City of Columbia

City of Columbia Municipal Water Report Info

THE 1700s

For nearly a century before Columbia's establishment by the General Assembly in 1786, the site held strategic importance to state development. The Congarees, a frontier fortress on the Congaree River's west bank, served as the head of navigation in the Santee River system. The colonial government established a ferry in 1754 connecting the fortress with emerging settlements on the east bank's higher ground.

State Senator John Lewis Gervais from Ninety Six introduced legislation approved on March 22, 1786, creating the new state capital. The city's naming sparked considerable debate, with some legislators advocating for "Washington," but "Columbia" prevailed by an 11-7 vote in the state Senate.

Lawmakers designed a town of 400 blocks in a two-mile square along the river. These blocks were divided into half-acre lots offered to investors and prospective residents. Purchasers were required to construct houses at least 30 feet long and 18 feet wide within three years or face annual 5% penalties. Boundary roads and two through streets measured 150 feet wide, while other streets were 100 feet wide – dimensions chosen based on the belief that mosquitoes couldn't fly more than 60 feet without starving. Today's residents still benefit from this generous street layout.

THE 1800s

Columbia received its first town charter in 1805, establishing governance by an intendent and six superintendents. John Taylor, the first elected intendent, later served in both state legislative houses, both congressional houses, and eventually as state governor.

By 1816, the town had 250 homes and over 1,000 residents. The governing body could tax properties up to 12 cents per $100 value, with additional fees for watch duty exemptions, carriage ownership ($5), wagon ownership ($3), and mechanic's licenses ($4). Citizens could also pay $2 annually to avoid road maintenance duties.

Early municipal infrastructure included mandatory fire buckets (one per chimney), five small fire units established in 1816 with mandatory citizen service (later replaced by volunteer departments), and rudimentary law enforcement. The town appointed a marshal who patrolled twice daily, with a formal town guard established in 1824. Citizens could purchase exemptions from guard service for $5.

Columbia became chartered as a city in 1854, with an elected mayor and six commissioners. By 1856, they had established a police force with a full-time chief and nine patrolmen earning $16 monthly.

THE 1900s

Columbia had no paved streets until 1908, when 17 blocks of Main Street received surfacing. The city maintained 115 street crossings at intersections to protect pedestrians from mud between wooden sidewalks. Washington Street was experimentally paved with wooden blocks, providing local entertainment when they buckled and floated away during heavy rains before being replaced with asphalt in 1925.

The city hired its first paid firefighters in 1903 and acquired its first vehicle for the fire chief that same year. In 1934, the federal courthouse at Main and Laurel was purchased by the city, becoming Columbia City Hall in 1937. Built of granite from nearby Winnsboro, this building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Designed by Alfred Bult Mullett, President Grant's federal architect, the structure was completed in 1875. Mullett, renowned for designing the Executive Office Building in Washington D.C., had originally included a clock tower in his plans, but likely omitted it due to cost overruns. Copies of his original drawings can be viewed alongside historic photographs in City Hall.