COLUMBIA

planned community in Howard county, central Maryland, U.S. It lies southwest of Baltimore and northeast of Washington, D.C. The community, whose first residents moved there in 1967, includes a planned complex of scattered villages and a town centre with schools, churches, shopping centres, recreational facilities, and business and industrial parks. Columbia's Merriweather Post Pavilion is a focus of cultural events. Howard Community College was founded in 1966. Pop. (1990) 75,883. city, seat (1817) of Marion county, southern Mississippi, U.S. It lies along the Pearl River, 75 miles (121 km) south-southeast of Jackson. The site was settled as a river port in the early 1800s, and for three months in 1821 it served as the state capital. It thrived as a lumber town until 1929, when its sawmill shut down. New industry (clothing, hosiery, canned goods, naval stores) subsequently developed. A pioneer home 9 miles (14 km) south of the city was the site of the Pearl River Convention (1816), which petitioned for Mississippi's admission to the Union. Inc. 1882. Pop. (1990) 6,815. county, east-central Pennsylvania, U.S. It consists of a mountainous region mostly in the Appalachian Ridge and Valley physiographic province and bisected east-west by the Susquehanna River. Other waterways include Little Fishing, Fishing, Huntington, Roaring, Catawissa, and South Branch Roaring creeks. Columbia county shares Ricketts Glen State Park with the counties of Sullivan and Luzerne. Quakers, early white settlers to the region, founded such boroughs as Berwick and Catawissa. The county was created in 1813 and named for Christopher Columbus. Bloomsburg, which is the state's only town (all other incorporated communities are boroughs or cities), replaced Danville (now in Montour county) as the county seat in 1846. Berwick became one of the first American producers of all-steel railroad cars in 1904. The county's primary economic activities are manufacturing (textiles and food products), agriculture (oats and soybeans), and anthracite coal mining. Area 486 square miles (1,258 square km). Pop. (1990) 63,202; (1996 est.) 64,079. city, seat of Boone county, near the Missouri River, central Missouri, U.S. It was originally established (1819) as Smithton, but an inadequate water supply forced its move in 1821, when it was laid out and renamed Columbia. The rerouting of Boone's Lick Trail (1822) stimulated its growth. In 1839 the town's residents pledged $117,900 for the location in their city of a state university (now the University of Missouri), the first west of the Mississippi River. Stephens College for women was founded in the town in 1833, and Columbia College in 1851. Schools, professional associations, and insurance companies are now the main economic support, with some light manufacturing. A state cancer hospital and a mental-health clinic are also in the city. Inc. 1826. Pop. (1990) city, 69,101; Columbia MSA, 112,379. borough (town), Lancaster county, southeastern Pennsylvania, U.S. It lies along the Susquehanna River, 12 miles (19 km) west of Lancaster. The site was settled (1726) by John Wright, a Quaker missionary to the Native Americans, who bought land and became a ferryman and judge. Known as Wright's Ferry, the town was laid out in 1788 by Wright's grandson, Samuel, and was named Columbia shortly thereafter. It was one of the places considered (1790) by Congress for the site of the permanent U.S. capital. Columbia was important as the terminus of a railway from Philadelphia, and it reshipped goods by canal to the Juniata River. Escaped slaves knew it as a station on the Underground Railroad. The borough is now primarily residential; Columbia's manufactures include clothing and malleable castings. The Watch and Clock Museum has more than 12,000 horological items including many American-made timepieces. Inc. 1814. Pop. (1990) 10,701; (1998 est.) 10,465. county, southeastern New York state, U.S., bordered by Massachusetts to the east and the Hudson River to the west. The land rises from the Hudson valley to the Taconic Range along the Massachusetts border. Forests comprise a mix of northern hardwoods. Waterways include Kinderhook, Claverack, and Taghkanic creeks, as well as Roeliff Jansen Kill. In addition to Taconic State Park in the Taconic Range, there are parklands at Lake Taghkanic and along the Hudson River at Clermont, Stockport, and Rogers Island. When English navigator Henry Hudson explored the region in the early 17th century, he encountered Algonquian-speaking Mahican (Mohican) Indians. The port city of Hudson, the county seat, was established by New England merchants in 1785 and developed as a centre of whaling in the mid-19th century. New Lebanon was the site of the first Shaker religious community (established 1787); the Shaker Museum and Library is located nearby. Among the many historic homes in the county that were restored as museums are those of statesman Robert R. Livingston, artist Frederic Edwin Church, and U.S. President Martin Van Buren. Columbia county was created in 1786 and named for Christopher Columbus. Other communities include Kinderhook, Philmont, Ghent, and Chatham. The main components of the economy are services, retail trade, and agriculture (apples and hay). Area 636 square miles (1,647 square km). Pop. (1990) 62,982; (1996 est.) 63,613. city, capital of South Carolina, U.S., and seat (1799) of Richland county. It lies in the centre of the state on the east bank of the Congaree River at the confluence of the Broad and Saluda rivers. Its history dates from 1786, when the legislature ordered a town laid out on the site to replace Charleston as the state capitala compromise move designed to placate antagonism mainly between the small farmers of the Up Country and the Low Country (i.e., coastal) plantation owners. During the American Civil War, Columbia was a transportation centre and the seat of many Confederate agencies. In 1865 it was occupied by Union troops and virtually destroyed by fire. Bronze stars on the south and west walls of the State House mark spots where shells from General William Tecumseh Sherman's Union artillery struck. After the war the city was rebuilt and developed a diversified economy based on government, industry, and agriculture. It became a wholesale and distribution centre. Tobacco, cotton, and peaches are important crops in the surrounding area. The city's chief manufactures include synthetic fibres, textiles, and electrical equipment. Columbia is a noted educational centre and is the seat of the University of South Carolina (chartered in 1801), Columbia College (1854; Methodist), Columbia International University (1923; nondenominational Christian), Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary (1830), Benedict College (1870; Baptist), Allen University (1870; African Methodist Episcopal), and Midlands Technical College (1963). The Town Theatre, Columbia's little-theatre organization, has operated continuously since 1919. The Columbia Museum of Art houses a collection of Italian Renaissance paintings. Points of historic interest include President Woodrow Wilson's boyhood home (a museum since 1930) and the Robert Mills Historic House (1823) and Park; the house, which is also called Ainsley Hall Mansion, was designed by Mills, who also designed the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. The State House, or capitol (begun c. 1855), is a gray granite structure built in Italian Renaissance style. Columbia is the headquarters for the Francis Marion and Sumter national forests. Fort Jackson, established during World War I, is now an infantry training post. Lake Murray, impounded by the Saluda Dam, is northwest of the city. Inc. village, 1805; city, 1854. Pop. (1990) city, 110,734; Columbia MSA, 453,932; (1998 est.) city, 110,840; (1996 est.) Columbia MSA, 488,207. city, seat (1807) of Maury county, central Tennessee, U.S. It lies along the Duck River, 43 miles (69 km) southwest of Nashville. Founded in 1807, it developed as a centre for the dairy and livestock (mainly mules) trade in a region of fertile farmland and bluegrass. James K. Polk, 11th U.S. president, moved to Columbia as a child from North Carolina; he began his law practice there in 1820, and his home near Court Square is now a historic site. During the American Civil War the city was the Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest's operations base, and it was occupied alternately by Federal and Confederate troops. Columbia's economic base shifted after 1890 with the exploitation of local phosphate deposits. Its manufactures now include phosphorus and phosphate chemicals, carbon and graphite electrodes, air conditioners, clothing, and cellulose sponges. Columbia State Community College opened in the city in 1966. An annual local event is the National Tennessee Walking Horse Jubilee. Inc. town, 1807; city, 1822. Pop. (1990) 28,583; (1994 est.) 34,907.