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History · Columbia

Columbia dates to 1793, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 119 buildings. Below: old-book passages.

1793founded
3on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Columbia began

When was Columbia founded?

1793

Columbia dates its founding to 1793 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1819.

2020 census: 610233 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1819.The full story ↓

What stands out about Columbia’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A historic districtThe Columbia Historic District takes in 119 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Columbia are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Columbia’s homes were built before 1951.Deep rootsEstablished in 1793: 233 years of Columbia.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

3 listings protect 120 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
120
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Tyrrell County Courthouse
Tyrrell County CourthouseScuppernong River BridgeColumbia Historic District
BuildingsDistrictsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Italianate1
Warren Ponytruss Swing Span1
Trestle1
Queen Anne1
Romanesque1
Craftsman1
Tyrrell County CourthouseItalianate
Scuppernong River BridgeWarren Ponytruss Swing Span
Columbia Historic DistrictQueen Anne

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Help out

Start Columbia’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Columbia’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Columbia came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Columbia.

Read it all →

Tyrrell County was Named for Sir John Tyrrell, one of the Lords Proprietors of the Carolina colony. Tyrrell County's boundaries originally stretched westward from Roanoke Island to near present-day Tarboro. In 1870, the territory was divided and resulted in what is now known as Tyrrell, Martin, Washington, and Dare counties. Elizabethtown, later renamed Columbia, was established on the banks of the Scuppernong River in 1793, and became the Tyrrell County seat in 1799.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Columbia in 1919

Passages that mention Columbia, cut from the printed page as they were published.

At night their lights stud the dark Columbia as with a million glowing jewels. Varied estimates and seasons vary the number of fishermen who cast their nets into the Columbia, but authorities on the subject place the quota at between three and four thousand during the height of the season. Not only…
A Story of the Gateway1919Read the page →
Read the text

At night their lights stud the dark Columbia as with a million glowing jewels. Varied estimates and seasons vary the number of fishermen who cast their nets into the Columbia, but authorities on the subject place the quota at between three and four thousand during the height of the season. Not only is fishing on the Columbia carried on by gill netting, laying out the nets Fresh From the Water across the channels and drifting with the tide or current but by other methods as well. On partially submerged sand islands in the river seining

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Columbia, 1793 to 1943

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 18th century
  2. 1793
    FoundingColumbia is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1819Post officeThe Columbia post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1943Born hereDorothy Spruill Redford is born here
By decade

Columbia, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Columbia, North Carolina2019Columbia, North CarolinaColumbia, North Carolina 22019Columbia, North Carolina 2Tyrrell County Historic Courthouse2015Tyrrell County Historic CourthouseScuppernong River Bridge, seen from boardwalk2015Scuppernong River Bridge, seen from boardwalkColumbia Historic District, Main Street2015Columbia Historic District, Main StreetColumbia NC Albemarle sound2005Columbia NC Albemarle sound

Questions about Columbia’s history

What year was Columbia founded?

In 1793, according to Wikidata. Columbia’s post office opened in 1819.

What is on the National Register in Columbia?

Three places: the Tyrrell County Courthouse (listed 1979), the Scuppernong River Bridge (1992) and the Columbia Historic District (1994).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.