The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Columbia, South Carolina, USA.
1786 - Columbia established as state capital (previously located in Charleston).
1788 - Columbia becomes part of the new US state of South Carolina.
1795 - First Presbyterian Church congregation founded.
1797 - Commission of Streets and Markets established.
1804 - Columbia Library Society founded.
1805
Town chartered.
John Taylor elected intendant (town leader).
South Carolina College opens.
1809 - First Baptist Church founded.
1813 - Trinity Episcopal Church founded.
1814 - State Legislative Library established.
1824 - St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church built.
1825 - March: Lafayette visits town.
1830
Columbia Theological Seminary active.
Population: 3,310.
1838 - Southern Chronicle newspaper begins publication.
1840 - Population: 4,340.
1842
Railroad (Branchville-Columbia) begins operating.
Arsenal Military Academy (the Citadel) established.
1846 - J.T. Zealy daguerreotypist in business.
1847 - Southern Presbyterian Review begins publication.
1850
Carolina Times newspaper begins publication.
Population: 6,060.
1852 - Charlotte-Columbia railway begins operating.
1853
Greenville-Columbia railway begins operating.
First Presbyterian Church building constructed.
1854 - Office of mayor established.
1856
Town police force and Athenaeum established.
South Carolina State Fair begins.
1857
Trinity Episcopal Cathedral building consecrated.
Southern Guardian newspaper begins publication.
1865
February 17-18: Union forces in power; city burned.
The Phoenix newspaper begins publication.
1869 - South Carolina State House built.
1870
Benedict College founded.
Area of city expands.
1871 - October: "Southern States Convention of Colored Men" held in Columbia.
1874 - State normal school opens.
1875 - US Court House built.
1880 - Population: 10,036.
1891 - The State newspaper begins publication.
1892 - Columbia Hospital established.
1893 - Sidney Park Colored Methodist Episcopal Church built.
1895 - Columbia Duck Mill begins operating.
1896 - South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Museum established.
1897 - Columbia Record newspaper begins publication.
1899 - Olympia Mill built.
1908 - Main Street paved.
1913
National Corn Show held in city.
Palmetto Building constructed.
1917 - Military Camp Jackson established.
1920 - Population: 37,524.
1921 - Bethel A.M.E. Church builtl
1922 - February: Trolley strike.
1924 - Town Theatre built.
1925 - Part of North Columbia annexed to city.
1926-7 - Capital Heights, Hollywood, Kilbourne Park, Rose Hill, and Rosewood annexed to city.
1930
Dreher Shoals Dam begins operating.
Belk's department store in business.
1931 - Carolina Theatre opens.
1932 - Thomas Woodrow Wilson Boyhood Home (museum) opens.
1934 - Richland County Public Library established.
1937
US Courthouse becomes Columbia City Hall.
Palmetto Theater opens.
University South Caroliniana Society founded.[1]
1939 - Municipal Association of South Carolina headquartered in Columbia.[2]
1940
Lexington County Airport built.
US military Fort Jackson active.
Population: 62,396.
1941 - Carver Theatre built.
1950
Columbia Museum of Art and Twilite Drive-In cinema open.
Population: 86,914.
1958 - Lester Bates becomes mayor.
1960 - South Carolina Department of Corrections headquartered in city.
1961
Richland Mall in business.
Historic Columbia Foundation established.
1963 - Columbia Festival Orchestra founded.
1966 - Hammond School founded.
1968 - University of South Carolina's Carolina Coliseum opens.
1970
Dutch Square shopping mall in business.
John Tucker Campbell becomes mayor.
Population: 112,542.
1974
Riverbanks Zoo opens.
Shambhala Center founded.
1976 - WLTR radio begins broadcasting.
1977 - Palmetto Alliance (antinuclear group) founded.
1978 - Kirkman Finlay becomes mayor.
1979
Masjid as-Salaam (Muslim center) built.
Nickelodeon Theater opens.
Columbia becomes part of Tree City USA.
1980 - South Carolina Military Museum established.
1981 - Harvest Hope Food Bank established.[3]
1983 - Chicora Foundation (historic preservation group) established.
1984 - Hindu Temple built.
1986 - T. Patton Adams becomes mayor.
1987 - AT&T Building constructed.
1988
South Carolina State Museum opens.
University of South Carolina's Koger Center for the Arts built.
1990
Bob Coble becomes mayor.
Population: 98,052.
1991 - Sidney Park opens.
1992 - Masjid Al-Muslimiin (mosque) built.
1993
Richland County Public Library new main branch building opens.
Jim Clyburn becomes U.S. representative for South Carolina's 6th congressional district.
1994 - Sikh Religious Society founded.
1996 - City website online.
2000 - January 17: Confederate flag protest.
2001 - Columbia Zen Buddhist Priory founded.
2002
Colonial Center (arena) opens.
Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority and Ganden Mahayana Buddhist established.
2005 - Columbia City Paper begins publication.
2007 - Columbia Quadsquad (rollerderby league) formed.
2009 - Fort Jackson National Cemetery established.
2010
Stephen K. Benjamin becomes first African-American in city elected mayor.
Population: 129,272 city; 767,598 metro.
Timeline of Columbia, South Carolina Wikipedia (Text) CC BY-SA