Columbus is a city that has gone from its early roots to a town with an incredible array of talent in business and sports. Over the years, the first interests started out as baseball, with games among the local citizens. Later, the business areas increased and the sports stadiums and fields advanced as well. From a field game of baseball with the baseball scoreboards alight, to a stadium packed with fans, this is a warm and welcoming American town.
Columbus. Georgia was founded in the early 1800’s and was based on its demographic location as the last usable road area before leaving the state. While it was named after famed explorer Christopher Columbus, the founders accomplished something quite unusual for the time with an actual city plan. The Chattahoochee River was the pipeline for everything outside of the area and the original town was to be located where the current city of Phenix City, Alabama currently stands. There was only one major hurtle that they had to overcome and this was the Native American Creek Indians.
The area currently known as Columbus, Georgia was originally inhabited by the Creek Indian tribe. They had an excellent relationship with the English as well as other European settlers due to their ability to deliver the much coveted deer skin hides. When the population of the deer subsided to almost devastating numbers, the Native American tribe was viewed as little more than a subculture society. In a scathingly questionable deal involving bribery and treachery, the land that had belonged to The Creek Indians was sold and the thousands of Native Americans were forced to relocate.
During the Civil War, the State of Georgia remained part of the Confederacy and Columbus became a center hub for the industries that supported the southern troops. A shipyard was built to aid in transportation of textiles, supplies and even the factory that was constructed for swords. The Battle of Columbus occurred between the Confederate and the Union troops, as it was unknown by the commanders that the war had ended. The post war era brought revitalization to Columbus as it had proven itself to be an incredibly valuable manufacturing center. The era also brought in a more intense interest in sports and the start of a progression that would lead to baseball, basketball, football and hockey team developments.
Progress continued to favor Columbus as trolleys and modern technologies were added to the city. A fort was built for the purpose of training soldiers and grew to the Fort Benning of today. The alliance of progress with elevated education brought universities, colleges and the arts to the area. This, in turn, attracted other companies and Columbus began a renaissance to the insurance and investment arena.
From the 1960’s thru to the 1980’s, Columbus experienced a downgrade in the community. An elevated crime level led to a mass exodus of the residents. This finally began to make a change in the 1990’s when the focus turned to refurbishing the historic areas and the general downtown. The turn of the century once again brought a higher level of prosperity as the historic parks, museums and performing arts saw a resurgence in the population and popularity. Bike and hiking trails were highlighted so that both resident and visitor alike could appreciate the beauty that Columbus could share.
The addition of the sports stadiums added the flavor that the local residents needed to support the many teams. The sports fans of Columbus have and follow a variety of their teams: ice hockey, baseball, indoor football, basketball, golf, tennis and cross country and track and field. The stadiums that speckle the Columbus area are key to the joy of sports for resident and visitor alike. Baseball scoreboards are the mainstay at every game and the fans are one loyal bunch.
The residents of Columbus are more proud today of their home than in any other time. They have always been a participant of the politics of the time and yet have worked hard to retain the natural resources of their area.