The History of Columbia, SC
The city of Columbia is located in both Richland and Lexington Counties in central South Carolina. The region where Columbia now stands was chosen by the state senate to be the location of a new state capital in 1786. Through some debate, the senators voted in favor of the name “Columbia,” possibly in honor of explorer Christopher Columbus. Columbia was the second planned city in the United States, plotted to encompass two square miles at the confluence of Broad and Saluda Rivers. Due to the belief that the disease-carrying mosquito could not fly more than 60 feet without dying, Columbia was designed with streets and thoroughfares 100 to 150 feet wide, which in future years made the city more accommodating to growth. In 1805, Columbia received its first charter as a town with approximately 1,000 residents.
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