The lure of making money from cotton and the waterpower of the Chattahoochee River shaped the Muscogee County seat of Columbus for more than a century after the Georgia legislature created the city in 1828. Located at the head of river navigation, Columbus first boomed as a cotton-trading center.
Full Answer
What happened during the exploration and settlement of Georgia?
Exploration and Settlement of Georgia. Three years later, another settlement was established at Augusta, inland on the Savannah River. Persistently tense relations with the Spanish culminated in the Battle of Bloody Marsh on St. Simons Island in 1742. Oglethorpe's victory marked the end of the Spanish threat in Georgia.
Who was the first European to settle in Georgia?
Exploration and Settlement of Georgia. In 1540, the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto was probably the first European to explore what is today Georgia. The French made a brief appearance at this time, but were quickly expelled by Spanish forces from Florida.
What is the history of Columbus GA?
In 1970, the citizens of Columbus and Muscogee County, with the exception of Bibb City, which preferred to remain semi-independent, voted to consolidate to improve government services. Bibb City voted in 2001 to consolidate into Columbus.
What did Columbus find when he arrived in the New World?
With no room for the stranded sailors, Columbus was forced to found the La Navidad (“Christmas”), first European settlement in the New World. When he returned the following year, he found that the colonists had been massacred by natives.
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Why did Columbus adopt the commission-city-manager form of government?
In 1922 Columbus became the first major southern city to adopt the commission–city manager form of government in large measure because the newly enfranchised women supported this reform and served on the first commission. In 1926 the editor of the Columbus Enquirer-Sun, Julian Harris, son of Joel Chandler Harris, won a Pulitzer Prize for his fight against the revived Ku Klux Klan at both the state and local level.
When did Columbus reach its apogee?
Columbus reached its apogee during the 1860s. Its population ranked third among Georgia towns in 1860 and fifteenth among those joining the Confederacy. Its industrial output ranked tenth in the South, with its textile production probably second or third. Both its population and its manufacturing capacity increased during the Civil War (1861-65), but after 1865 Columbus never again equaled those rankings except in textile production.
What was the main source of water power in Columbus?
The Chattahoochee’s waterpower made Columbus a manufacturing center. The river powered gristmills and sawmills as early as 1828 and a textile mill north of town by 1838. The city of Columbus, which controlled the greatest potential waterpower site in the South, never spent any public money developing this resource. Rather than building a canal to deliver waterpower to various locations within the city (such as Augusta did), Columbus simply sold the rights to dam the river and restricted the use of the resulting power to a two-block area along the Chattahoochee (between present-day Twelfth and Fourteenth streets). That decision limited the city’s early industrial development. Even so, by the 1850s five water-powered mills produced textiles, flour, and sawn lumber, and at other locations fourteen smaller companies produced a variety of goods. In 1853 the landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, an indefatigable traveler and astute observer, declared Columbus the largest manufacturing city south of Richmond, Virginia.
What river shaped Columbus?
The lure of making money from cotton and the waterpower of the Chattahoochee River shaped the Muscogee County seat of Columbus for more than a century after the Georgia legislature created the city in 1828. Located at the head of river navigation, Columbus first boomed as a cotton-trading center. Entrepreneurs quickly harnessed ...
What was Columbus known for?
Located at the head of river navigation, Columbus first boomed as a cotton-trading center. Entrepreneurs quickly harnessed the river's power, and Columbus became one of the South's earliest—and remained one of its largest—mill towns.
What was the most important asset that Columbus lost control of?
By the 1920s, however, Columbus lost control of its most important asset—the Chattahoochee's waterpower. Goat Rock Dam (1912) and Bartlett's Ferry Dam (1926), north of the city, produced electricity for Columbus's rivals: West Point, LaGrange, and even Atlanta.
How many men did Wilson lose in the Battle of Columbus?
Amid the ensuing chaos, the untrained Southerners fled, to be joined by the Union soldiers in a mad dash for the bridge to Columbus. Wilson lost 25 men, while his troops captured about 1,500 Confederates and killed 9. Later, Columbus boosters proclaimed this as the war's last battle.
How much did Columbus settle the lawsuit against Hector Arreola?
The city will pay $500,000, according to the terms of the settlement shared at Tuesday’s Columbus Council meeting.
Who helped Aguilar restrain Arreola?
Though Officer Evrard was not involved in the initial struggle, he helped Aguilar restrain Arreola later as Dudley left to get leg shackles. The evidence in the civil trial includes body camera video and depositions from the officers and from Arreola’s mother, who witnessed the arrest.
What did Skip Henderson say about the settlement?
The statement said Mayor Skip Henderson and the councilors “concluded that the settlement was in the best interest of the Consolidated Government, law enforcement, and all citizens of Columbus,” and they “hope this settlement promotes healing and unity in the entire Columbus community.”
Who filed the lawsuit against Arreola?
The lawsuit was filed by Arreola’s parents, Rodrigo and Concepcion Arreola, and their son’s child, a minor identified only as “S.A.”
Who filed the Hector Arreola lawsuit?
The lawsuit was filed by Arreola’s parents, Rodrigo and Concepcion Arreola, and their son’s child, a minor identified only as “S .A.”. The suit sought compensation for medical and funeral expenses, attorneys’ fees, the value of Hector Arreola’s life, and any other award a jury deems justified. SHARE.
When was Georgia a colony?
Royal colonial status was created in 1754 . Despite its weakness, Georgia was a valuable part of the British Empire and was home to a large and vocal Loyalist population on the eve of the War of Independence .
What did the trustees of the Georgia colony do?
The trustees, for their part, hoped to found a colony that would provide a second chance for debtors, and sought to promote hard work by outlawing slavery and liquor. To support stability in the colony, the purchase or sale of land was prohibited - land speculators had caused problems in other areas and were not welcome in Georgia.
What was the name of the battle that ended the Spanish threat in Georgia?
Persistently tense relations with the Spanish culminated in the Battle of Bloody Marsh on St. Simons Island in 1742. Oglethorpe's victory marked the end of the Spanish threat in Georgia.
When did the Georgia colony surrender?
In 1752, the Georgia trustees surrendered their charter, having established a generally successful colony of middle- and small-sized farms. However, Oglethorpe regarded the venture as a failure. The population remained small and weak. Few debtors were brought to the colony, but slavery and alcohol became commonplace.
What was the name of the area in South Carolina that the Spanish called?
This region was known to the Spanish as Guale. In 1663, England reasserted an earlier claim to the area when Charles II granted rights in greater Carolina to the eight “lords proprietor.”. In 1670, the new owners established a settlement at Charles Town in present-day South Carolina.
Who granted the land between the Savannah and Altamaha rivers to the Spanish?
Although the Spanish power center had retreated into Florida, a bloody contest with the English continued for decades. In 1732, George II granted the lands between the Savannah and Altamaha rivers to General James Oglethorpe and a group of other trustees; in gratitude, the trustees named the colony after the king.
Who was the first European to explore Georgia?
In 1540, the Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto was probably the first European to explore what is today Georgia. The French made a brief appearance at this time, but were quickly expelled by Spanish forces from Florida.
What did the debtors colony give people?
The debtors colony gave people without a job and high debt a new start. It also gave Protestants religious freedom.
Why was the debtor colony created?
It was created as debtors colony where people who had no job and owed a lot of money could come for a fresh start instead of going to debtors prison in England.
Why did the German Protestants come to Georgia?
Group of German Protestants that came to Georgia to escape religious discrimination. Established settlement known as Ebenezer.
Why would the new colony be a buffer colony?
The new colony would be a buffer colony to protect the other colonies from the Spanish in Florida.
What was left behind in the Columbus ship?
The sailors were all rescued, but there was no room for them on Columbus’ remaining ship, the Niña, a smallish caravel. He had no choice but to leave some men behind. He reached an agreement with a local chieftain, Guacanagari, with whom he had been trading, and a small fort was built out of the remains of the Santa María. In all, 39 men were left behind, including a doctor and Luís de Torre, who spoke Arabic, Spanish and Hebrew and had been brought along as an interpreter. Diego de Araña, a cousin of Columbus’ mistress, was left in charge. Their orders were to collect gold and await Columbus’ return.
When did Columbus return to Spain?
His new fleet arrived at La Navidad on November 27, 1493, almost one year after it had been established.
What happened on December 24th 1492?
On the night of December 24-25, 1492, Christopher Columbus’ flagship, the Santa María, ran aground off the northern coast of the island of Hispaniola and had to be abandoned. With no room for the stranded sailors, Columbus was forced to found the La Navidad (“Christmas”), first European settlement in the New World.
What ships did Columbus have on his first voyage?
The Santa María Runs Aground: Columbus had three ships with him on his first voyage to the Americas: the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María. They discovered unknown lands in October of 1492 and began exploring. The Pinta became separated from the other two ships.
Who was the first European to settle in America?
La Navidad: First European Settlement in the Americas. Christopher Columbus landing in America with the Piuzon Brothers bearing flags and crosses, 1492. Original Artwork: By D Puebla (1832 - 1904).
Who were the men left behind in the Columbus expedition?
In all, 39 men were left behind, including a doctor and Luís de Torre, who spoke Arabic, Spanish and Hebrew and had been brought along as an interpreter. Diego de Araña, a cousin of Columbus’ mistress, was left in charge. Their orders were to collect gold and await Columbus’ return.
Where was the Santa Maria wreck?
On the night of December 24, the Santa Maria became stuck on a sandbar and coral reef off the northern shore of the Island of Hispaniola and was eventually dismantled. Columbus, in his official report to the crown, claims to have been asleep at the time and blamed the wreck on a boy.
Antebellum Years
Civil War and Reconstruction
- Columbus reached its apogee during the 1860s. Its population ranked third among Georgia towns in 1860 and fifteenth among those joining the Confederacy. Its industrial output ranked tenth in the South, with its textile production probably second or third. Both its population and its manufacturing capacity increased during the Civil War(1861-65), but after 1865 Columbus never …
Industrial Expansion
- Industrial reconstruction began immediately after 1865. R. L. Mott, a prominent Unionist (whose home still stands along the riverbank just north of Fourteenth Street), controlled the local Republican Party and the city during Reconstruction. As an entrepreneur, Mott simply joined with ex-Confederate and Democratic businessmen to rebuild. Local newspaper editors, fifteen years …
Twentieth Century
- Other leaders created educational and cultural institutions. Private endeavors established free kindergartens for mill children (1895) and for African Americans (1903), as well as a school for the “dinner-toters” who delivered lunches to the mills (1901)—all of which the public schoolsabsorbed before creating a secondary industrial school (1906). The city also gained a Carnegie public libra…
Recent Development
- By the 1970s the economy had changed. Local businessmen stopped excluding new industries that might raise local wages and began seeking new manufacturers, such as Dolly Madison Bakery (1970) and Pratt and Whitney (1984), which made jet engine parts. But local initiative created the most dynamic enterprises—Aflac Insurance, Synovus Financial Corporation, and To…