Columbus, Kansas

**Columbus** is the second biggest city Cherokee County, Kansas, United States.  It is about 15 miles south-southwest of Pittsburg. It is also the county seat of Cherokee County. In 2020, 2,929 people lived there.

## History

The first settlement at Columbus was created in 1868. The first post office in Columbus was created in 1869.

Columbus was a railroad junction for the Saint Louis and San Francisco, and the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas railroads. It was named Columbus by A.L. Peters, one of the European-American creators of the city. It was named after his hometown of Columbus, Ohio; the name is indirectly named after Christopher Columbus, the explorer. Coal, lead and zinc were found in the area. Columbus had a big trade in agricultural products. Its businesses had machine shops, grain elevators, flour mills, a cigar factory, bottle works (soft drinks), a canning factory, and a big brick-making factory.

In 1875, Robert A. Long and Victor Bell created the Long-Bell Lumber Company in Columbus. From one lumberyard, Long-Bell grew their businesses and holdings to become one of the biggest vertically integrated lumber companies in the United States. In 1956, it was bought by International Paper.

## Geography

Columbus is at  (37.171614, -94.844076). The United States Census Bureau says that the city has a total area of . All of it is land.

### Weather

Columbus has hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. The Köppen Climate Classification system says that Columbus has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

### 2020 census

The 2020 census says that there were 2,929 people, 1,251 households, and 746 families living in Columbus. Of the households, 63.5% owned their home and 36.5% rented their home.

The median age was 39.8 years. Of the people, 86.8% were White, 3.1% were Native American, 0.5% were Black, 0.2% were Asian, 0.8% were from some other race, and 8.7% were two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.4% of the people.

### 2010 census

The 2010 census says that there were 3,312 people, 1,424 households, and 850 families living in Columbus.

## Famous people

- Marcellus Boss, 5th Civilian Governor of Guam
- Elizabeth W. Crandall, educator
- James Reed Hallowell, politician
- Robert A. Long, lumber baron, developer, investor, newspaper owner, and philanthropist
- Doro Merande, film, stage and television actress
- Merle Evans, bandleader for Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus
- Norma Terris, singer and actress
- Leland Justin Webb, 1st Mayor of Columbus, lawyer, served in American Civil War and 19th Kansas Cavalry Regiment
- Thomas Daniel Winter, US Representative from Kansas, 1939-1947.

## Other websites

- City
- City of Columbus
- Schools
- USD 493, local school district
- Historical
- , Special Photo Collections at Wichita State University Library
- Maps
- Columbus City Map , KDOT

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Columbus, Kansas
- **settlement type**: City and County seat
- **motto**: "Help America Discover Columbus..."
- **image skyline**: Columbus, KS public library funded by Andrew Carnegie..jpg
- **image caption**: Columbus Public Carnegie Library, Columbus Carnegie Library (2013)
- **image map**: Cherokee_County_Kansas_Incorporated_and_Unincorporated_areas_Columbus_Highlighted.svg
- **map caption**: Location within Cherokee County, Kansas, Cherokee County and Kansas
- **image map1**: Map of Cherokee Co, Ks, USA.png
- **map caption1**: Kansas Department of Transportation, KDOT map of Cherokee County, Kansas, Cherokee County (:File:Kansas official transportation map legend.png, legend)
- **subdivision type**: List of sovereign states, Country
- **subdivision name**: United States
- **subdivision type1**: U.S. state, State
- **subdivision name1**: Kansas
- **subdivision type2**: List of counties in Kansas, County
- **subdivision name2**: Cherokee County, Kansas, Cherokee
- **subdivision type3**: List of townships in Kansas, Township
- **established title**: Founded
- **established date**: 1868
- **established title1**: Platted
- **established title2**: Municipal corporation, Incorporated
- **established date2**: 1871
- **named for**: Columbus, Ohio
- **leader title**: Mayor
- **area total sq mi**: 2.43
- **area land sq mi**: 2.43
- **area water sq mi**: 0.00
- **area total km2**: 6.30
- **area land km2**: 6.30
- **area water km2**: 0.00
- **unit pref**: Imperial
- **elevation ft**: 912
- **population as of**: 2020 United States census, 2020
- **population total**: 2929
- **population density sq mi**: auto
- **population density km2**: auto
- **timezone**: Central Time Zone, CST
- **utc offset**: -6
- **timezone dst**: CDT
- **utc offset dst**: -5
- **postal code type**: ZIP code
- **postal code**: 66725
- **area code type**: North American Numbering Plan, Area code
- **area code**: Area code 620, 620
- **blank name**: Federal Information Processing Standard, FIPS code
- **blank info**: 20-15075
- **blank1 name**: Geographic Names Information System, GNIS ID
- **blank1 info**: 485558