Columbia

City and administrative headquarters of Boone County, central Missouri, USA, 38 km/24 mi northeast of Jefferson City; population (2000) 84,500. It is mainly an educational and medical research centre; also vital to the city's economy are the insurance industry, medical institutions, agricultural products, and coal. It is the home of Stephens College for women (1833), the University of Missouri (1839), the first university west of the Mississippi River, and Columbia College (1851).

The city was laid out in 1821 and incorporated in 1826.

Columbia

Town in central Tennessee, about 72 km/45 mi south of Nashville, seat of Maury County; population (2000) 33,100. Maury County was settled from 1805 after a treaty with the Cherokee. Locals wanted its chief town of Columbia to be the state capital, given its central position. In 1808 it was laid out as the seat of Maury County. The area was known originally for agriculture; it later became a centre for the mining of phosphate. In the 1890s dozens of phosphate companies set up in Columbia and Mount Pleasant. By the 1980s, however, almost all firms had closed. Maury County is home to General Motors's innovative Saturn car plant, which has attracted many people to the area.

The first courthouse was in operation from 1810 to 1844, the second from 1845-1903, and the present courthouse dates from 1906. Columbia was a strategic location in the Civil War and was occupied alternately by Union and Confederate forces. Local people fought for the Confederacy although few slaves were held in the area. The Union soldiers did not damage Columbia severely because of their regard for James K. Polk, 11th President of the United States, who had lived in the town. Thus many pre-war houses survived and are counted among Columbia's 35 entries on the national register of historic places. Other important historical sites include the Zion Presbyterian Church of 1807 outside Columbia and Greenwood Cemetery where the graves of President Polk's parents and soldiers from the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, and the Civil War can be found.

President James Polk lived for a few years in Columbia at his parents' home from 1816 when not away at university. This structure, built in 1816, is the only surviving house Polk inhabited (the White House excepted). Its garden contains a cast iron fountain from his last house in Nashville, which was demolished in 1900. Now the James K. Polk House, it is on the national register of historic places.