Columbus, Ohio
The capital of Ohio, founded at the confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers.
Columbus is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a population of 905,748 at the 2020 census, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., second-most populous city in the Midwest (after Chicago), and third-most populous U.S. state capital (after Phoenix, Arizona, and Austin, Texas). The Columbus metropolitan area, with an estimated 2.23 million residents, is the largest metropolitan area entirely in Ohio and 32nd-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. Columbus is the county seat of Franklin County; it also extends into Delaware and Fairfield counties.
Quick Facts
- City
- Columbus, Ohio (state capital)
- Team
- Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL)
- Founded
- 2000 (expansion franchise)
- Home arena
- Nationwide Arena, North Bank district
- Conference
- Eastern Conference, Metropolitan Division
- Team colors
- Blue
- Red
- White
- First season
- 2000–01
Lore & Background
Columbus originated as several Native American settlements along the Scioto River. The first European settlement was Franklinton, now a city neighborhood, in 1797. Columbus was founded in 1812 at the confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers and was named after Italian explorer Christopher Columbus. It was planned as the state capital due to its central location and officially became the capital in 1816. The city grew steadily through the 19th century as a transportation and industrial hub via the National Road, Ohio and Erie Canal, and several railroads. Starting in the 1950s, Columbus experienced rapid suburban growth, becoming Ohio's largest city by area and population by the early 1990s. Columbus diversified economically in the late 20th and early 21st centuries as a center for finance, insurance, education, and technology. In the 2020s, the city became a major center for high technology, innovation, and advanced manufacturing, particularly in the fields of artificial intelligence, robotics, and semiconductor device fabrication. The metropolitan area is home to the Battelle Memorial Institute, the world's largest private research and development foundation; Chemical Abstracts Service, the world's largest clearinghouse of chemical information; and the Ohio State University, the flagship of the University System of Ohio and one of the largest universities in the United States. The Greater Columbus area is further home to the headquarters of Fortune 500 companies Cardinal Health, Nationwide, American Electric Power, Huntington Bancshares and Vertiv. It hosts cultural institutions such as the Columbus Museum of Art, COSI, Franklin Park Conservatory and Ohio Theatre. The city's major league professional sports teams include the Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL), Columbus Aviators (UFL), and Columbus Crew (MLS).
Reader's Guide
The city of Columbus was named after 15th-century Italian explorer Christopher Columbus. It may be the largest city in the world named for the explorer (as the name of the Sri Lankan city of Colombo is of Sinhala origin), who sailed to and settled parts of the Americas on behalf of Isabella I of Castile and Spain. Although no reliable history exists as to why Columbus, who had no connection to the city or state of Ohio before the city's founding, was chosen as the name for the city, the book Columbus: The Story of a City indicates that a state lawmaker and local resident admired the explorer enough to persuade other lawmakers to name the settlement Columbus. Since the late 20th century, historians have criticized Columbus for initiating the European conquest of America and for abuse, enslavement, and subjugation of natives. Efforts to remove symbols related to the explorer in the city date to the 1990s. Amid the George Floyd protests in 2020, several petitions pushed for the city to be renamed. In 2021, the iconic 22-foot tall statue of Christopher Columbus was removed from the south side of City Hall. Nicknames for the city have included 'the Discovery City', 'Arch City', 'Cap City', 'Cowtown', 'The Biggest Small Town in America' and 'Cbus'.
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