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History · Columbus

Columbus’ post office opened in 1805, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Columbus Community Church. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1910 on, and the census since 1820.

1805first post office
1on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Columbus began

When was Columbus founded?

1805

The Columbus post office opened in 1805, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Columbus Centre (1820), Columbus Corners (1822) and Tallette (1884), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 1,805 in 18202020 census: 898221 years
Founding year: the first Columbus post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Columbus’ past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Columbus, and 4 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19103 editions of the USGS map, 1910 to 1994. Watch Columbus change.Deep rootsA post office since 1805: 221 years of Columbus.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Columbus’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewColumbus (Township); Columbus Business …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Columbus had its own post office from 1805 to 1901. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Columbus
1805–1901
Columbus Centre
1820–1821
Columbus Corners
1822–1840
Tallette
1884–1905
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Button CityColumbus QuarterSweetsTallette
Gone or out of use
School Number 5schoolSchool Number 6schoolSchool Number 9schoolTri County Airwaysairport
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Columbus
CampbellCarter School HouseColumbus CenterColumbus CornersPerkinsTillotson

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

On the map

Columbus on the map, 1910 to 1994

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Columbus. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Columbus on the 1910 USGS mapColumbus on the 1943 USGS mapColumbus on the 1994 USGS map1910New Berlin sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Columbus.

The story

How Columbus came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Columbus.

Read it all →

The area of Columbus was first settled around 1791. The town was formed in 1805 from the town of Brookfield (now in Madison County). Additional territory was obtained from the town of Norwich in 1807.

The Columbus Community Church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

Famous companies at Columbus include the makers of Chobani Yogurt and Golden Artist Colors.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Columbus in 1909

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

Sec. 3. Be it further enacted. That the mayor, recorder, treasurer and common councilmen so elected, and their successors in office, shall be, and they are hereby made a body corporate and politic, by the name and style of, the mayor and council of the borough of Columbus; and by the name aforesaid…
Centennial history of Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio1909 · page 89Read the page →
Read the text

Sec. 3. Be it further enacted. That the mayor, recorder, treasurer and common councilmen so elected, and their successors in office, shall be, and they are hereby made a body corporate and politic, by the name and style of, the mayor and council of the borough of Columbus; and by the name aforesaid, shall have perpetual succession, with power to purchase, receive, possess and convey any real or personal estate for the use of the said town of Columbus: Provided, The annual income thereof shall not exceed four thousand dollars; and shall also be capable in law by the name

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

Columbus, 1805 to 1910

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1805Post officeThe Columbus post office opens
  3. 1820Post officeThe Columbus Centre post office opens
  4. 1821Post officeThe Columbus Centre post office closes
  5. 1822Post officeThe Columbus Corners post office opens
  6. 1840Post officeThe Columbus Corners post office closes
  7. 1875In the archiveColumbus (Township); Columbus Business Notices
  8. 20th century
  9. 1901Post officeThe Columbus post office closes
  10. 1910On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Columbus, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s1 item
Columbus (Township); Columbus Business Notices1875Columbus (Township); Columbus Business Notices
Today3 recent
Columbus Quarter Church2026Columbus Quarter ChurchChobani dairy plant2024Chobani dairy plantColumbus Community Church Nov 102010Columbus Community Church Nov 10
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Columbus (Township); Columbus Business Notices
Retake this viewColumbus (Township); Columbus Business Notices, 1875

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Columbus’ page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Columbus

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1986
Columbus Community Church
Columbus Community Church
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
Columbus Community ChurchGreek Revival

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

People over time

Columbus, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0001850190019502000Peak: 1,805

Between 655 and 1,805 people in every census since 1820.

20 censuses, 1820–2010.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Columbus’ Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Columbus

Nobody well known was born in Columbus itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
John Vincent AtanasoffAmerican computer pioneer · b. 1903
Hubert Anson NewtonAmerican astronomer and scientist · b. 1830
A
Anson BurlingameAmerican politician, minister to China, and Chi… · b. 1820
John Palmer UsherAmerican politician · b. 1816
Gail BordenAmerican inventor · b. 1801
Jesse D. BrightAmerican politician · b. 1812
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Edmeston1 historic placeASouth EdmestonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPittsfield1 historic placeASherburne4 historic placesA+Brookfield1 historic placeANew Berlin3 historic placesA+

Questions about Columbus’ history

What year was Columbus founded?

The Columbus post office opened in 1805, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Columbus?

One place: the Columbus Community Church (listed 1986).

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 (4), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.