City founding and early history

The Columbia

Columbia, Missouri

Columbia is the fifth-largest city in Missouri, and the largest city in Mid-Missouri. With a population of 108,500 as of the 2010 Census, it is the principal municipality of the Columbia Metropolitan Area, a region of 164,283 residents. The city serves as the county seat of Boone County and as the...

 area was once part of the Mississippian culture

Mississippian culture

The Mississippian culture was a mound-building Native American culture that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 CE to 1500 CE, varying regionally....

 and home to the Mound Builders. When European explorers arrived the area was populated by the Osage

Osage Nation

The Osage Nation is a Native American Siouan-language tribe in the United States that originated in the Ohio River valley in present-day Kentucky. After years of war with invading Iroquois, the Osage migrated west of the Mississippi River to their historic lands in present-day Arkansas, Missouri,...

 and Missouri

Missouri tribe

The Missouria or Missouri are a Native American tribe that originated in the Great Lakes region of United States before European contact. The tribe belongs to the Chiwere division of the Siouan language family, together with the Iowa and Otoe...

 Indians. In 1678 La Salle

René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle

René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, or Robert de LaSalle was a French explorer. He explored the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada, the Mississippi River, and the Gulf of Mexico...

 claimed all of Missouri

Missouri

Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

 for France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. The Lewis and Clark Expedition

Lewis and Clark Expedition

The Lewis and Clark Expedition, or ″Corps of Discovery Expedition" was the first transcontinental expedition to the Pacific Coast by the United States. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson and led by two Virginia-born veterans of Indian wars in the Ohio Valley, Meriwether Lewis and William...

 passed by the area on the Missouri River in 1803. In 1806, Daniel Boone

Daniel Boone

Daniel Boone was an American pioneer, explorer, and frontiersman whose frontier exploits mad']'e him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. Boone is most famous for his exploration and settlement of what is now the Commonwealth of Kentucky, which was then beyond the western borders of...

 and his sons established a salt lick

Salt lick

A mineral lick is a natural mineral deposit where animals in nutrient-poor ecosystems can obtain essential mineral nutrients...

 40 miles (64.4 km) northwest of Columbia. The Booneslick Trail wound from Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

 through St. Charles, Missouri to the salt lick. In 1818 a group of settlers, incorporated under the Smithton Land Company, purchased over 2000 acres (8.1 km²) and established the village of Smithton less than a mile from current day downtown Columbia. In 1821 the settlers moved, because of lack of water, across the Flat Branch to the plateau between the Flat Branch and Hinkson creeks in what is now the downtown district. They re-named the settlement Columbia

Historical Columbia

Columbia is an historical and poetic name for America – and the early United States of America in particular, for which it is also the name of its female personification...

—a historical name for the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

19th century 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

University of Missouri

The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...

, 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. Soon other educational institutions were founded in Columbia such as Christian Female College, the first college for women west of the Mississippi, which later became the current Columbia College. In 1833 Columbia Baptist Female College opened, which later became Stephens College

Stephens College

Stephens College is a women's college located in Columbia, Missouri. It is the second oldest female educational establishment that is still a women's college in the United States. It was founded on August 24, 1833 as the Columbia Female Academy. In 1856, David H. Hickman turned it into a college,...

. The city benefited from being a stagecoach stop of the Santa Fe

Santa Fe Trail

The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century transportation route through central North America that connected Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1822 by William Becknell, it served as a vital commercial and military highway until the introduction of the railroad to Santa Fe in 1880...

 and Oregon

Oregon Trail

The Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...

 trails, and later from the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad. In 1822 the first hospital was set up by William Jewell

William Jewell

William Jewell was a politician, physician, and educator from Columbia, Missouri and namesake of William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri.-Life:...

. 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

Boone County, Missouri

Boone County is a county centrally located in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is the eighth most populous county in Missouri. In 2010, the population was 162,642. Its county seat, Columbia, is the fifth largest city in Missouri and the anchor city of the Columbia Metropolitan Area.-History:Boone...

 was exceeded in Missouri only by that of St. Louis County

St. Louis County, Missouri

St. Louis County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. Its county seat is Clayton. St. Louis County is part of the St. Louis Metro Area wherein the independent City of St. Louis and its suburbs in St. Louis County, as well as the surrounding counties in both Missouri and Illinois all...

.

Columbia during the Civil War and Reconstruction

Columbia's infrastructure was largely untouched by the Civil War, although several major battles occurred nearby at Boonville

Boonville, Missouri

This page is about the city in Missouri. For other communities of the same name, see Boonville Boonville is a city in Cooper County, Missouri, USA. The population was 8,202 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Cooper County. The city was the site of a skirmish early in the American Civil...

 and Centralia

Centralia, Missouri

Centralia is a city in Audrain and Boone counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. The population was 3,774 at the 2000 census.The Boone County portion of Centralia is part of the Columbia Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the Audrain County portion is part of the Mexico Micropolitan Statistical...

. 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 both the University of Missouri System which today serves about 70,000 students and the Columbia College system which today serves about 25,000 students. It became a transportation crossroads when U.S. Highway 63

U.S. Route 63

U.S. Route 63 is a long north–south United States highway primarily in the Midwestern United States. The southern terminus of the route is at Interstate 20 in Ruston, Louisiana. The northern terminus is at U.S. Route 2 in Benoit, Wisconsin, about east of Duluth, Minnesota. It is not related to U.S...

 and U.S. Highway 40

U.S. Route 40

U.S. Route 40 is an east–west United States highway. As with most routes whose numbers end in a zero, U.S. 40 once traversed the entire United States. It is one of the original 1920s U.S. Highways, and its first termini were San Francisco, California, and Atlantic City, New Jersey...

, the latter became present-day Interstate 70

Interstate 70

Interstate 70 is an Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a Park and Ride near Baltimore, Maryland. It was the first Interstate Highway project in the United States. I-70 approximately traces the path of U.S. Route 40 east of the Rocky...

, were routed through the city. Soon after the city opened the Columbia Regional Airport

Columbia Regional Airport

Columbia Regional Airport is a public airport located 10 miles southeast of the central business district of Columbia, a city in Boone County, Missouri, USA. The airport covers and has two runways. The Airport is served by one commercial airline and provides general aviation services as well...

. During this time two insurance companies established headquarters in Columbia, Shelter Insurance

Shelter Insurance

Shelter Insurance Company is a mutual insurance company which focuses on Auto, Life, Home, Business, and Farm coverage. It operates in fourteen U.S. states and the headquarters is in Columbia, Missouri....

 and State Farm Insurance

State Farm Insurance

State Farm Insurance is a group of insurance and financial services companies in the United States. The company also has operations in Canada....

. 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

Missouri River

The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...

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.