Columbia, Illinois
Encyclopedia
Columbia is a city in Monroe
and St. Clair County
in the U.S. state
of Illinois
, about 12 miles (19.3 km) south of St. Louis, Missouri
. The population was 7,922 at the 2000 census.
In the mid-18th century, the British took over the territory until the Revolutionary War forced them out of the area. The colonial American settlers soon arrived and established the first permanent settlements in the area of Columbia, Fort Whiteside and Fort Piggott. Both forts were made out of log cabins and were used to protect against Indian raids.
In 1820, Columbia was plotted out as a town and built on bluffs 500 feet above sea level to protect against the flooding of the Mississippi River. Columbia is a poetic name for the United States
.
Germans began immigrating to the area around 1833, with the majority coming in the 1840s. United States land agents had traveled to Germany to sell land to emigrating Germans. When the immigrants arrived in the United States, they traveled immediately to their own parcels of land.
Entering the United States through New Orleans, these Germans went up the Mississippi River to St. Louis, Missouri
. They settled in the general region, including the Columbia area. The ground was not expensive, harvests were rich, and the climate was perfect for growing grain. German thrift, tenacity, and industriousness changed the character of Columbia from a pioneer settlement to a thriving community. The hard-working nature of the early immigrants had a direct influence on the town’s present prosperity.
In the early 19th century, the American landowners in the Columbia area often hired the German immigrants who were not landowners as farmhands. Money was short, so they were given land as payment. Soon, most of the land belonged to the Germans.
In 1859, Columbia was incorporated as a town as a result of the growth from German immigration. In 1868, the first railroad tracks were laid in Columbia, and the town continued to grow and develop. In 1927, Columbia became a city.
A notable feature of the community spirit was evidenced by the high level of Columbia’s interest in the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904. With singular purpose, on September 22, 1904, all businesses and schools were closed and 1,000 of the 1,300 inhabitants of Columbia attended the World’s Fair on that one day. It set a record of attendance for members of one community to be at the Fair at the same time.http://www.verschwisterungsverein-gedern-columbia.de/histco.htm
In 1959, Columbia's centennial was celebrated with a large community festival. In 1960, the Strassenfest ("street festival"), a three-day festival celebrating the German heritage of the community, was established. The Strassenfest became so popular that it had to be transferred to St. Louis in 1972, where it now attracts more than 100,000 visitors over a three-day period every year.http://www.strassenfest.org/
Today Columbia is a bedroom community with a population of about 10,000, mainly of German origin. Services and construction industry are the pillars of the local commerce.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 9.4 square miles (24.3 km²), of which 9.4 square miles (24.3 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1035995244 km²) of it (0.21%) is water.
Columbia is bounded on the west by the Mississippi River. Running in a diagonal line just northeast of Columbia is the border of St. Clair County
, beyond which lies Dupo
to the north and Millstadt
to the east. To the south is Waterloo
. Waterloo and Columbia are expected to grow right up to the borders of the other, in effect extending St. Louis's urban sprawl
from South St. Louis County across the Jefferson Barracks Bridge
into the heart of the formerly rural Monroe County.
of 2000, there were 7,922 people. A special census conducted in 2006 places the population at 9,818. 3,112 households and 2,218 families reside in the city. The population density
was 841.5 people per square mile (325.0/km²). There were 3,219 housing units at an average density of 341.9 per square mile (132.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.52% White, 0.10% African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 0.20% from other races
, and 0.64% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.96% of the population. According to the 2010 census, the population was 9,707 people.
There were 3,112 households, out of which 35.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.3% were married couples
living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.7% were non-families. 25.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the city, the population was spread out with 25.9% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $58,003 and the median income for a family was $69,059. Males had a median income of $46,197 versus $31,042 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $26,767. About 2.0% of families and 2.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.3% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over.
Illinois Route 3
is the only highway that runs through the city. It connects Columbia with Dupo
and Cahokia
in the northwest and Waterloo
and Red Bud
from the southeast. Illinois Route 158
has its western terminus just south of the city off of Route 3 and connects Columbia with Millstadt
.
Interstate 255
and U.S. Route 50
overlap in St. Louis and continue over the Jefferson Barracks Bridge
to Columbia, where they overlap again with Route 3 in an area just north of the city.
station in East St. Louis
.
In February 1992, the city of Columbia invited the city of Gedern
, Germany
to take part in the US American "people to people program" with the goal to establish a partnership. Previously, citizens of Columbia had visited Gedern individually to search for their German ancestors. They had been successful in Wernings near Wenings, a district of Gedern. The contacts, resulting from these visits and discoveries, were to be integrated into an official sister city arrangement between Columbia and Gedern so relations could develop on this basis. After the "Declaration of Friendship" on April 29, 1992, the mayors Lester Schneider of Columbia and Rainer Schwarz of Gedern signed the proclamation of the sister city arrangement on May 8, 1993. Also on this day Barbara Gundlach, President of Verschwisterungsverein Gedern (Sister Cities of Gedern), was designated an honorary citizen of Columbia.
On May 7, 1993, Bill Clinton
, in his congratulation letter to Columbia, stated that the partnership helped to overcome the barriers between the United States and Germany and improve the relationships between people across the oceans. Since then, according to the "people to people program", official delegations from Gedern were in Columbia in 1993, 1997 and 2002. Delegations from Columbia were in Gedern in 1995, 1999, and 2003.
Columbia Plaza shows the importance of the sister city arrangement in Gedern. In Columbia, a street and a new subdivision were named after Gedern, and October 6, 2001, was declared Sister City of Gedern, Germany, Day by the State of Illinois.
In view of the good cooperation between the two cities, Reader's Digest
gave the Sister City Award to Gedern in 1993 for its share in securing world peace and understanding among nations by the sister city arrangement with Columbia. http://www.verschwisterungsverein-gedern-columbia.de/partsh.htm
Monroe County, Illinois
Monroe County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 32,957, which is an increase of 19.3% from 27,619 in 2000. Its county seat is Waterloo...
and St. Clair County
St. Clair County, Illinois
St. Clair County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. In 1970, the U.S. Census Bureau placed the mean center of U.S. population in St. Clair County. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 270,056, which is an increase of 5.5% from 256,082 in 2000. Its county seat is...
in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, about 12 miles (19.3 km) south of St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. The population was 7,922 at the 2000 census.
History
The first white settlers to come to the area of Columbia, Illinois, were Frenchmen in the mid-17th century. They named the area in which Columbia was founded L'Aigle, which is French for "The Eagle."In the mid-18th century, the British took over the territory until the Revolutionary War forced them out of the area. The colonial American settlers soon arrived and established the first permanent settlements in the area of Columbia, Fort Whiteside and Fort Piggott. Both forts were made out of log cabins and were used to protect against Indian raids.
In 1820, Columbia was plotted out as a town and built on bluffs 500 feet above sea level to protect against the flooding of the Mississippi River. Columbia is a poetic name for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Germans began immigrating to the area around 1833, with the majority coming in the 1840s. United States land agents had traveled to Germany to sell land to emigrating Germans. When the immigrants arrived in the United States, they traveled immediately to their own parcels of land.
Entering the United States through New Orleans, these Germans went up the Mississippi River to St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. They settled in the general region, including the Columbia area. The ground was not expensive, harvests were rich, and the climate was perfect for growing grain. German thrift, tenacity, and industriousness changed the character of Columbia from a pioneer settlement to a thriving community. The hard-working nature of the early immigrants had a direct influence on the town’s present prosperity.
In the early 19th century, the American landowners in the Columbia area often hired the German immigrants who were not landowners as farmhands. Money was short, so they were given land as payment. Soon, most of the land belonged to the Germans.
In 1859, Columbia was incorporated as a town as a result of the growth from German immigration. In 1868, the first railroad tracks were laid in Columbia, and the town continued to grow and develop. In 1927, Columbia became a city.
A notable feature of the community spirit was evidenced by the high level of Columbia’s interest in the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904. With singular purpose, on September 22, 1904, all businesses and schools were closed and 1,000 of the 1,300 inhabitants of Columbia attended the World’s Fair on that one day. It set a record of attendance for members of one community to be at the Fair at the same time.http://www.verschwisterungsverein-gedern-columbia.de/histco.htm
In 1959, Columbia's centennial was celebrated with a large community festival. In 1960, the Strassenfest ("street festival"), a three-day festival celebrating the German heritage of the community, was established. The Strassenfest became so popular that it had to be transferred to St. Louis in 1972, where it now attracts more than 100,000 visitors over a three-day period every year.http://www.strassenfest.org/
Today Columbia is a bedroom community with a population of about 10,000, mainly of German origin. Services and construction industry are the pillars of the local commerce.
Geography
Columbia is located at 38°26′57"N 90°12′31"W (38.449172, -90.208500).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 9.4 square miles (24.3 km²), of which 9.4 square miles (24.3 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1035995244 km²) of it (0.21%) is water.
Columbia is bounded on the west by the Mississippi River. Running in a diagonal line just northeast of Columbia is the border of St. Clair County
St. Clair County, Illinois
St. Clair County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. In 1970, the U.S. Census Bureau placed the mean center of U.S. population in St. Clair County. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 270,056, which is an increase of 5.5% from 256,082 in 2000. Its county seat is...
, beyond which lies Dupo
Dupo, Illinois
Dupo is a village in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,933 at the 2000 census. The village was settled in about 1750 and was incorporated in 1876. Its name is derived from Prairie du Pont .-Geography:...
to the north and Millstadt
Millstadt, Illinois
Millstadt is a suburb of St. Louis and a village in St. Clair County, Illinois, at the crossing of Illinois Route 163 and Illinois Route 158 . The village is known for its German heritage, with more than half its people of German descent...
to the east. To the south is Waterloo
Waterloo, Illinois
Waterloo is a city in Monroe County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,614 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Monroe County.-Geography:Waterloo is located at ....
. Waterloo and Columbia are expected to grow right up to the borders of the other, in effect extending St. Louis's urban sprawl
Urban sprawl
Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a multifaceted concept, which includes the spreading outwards of a city and its suburbs to its outskirts to low-density and auto-dependent development on rural land, high segregation of uses Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a...
from South St. Louis County across the Jefferson Barracks Bridge
Jefferson Barracks Bridge
The Jefferson Barracks Bridge, often called the J.B. Bridge, is a pair of bridges that span the Mississippi River on the south side of St. Louis, Missouri. Both bridges are long steel arch bridges. The first bridge was built in 1983, the south bridge opened in 1992...
into the heart of the formerly rural Monroe County.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 7,922 people. A special census conducted in 2006 places the population at 9,818. 3,112 households and 2,218 families reside in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 841.5 people per square mile (325.0/km²). There were 3,219 housing units at an average density of 341.9 per square mile (132.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.52% White, 0.10% African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 0.20% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.64% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.96% of the population. According to the 2010 census, the population was 9,707 people.
There were 3,112 households, out of which 35.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.3% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.7% were non-families. 25.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the city, the population was spread out with 25.9% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $58,003 and the median income for a family was $69,059. Males had a median income of $46,197 versus $31,042 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $26,767. About 2.0% of families and 2.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.3% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Columbia is served by the public K-12 school district Columbia Community Unit District #4. District #4 includes Eagleview Elementary School (pre-k - 1), Parkview Elementary School (2-4), Columbia Middle School (5-8), and Columbia High School. Also located in the city is Immaculate Conception School http://www.ics.k12.il.us, a private Roman Catholic grade school with grades from kindergarten to eighth.Highways
To get to places in other towns and cities, Columbians rely mostly on the four highways located nearby.Illinois Route 3
Illinois Route 3
Illinois Route 3 is a major north–south arterial state highway in southwestern Illinois. It has its southern terminus at Cairo Junction at the intersection of Interstate 57 and U.S. Route 51, and its northern terminus in Grafton at Illinois Route 100...
is the only highway that runs through the city. It connects Columbia with Dupo
Dupo, Illinois
Dupo is a village in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,933 at the 2000 census. The village was settled in about 1750 and was incorporated in 1876. Its name is derived from Prairie du Pont .-Geography:...
and Cahokia
Cahokia, Illinois
Cahokia is a village in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a population of 16,391. The name is a reference to one of the clans of the historic Illini confederacy, who were encountered by early French explorers to the region.Early European settlers also...
in the northwest and Waterloo
Waterloo, Illinois
Waterloo is a city in Monroe County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,614 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Monroe County.-Geography:Waterloo is located at ....
and Red Bud
Red Bud, Illinois
Red Bud is a city in Randolph County, Illinois. The population was 3,422 at the 2000 census.It is the home of the of Southwestern Illinois College.-Geography:Red Bud is located at ....
from the southeast. Illinois Route 158
Illinois Route 158
Illinois Route 158 is an east–west state road in southwestern Illinois. Its western terminus is at Illinois Route 3 in Columbia and its eastern terminus is at U.S. Route 50, in O'Fallon. This is a distance of .- Route description :...
has its western terminus just south of the city off of Route 3 and connects Columbia with Millstadt
Millstadt, Illinois
Millstadt is a suburb of St. Louis and a village in St. Clair County, Illinois, at the crossing of Illinois Route 163 and Illinois Route 158 . The village is known for its German heritage, with more than half its people of German descent...
.
Interstate 255
Interstate 255
Interstate 255 is a bypass route of Interstate 55 near St. Louis, Missouri and with Interstate 270, it forms a loop around the city. Even though St. Louis is in Missouri, a majority of the route runs through Illinois. It shares its southern terminus with 270 at the junction with Interstate 55, 270...
and U.S. Route 50
U.S. Route 50
U.S. Route 50 is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching just over from Ocean City, Maryland on the Atlantic Ocean to West Sacramento, California. Until 1972, when it was replaced by Interstate Highways west of the Sacramento area, it extended to San Francisco, near...
overlap in St. Louis and continue over the Jefferson Barracks Bridge
Jefferson Barracks Bridge
The Jefferson Barracks Bridge, often called the J.B. Bridge, is a pair of bridges that span the Mississippi River on the south side of St. Louis, Missouri. Both bridges are long steel arch bridges. The first bridge was built in 1983, the south bridge opened in 1992...
to Columbia, where they overlap again with Route 3 in an area just north of the city.
Public transportation
A public bus service, provided by MetroBus, arrives in the morning and evening in Columbia and Waterloo and transports people to the MetroLinkMetrolink
Metrolink, MetroLink, or Metro-link is the name of several transport services throughout the world:Australia*Metro-link Bus Lines, a bus operator in Sydney, New South Wales...
station in East St. Louis
East St. Louis, Illinois
East St. Louis is a city located in St. Clair County, Illinois, USA, directly across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri in the Metro-East region of Southern Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 27,006, less than one-third of its peak of 82,366 in 1950...
.
Sister city
Gedern
Gedern is a town in the Wetteraukreis district in Hesse, Germany, and historically belongs to Oberhessen. It is located northeast of Hanau at the foot of the Vogelsberg, once one of the largest inactive volcanoes in Europe.-Neighboring towns:...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
to take part in the US American "people to people program" with the goal to establish a partnership. Previously, citizens of Columbia had visited Gedern individually to search for their German ancestors. They had been successful in Wernings near Wenings, a district of Gedern. The contacts, resulting from these visits and discoveries, were to be integrated into an official sister city arrangement between Columbia and Gedern so relations could develop on this basis. After the "Declaration of Friendship" on April 29, 1992, the mayors Lester Schneider of Columbia and Rainer Schwarz of Gedern signed the proclamation of the sister city arrangement on May 8, 1993. Also on this day Barbara Gundlach, President of Verschwisterungsverein Gedern (Sister Cities of Gedern), was designated an honorary citizen of Columbia.
On May 7, 1993, Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, in his congratulation letter to Columbia, stated that the partnership helped to overcome the barriers between the United States and Germany and improve the relationships between people across the oceans. Since then, according to the "people to people program", official delegations from Gedern were in Columbia in 1993, 1997 and 2002. Delegations from Columbia were in Gedern in 1995, 1999, and 2003.
Columbia Plaza shows the importance of the sister city arrangement in Gedern. In Columbia, a street and a new subdivision were named after Gedern, and October 6, 2001, was declared Sister City of Gedern, Germany, Day by the State of Illinois.
In view of the good cooperation between the two cities, Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest is a general interest family magazine, published ten times annually. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, its headquarters is now in New York City. It was founded in 1922, by DeWitt Wallace and Lila Bell Wallace...
gave the Sister City Award to Gedern in 1993 for its share in securing world peace and understanding among nations by the sister city arrangement with Columbia. http://www.verschwisterungsverein-gedern-columbia.de/partsh.htm