17,935)
white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 1.48% (355) black or African-American, 1.14% (273) Native American, 0.75% (180) Asian, 0.02% (4)
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 12.35% (2,967) from other races, and 9.63% (2,314) from two or more races.
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 was 23.0% (5,401) of the population. Of the 9,535 households, 28.4% had children under the age of 18; 45.9% were married couples living together; 27.4% had a female householder with no husband present. 36.0% of households consisted of individuals and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.4 and the average family size was 3.2. 25.1% of the population was under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.5 years. For every 100 females, the population had 100.9 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older, there were 100.6 males. The 2016-2020 5-year
American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...
estimates show that the median household income was $57,919 (with a margin of error of +/- $4,391) and the median family income $75,696 (+/- $4,083). Males had a median income of $40,580 (+/- $2,797) versus $30,000 (+/- $2,355) for females. The median income for those above 16 years old was $33,573 (+/- $2,403). Approximately, 5.2% of families and 8.3% 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 9.8% of those under the age of 18 and 6.0% of those ages 65 or over.


2010 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 2010, there were 22,111 people, 8,874 households, and 5,811 families residing in the city. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was . There were 9,322 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 88.1%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.5%
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 ...
, 0.9% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 8.2% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races.
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 were 16.3% of the population. There were 8,874 households, of which 32.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.4% 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, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.5% were non-families. 29.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.04. The median age in the city was 37.1 years. 26.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.8% were from 25 to 44; 25.4% were from 45 to 64; and 15.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.5% male and 50.5% female.


2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 20,971 people, 8,302 households, and 5,562 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 8,818 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 87.19% White, 1.45% African American, 0.35% Native American, 0.48% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 3.49% from other races, and 1.00% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.65% of the population. There were 8,302 households, out of which 34.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.7% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.0% were non-families. 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.09. In the city, the population was spread out, with 28.2% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.3 males. The
median income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of unde ...
for a household in the city was $38,874, and the median income for a family was $48,669. Males had a median income of $30,980 versus $22,063 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 city was $18,345. About 4.5% of families and 6.9% 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 7.7% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.


Economy

Columbus's economy is based on agriculture and manufacturing, with many industrial companies attracted by cheap, plentiful hydroelectric power. Major manufacturing employers include Becton Dickinson, a medical products company that operates two facilities in Columbus; Behlen Manufacturing, which produces steel buildings, grain bins, and agricultural equipment; Columbus Hydraulics Co. is an
Hydraulic cylinder A hydraulic cylinder (also called a linear hydraulic motor) is a mechanical actuator that is used to give a unidirectional force through a unidirectional stroke. It has many applications, notably in construction equipment ( engineering vehicles ...
manufacturing company The company designs and manufactures hydraulic cylinders for agriculture, construction, turf, utility, and railroad,; CAMACO, a manufacturer of automotive seat frames;
Cargill Cargill, Incorporated is an American multinational food corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, Minnetonka, Minnesota, and incorporated in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded in 1865 by William Wallace Cargill, it is the largest privately held c ...
, which operates a ground-beef processing plant;
Archer Daniels Midland The Archer-Daniels-Midland Company, commonly known as ADM, is an American multinational food processing and commodities trading corporation founded in 1902 and headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. The company operates more than 270 p ...
, which runs a corn-milling facility; and Vishay Dale Electronics, a subsidiary of Vishay Intertechnology that produces electronic components. Major non-manufacturing employers include Nebraska Public Power District, which is headquartered in Columbus; Columbus Public Schools; and Columbus Community Hospital.


Media

Columbus has one newspaper, the '' Columbus Telegram''. The newspaper is published five days a week. There are 6 radio stations in Columbus. KTLX at FM 91.3 is a religious station; KKOT at FM 93.5 plays classic hits. KZEN at FM 100.3 broadcasts
country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
; the station is licensed in Central City, but the studio is in Columbus. KLIR at FM 101.1 plays
adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
music; KJSK at AM 900 is a news talk station; and KTTT at AM 1510 is a polka and oldies country station.


Education

A Carnegie library was built in 1913–15; the current Columbus Public Library replaced it in 1977.


Central Community College

A campus of
Central Community College Central Community College is a Community colleges in the United States, two-year Nebraska public college with three campuses, in Columbus, Nebraska, Columbus, Grand Island, Nebraska, Grand Island, and Hastings, Nebraska, Hastings. In addition the ...
is located four miles (6 km) northwest of the city. Its athletic teams are the Raiders.


Primary and secondary schools

Columbus Public Schools operates Columbus High School, a middle school and five elementary schools: Centennial, West Park, North Park, Lost Creek, and Emerson. The district has closed several elementary schools within the past 10 years, most recently the nearby Duncan Elementary School, which had been in the district since 1967. Columbus High, with 1,100 students is the largest area high school. Its athletic teams are the Discoverers. Scotus Central Catholic High School is a Catholic school named after
John Duns Scotus John Duns Scotus ( ; , "Duns the Scot";  – 8 November 1308) was a Scottish Catholic priest and Franciscan friar, university professor, philosopher and theologian. He is considered one of the four most important Christian philosopher-t ...
; it serves grades 7 through 12. Its teams are the Shamrocks. Lakeview Community Schools, including Lakeview High School, serves a rural community north of the city. The school district is located just north of Lake Babcock, and its teams are the Vikings.


Attractions

The Andrew Jackson Higgins National Memorial in Pawnee Park features a life-sized replica of a Higgins boat with bronze statues of soldiers exiting into the sand. The memorial includes sand samples from 58 beaches of historic significance: D-Day beaches of World War II, and beaches in Korea and Vietnam. The site is also home to the Freedom Memorial, which incorporates steel from the remains of the World Trade Center, destroyed by terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Glur's Tavern, built in 1876, is the oldest tavern west of the Missouri River still in operation. The tavern was patronized by "Buffalo Bill" Cody during his frequent visits to Columbus.Frear, Shelley
"Buffalo Bill's Columbus Adventure"
''True West Magazine''. 2006-07-01. Retrieved 2009-12-14.
The tavern is listed in 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 ...
. The Platte County Agricultural Society hosts a number of events at Agricultural Park. The Platte County Fair is held there annually. Live thoroughbred horse racing takes place at the park every year from late July through mid-September; races from other tracks are simulcast throughout the year."Family Fun."
Columbus/Platte County Convention and Visitors Bureau. Retrieved 2011-06-22.
U.S. 30 Speedway stages weekly auto races from April to September. The Columbus Marching Festival is held every September, hosting High School marching bands from in and outside of the state. The Columbus Days Parade is held a week in August in downtown Columbus, NE.


Pawnee Plunge

Pawnee Plunge is an outdoor water park located in Columbus. It first opened in late May 2006, and features four main waterslides that include a tube slide, a regular slide, a speed slide, and a unique splashbowl slide that visitors often refer to as the "toilet bowl." The park also has a small "lazy river." During its first week, the park attracted over 13,000 visitors. The park is funded by the City of Columbus with a -cent sales tax.


Notable people

Columbus is the birthplace of Andrew Jackson Higgins, creator/designer of the Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel (LCVP), or Higgins boat, used during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Noteworthy current or former residents of Columbus include
Chuck Hagel Charles Timothy Hagel ( ; born October 4, 1946)Brad William Henke; world heavyweight boxing champion
Leon Spinks Leon Spinks (July 11, 1953 – February 5, 2021) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1995. In only his eighth professional fight, he won the undisputed heavyweight championship in 1978 after defeating Muhammad Ali in a s ...
; architect Emiel Christensen; and NFL football players
Joe Blahak Joseph Philip Blahak (August 29, 1950 – April 25, 2016) was an American professional American football, football player who was a defensive back in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Houston Oilers, Minnesota Vikings, Tampa ...
, Cory Schlesinger, and
Chad Mustard Chad Anthony Mustard (born October 8, 1977) is a former American football tight end and offensive guard. He played college basketball and college football at North Dakota Fighting Hawks, North Dakota. Originally from Columbus, Nebraska, Mustard ...
. Lucas Cruikshank, creator of
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
series FRED and its main character
Fred Figglehorn Frederick "Fred" Figglehorn is a fictional character who appears in the YouTube web series ''Fred'' (stylized as "FЯED") created by American Internet personality Lucas Cruikshank from 2006 to 2015 and revived from 2020 to 2021. The characters' ...
, is a former Columbus resident."Biography for Lucas Cruikshank".Internet Movie Database.
Retrieved 2009-12-26.
Lon Milo DuQuette, occultist author and musician, is a graduate of Columbus High School. Lotan Harold DeWolf (31 January 1905 – 24 March 1986), usually cited as L. Harold Dewolf, was an American
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
minister and professor of
systematic theology Systematic theology, or systematics, is a discipline of Christian theology that formulates an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the doctrines of the Christian faith. It addresses issues such as what the Bible teaches about certain topics ...
at
Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...
where he was
Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...
's "primary teacher and mentor".DeWolf was born on 31 January 1905 in Columbus, Nebraska. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Nebraska Wesleyan University in 1924, then pursued theological studies at Boston University where, in 1926, he obtained a Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree. His father was a minister at the First Methodist Church in Columbus. Marion Van Berg (January 15, 1896 – May 3, 1971) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. He was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1970. His son, Jack Van Berg, also went on to racing horse fame. Van Berg Stables was headquartered in Columbus, NE at the location of the Van Berg Sales Pavilion. Jack Van Berg John Charles "Jack" Van Berg, (June 7, 1936 in Columbus, Nebraska – December 27, 2017) was an American Hall of Fame horse trainer. Born into a horse racing family, his father was the Hall of Fame trainer, Marion Van Berg. Both father and son have been inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York.
Jim Pillen James Douglas Pillen (born December 31, 1955) is an American politician, veterinarian, and livestock producer serving as the 41st and current governor of Nebraska since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Pillen served on the University of ...
(born December 31, 1955) is an American politician, veterinarian and livestock producer serving as the 41st and current governor of
Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...
since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Pillen served on the
University of Nebraska A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
Board of Regents from 2013 to 2023. Ernest Hausmann (born August 20, 2003) is an American football linebacker. A native of
Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...
, he played college football for
Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...
in 2022 and entered the
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
transfer portal after the 2022 season where he was ranked the top player in the portal. He transferred to the
Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...
, winning a national championship the next year.


See also

*
List of municipalities in Nebraska Nebraska is a state located in the Midwestern United States. According to the 2020 census, Nebraska was the 37th most populous state with 1,961,504 inhabitants and the 15th largest by land area spanning of land. Incorporated communities in ...


References


External links

* * * {{authority control Cities in Nebraska Micropolitan areas of Nebraska Cities in Platte County, Nebraska County seats in Nebraska Populated places established in 1856 1856 establishments in Nebraska Territory