Columbia, city, capital of South Carolina, U.S., and seat (1799) of Richland county. It lies in the centre of the state on the east bank of the Congaree River at the confluence of the Broad and Saluda rivers. Its history dates from 1786, when the legislature ordered a town laid out on the site to replace Charleston as the state capital—a compromise move designed to placate antagonism mainly between the small farmers of the Up Country and the Low Country (i.e., coastal) plantation owners.

During the American Civil War, Columbia was a transportation centre and the seat of many Confederate agencies. In 1865 it was occupied by Union troops and virtually destroyed by fire. Bronze stars on the south and west walls of the State House mark spots where shells from Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman’s Union artillery struck. After the war the city was rebuilt and developed a diversified economy based on government, industry, and agriculture. It became a wholesale and distribution centre. Tobacco, cotton, and peaches are important crops in the surrounding area. The city’s chief manufactures include synthetic fibres, textiles, and electrical equipment.

Columbia is a noted educational centre and is the seat of the University of South Carolina (chartered in 1801), Columbia College (1854; Methodist), Columbia International University (1923; nondenominational Christian), Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary (1830), Benedict College (1870; Baptist), Allen University (1870; African Methodist Episcopal), and Midlands Technical College (1963). The Town Theatre, Columbia’s little-theatre organization, has operated continuously since 1919. The Columbia Museum of Art houses a collection of Italian Renaissance paintings. Points of historic interest include Pres. Woodrow Wilson’s boyhood home (a museum since 1930) and the Robert Mills Historic House (1823) and Park; the house, which is also called Ainsley Hall Mansion, was designed by Mills, who also designed the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. The State House, or capitol (begun c. 1855), is a gray granite structure built in Italian Renaissance style.

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Columbia is the headquarters for the Francis Marion and Sumter national forests. Fort Jackson, established during World War I, is now an infantry training post. Lake Murray, impounded by the Saluda Dam, is northwest of the city. Inc. village, 1805; city, 1854. Pop. (2010) 129,272; Columbia Metro Area, 767,598; (2020) 136,632; Columbia Metro Area, 829,470.