Columbia

Columbia: James K. Polk Ancestral Home

Columbia, city, seat (1807) of Maury county, central Tennessee, U.S. It lies along the Duck River, 43 miles (69 km) southwest of Nashville. Founded as the seat of newly created Maury county in 1807, Columbia developed as an agricultural centre in a region of fertile farmland. It survived floods and earthquakes in its early years. James K. Polk, 11th U.S. president, moved to Columbia as a child from North Carolina; he began his law practice there in 1820, and his home is now a historic site. Columbia soon became a centre of mule trading; beginning about 1840 a livestock market, one of the largest in the world at that time, was held there. An official celebration of the mule trade, including the Mule Day Parade, began in 1934 and has been held annually in the spring since 1974. During much of the American Civil War the city was an operations base for the Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest, and it was occupied alternately by Union and Confederate troops. Battles were fought at nearby Thompson’s Station (March 1863) and Spring Hill (November 1864).

Columbia’s economic base shifted after 1890 with the exploitation of local phosphate deposits; by the 1980s, however, most of the processing plants had shut down. A large automobile manufacturing plant in nearby Spring Hill is a major contributor to the area’s economy. Other manufactures include air conditioners, dehumidifiers, carbon and graphite electrodes, and clothing. Livestock also remains important. Columbia State Community College opened in the city in 1966.

The Columbia area has many antebellum homes, which can be toured during annual pilgrimages. Homes of particular interest include Rattle and Snap (1842–45), the Athenaeum (1835), Rippavilla Plantation (1852), and the James K. Polk Ancestral Home (1816). An annual local event is the Walking Horse Spring Jubilee. Inc. 1817. Pop. (2000) 33,055; (2010) 34,681.