LOCAL INFORMATION
About Columbia
As the capital of South Carolina, Columbia is a city rich with history. There are numerous things for the entire family to see and do throughout the city. Whether you like visiting places important in history, enjoying the arts, playing or watching sports, attending festivals, or participating in outdoor activities, Columbia is the place for you.
Columbia is located in the center of South Carolina at the junctions of Interstates 20, 26 and 77. It is South Carolina's most populated city, the state capital, the county seat of Richland County, the home of the University of South Carolina's main campus, and the site of the South Carolina State Fair every October. A small part of Columbia also extends into Lexington County.
Columbia was settled by Europeans in the early 1700s and chosen to be the site of South Carolina's new state capital in 1786. It was chartered as a town in 1805 and as a city in 1854. Columbia was named for Christopher Columbus, and it was South Carolina's first planned city (wide streets arranged in a grid pattern) and the second planned city in the United States (Savannah was the first). Despite this, Columbia did not have a single paved street until Main Street was surfaced in 1908.
Square Miles: 125.2 Square Miles
Population: 116,278 (2000 U.S. Census)
Counties: Richland County and Lexington County
Average Temperature: 65 degrees F
Airports: Columbia Metropolitan and Columbia Owens Downtown
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