Power from the falls of the Chattahoochee River feeds the industries of this dynamic city. With a 9-foot-deep navigable channel to the Gulf of Mexico, it is at the head of navigation on the Chattahoochee. Originally a settlement of the Creek Indians, the site was chosen as a border stronghold by Governor Forsyth in 1828. The city reached a peak of frenzied manufacturing and commerce between 1861 and 1864, when it supplied the Confederate Army with shoes, caps, swords, and pistols.

The Columbus Iron Works (1853) supplied Columbus and the surrounding area with cast-iron products, farming equipment, steam engines, and industrial and building supplies. It was a major supplier of cannons for the Confederate States during the Civil War. Reconstruction created havoc for a time, but by 1874 Columbus's industries were more numerous and varied than before the war: from 1880-1920 a commercial ice-making machine was produced in the town, and by the beginning of World War II, Columbus was a great iron-working center and the second largest producer of cotton in the South.

Much of the original city plan of 1827 is still evident, with streets 99- to 164-feet wide flanked by magnificent trees. Dogwood and wisteria add color in the spring. The atmosphere is exemplified by the brick-lined streets and gaslights in the 28-block historic district and by the Victorian gardens, gazebos, and open-air amphitheaters on the Chattahoochee Promenade along the banks of the river.