History of Columbus

Before the arrival of Europeans, Columbus was the scene of warfare between various Native American tribes including the Iroquois, Erie, Miami, Wyandot and Shawnee. La Salle began his explorations of the Ohio valley in 1669 and claimed the entire area for France. The Ohio River became a magnet for fur traders and land seekers, and the British soon moved in to contest the French claims.

Rivalry for control of the land led to the outbreak of the French and Indian Wars in 1754. The defeat of the French resulted in the land coming under the control of the British, who also controlled the region between the Ohio River and the Great Lakes, within the boundaries of Canada.

In the years that followed, various land companies were formed and settlers poured in from surrounding areas. The Native Americans, supported by the British, resisted American settlement. They successfully opposed campaigns led by Josiah Harmar and Arthur St Clair, but were decisively defeated by Anthony Wayne in the battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794. The British withdrew their outposts from the Northwest in 1796, under the terms of Jay's Treaty.

New capital

Once Ohio became a state in 1803, there was much discussion and political argument over where the state capital should be located. For a time it was in Chillicothe and Zanesville, but leaders felt the eventual capital should be in a more central location. The state legislature eventually decided upon the city of Columbus. It was named in honour of Christopher Columbus and was founded in February 1812, opposite Franklinton, in the area known as Wolf’s Ridge.

During its early history, the major threat to Columbus was a series of fever and cholera epidemics that did not subside until swamps close to the centre of town were drained. With the opening in 1831 of the Ohio & Erie Canal, Columbus was in a position to emerge as a trade and transportation centre. Then in 1850, a steam engine pulling flat cars made its maiden run from Columbus to Xenia, 54 miles away, and Columbus entered the railroad age.

Industrial boom

After the Civil War, industrial development grew rapidly as new banks and railroad lines opened. Immigrants boosted the population, and huge fortunes were made. In 1870, the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College was formed and it became a vital part of the city's life and identity.

The Columbus campus consists of nearly 400 permanent buildings on 1,644 acres of land. Today, the university's technological research facilities, coupled with the Battelle Memorial Institute, comprise one of the largest private research organisations of its kind in the world.

Floods in the area have long been a problem; a devastating flood in 1913 destroyed the neighbourhood of Franklinton, leaving over 90 people dead and thousands of West Side residents homeless. To prevent future flooding, the Scioto River was widened, new bridges were constructed and a retaining wall was built along its banks.

The effects of the Great Depression were somewhat less severe in Columbus, as the city's diversified economy helped it fare better than many of its neighbours. WWII brought a tremendous number of new jobs to the city and with it, another population surge. The area went into massive decline in the 1970s and ‘80s as the automobile, steel and coal industries virtually collapsed, causing unemployment to soar.

Since then, Columbus has concentrated on diversification and today, it is one of the fastest-growing cities in the east central United States. The downtown area underwent a complete transformation in the 1990s, and the economy surged as high-technology development and research companies moved into the metropolitan area.