Columbus ( kə LUM bəs) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a population of 905,748 at the 2020 census, it is the 14th most populous city in the U.S., second most populous city in the Midwest (after Chicago), and third most populous U.S. state capital (after Phoenix, Arizona, and Austin, Texas). The Columbus metropolitan area, with an estimated 2.23 million residents, is the largest metropolitan area entirely in Ohio and 32nd largest metropolitan area in the U.S. Columbus is the county seat of Franklin County; it also extends into Delaware and Fairfield counties.
At a Glance
- Counties: Franklin County, Delaware County and Fairfield County
- County seat of Franklin County
- State: Ohio
History of Columbus
Between 1000 B.C. and 1700 A.D., the Columbus metropolitan area was a center to indigenous cultures known as the Mound Builders, including the Adena, Hopewell and Fort Ancient peoples. Remaining physical evidence of the cultures are their burial mounds and what they contained. Most of Central Ohio’s remaining mounds are located outside of Columbus city boundaries, though the Shrum Mound is maintained, now as part of a public park and historic site. The city’s Mound Street derives its name from a mound that existed by the intersection of Mound and High Streets. The mound’s clay was used in bricks for most of the city’s initial brick buildings; many were subsequently used in the Ohio Statehouse. The city’s Ohio History Center maintains a collection of artifacts from these cultures.
The area including present day Columbus once comprised the Ohio Country, under the nominal control of the French colonial empire through the Viceroyalty of New France from 1663 until 1763.
In the 18th century, European traders flocked to the area, attracted by the fur trade. The area was often caught between warring factions, including American Indian and European interests. In the 1740s, Pennsylvania traders overran the territory until the French forcibly evicted them. Fighting for control of the territory in the French and Indian War became part of the Seven Years’ War.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Columbus, Ohio, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.