The history of

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1821 as the county seat of Boone County, Missouri, Boone County and had a population of 126,254 as recorded in the 2020 United States census, making it the List of cities in Misso ...

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

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

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 ...

led to early growth as settlers flooded into the Boonslick 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 collection of Native American societies that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 to 1600 CE, varying regionally. It was known for building la ...

and home to the

Mound Builders Many pre-Columbian cultures in North America were collectively termed "Mound Builders", but the term has no formal meaning. It does not refer to specific people or archaeological culture but refers to the characteristic mound earthworks that in ...

. When European explorers arrived the area was populated by the Osage and

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') 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 border ...

Native Americans. In 1678 La Salle claimed all of

for

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. 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, also known as American settlers, were European American,Asian American, and African American settlers who migrated westward from the British Thirteen Colonies and later the United States of America to settle and develop areas ...

s from

and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

in an early 1800s region known as the Boonslick. 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 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. 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, 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 (, 1734September 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 beyo ...

. 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 Flat Branch may refer to: * Flat Branch (Hinkson Creek tributary), a stream in Columbia, Missouri * Flat Branch Park, a park in Columbia, Missouri * Flat Branch, North Carolina, an unincorporated community in Anderson Creek Township * Flat Branch (F ...

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 (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. 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 or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

, 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 Stephens College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Timeline of women's colleges in the United States#First and oldest, the second-oldest women's educa ...

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 United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

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; the first movie was screened in the

Haden Opera House Haden Opera House was a opera house in Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1821 as the county seat of Boone County, Missouri, Boone County and had a population of 126,254 as recorded in the 202 ...

; 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 is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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.J ...

, although several major battles occurred nearby at Boonville and Centralia. 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. Over 61,500 students (Fall 202 ...

, 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 in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 and Maryland Route 570 (MD 570) in Woodlawn, Baltimo ...

, 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 ...

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

Shelter Insurance Shelter Mutual Insurance Company is a mutual insurance company which focuses on auto, property, business, and life Insurance. It operates in fifteen U.S. states and its corporate office is located in Columbia, Missouri. Shelter was founded in 19 ...

and

State Farm State Farm Insurance is a group of mutual insurance companies throughout the United States with corporate headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois. Founded in 1922, it is the largest property and casualty insurance, property, casualty and auto i ...

. 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 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 ...

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 *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