Editing Columbia, Virginia (section)

==History==
In pre-colonial times, the site served as the location of '''[[Rassawek]]''' or '''Rassewek''', the capital of what is now known as the [[Monacan Indian Nation]]. As of 2020, the historic remains of the Monacan settlement were under threat from a proposed water pumping station for the Cobb Creek Reservoir. The [[National Trust for Historic Preservation]] named it as one of America's most endangered historic places.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brandon |first1=Elissaveta M. |title=Eleven historic places in America that desperately need saving |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/these-11-historic-places-in-america-desperately-need-saving-180975924/ |website=Smithsonian |access-date=20 October 2020}}</ref>

English settlers who took over the land established a community called Point of Fork, in reference to the confluence of [[James River|James]] and [[Rivanna River|Rivanna]] rivers. During the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]], a [[Point of Fork Arsenal|Patriot arsenal]] under the command of [[Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben]] stood near Point of Fork. A detachment of the [[Queen's Rangers]], composed of American [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|Loyalists]] and commanded by Colonel [[John Graves Simcoe]], were sent by Major General [[Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis|Charles Cornwallis]] to capture and confiscate the arsenal. Upon learning of Simcoe's approach, von Steuben ordered his troops to transport the arsenal's stores across the James; heavy artillery was dumped into the river to be recovered later. Simcoe captured the arsenal on June 5, 1781, and reported seizing a vast amount of Patriot supplies. However, von Steuben and General [[Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette|Lafayette]] reported that losses were negligible.<ref>[http://www.fluvannachamber.org/page-596563 "Fluvanna and the American Revolution"], Fluvanna Chamber of Commerce, Retrieved 5 July 2016</ref> 

The arsenal was rebuilt and supplied material to combat the [[Whiskey Rebellion]] and to aid the [[Battle of Fallen Timbers]].<ref name=vlr>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NJa_64aH1iMC&dq=Point+of+Fork+Arsenal&pg=PA173 |title=The Virginia Landmarks Registers: Point of Fork Arsenal |author=Calder Loth| date=1999 |isbn=9780813918624 }} and [http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/Counties/Fluvanna/032-0188_SeaysChapel.photos.html ''Accompanying five photos'']</ref> It remained in service until 1801, when it was abandoned in favor of a more centralized arsenal, the [[Virginia Manufactory of Arms]], located in [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]].

Following the end of the war and the founding of the United States, the community changed its name to "Columbia" and became incorporated as a town in 1788.<ref name="auto">{{cite news |last=Strong| first=Ted| title=Columbia Residents Vote 18–1 to Do Away with Town |newspaper=Richmond Times-Dispatch| date=March 17, 2015 |url=http://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/article_3db2ebfa-fdbe-571d-9a87-9df333fe5449.html}}</ref> Columbia became a shipping point on the James River for Virginia's [[tobacco]] trade, establishing its own [[bateau]] freight line. The confluence of the rivers at Columbia linked Richmond to [[Lynchburg, Virginia|Lynchburg]] through the James River and to [[Charlottesville, Virginia|Charlottesville]] through the Rivanna.<ref>Justin Bergman, [http://www.readthehook.com/92871/news-columbia-will-fluvannas-historic-burg-be-saved "Columbia: Will Fluvanna's historic burg be saved?"], ''The Hook'', 18 December 2002</ref> In the mid-19th century, Columbia served as a point along the [[stagecoach]] route between Richmond and [[Staunton, Virginia|Staunton]].<ref name="Sherman Smith 1847">{{cite book| last=Smith| first=John Calvin| title=The Illustrated Hand-book, a New Guide for travelers through the United States of America| date=1847| publisher=Sherman & Smith| location=New York City| pages=[https://archive.org/details/illustratedhandb00smitrich/page/132 132]| url=https://archive.org/details/illustratedhandb00smitrich}}</ref>

The town entered an economic decline with the end of passenger railroad service in 1958, and saw many homes and businesses destroyed in floods caused by Hurricanes [[Hurricane Camille|Camille]] in 1969 and [[Hurricane Agnes|Agnes]] in 1972. In the decades afterward, conditions in the town worsened as buildings along its [[main street]] either burned down or became abandoned. In May 2014, Columbia's mayor, John Hammond, and town council proposed disincorporation, which would result in the town being governed solely by Fluvanna County in exchange for financial aid.<ref>https://www.wtvr.com/2014/07/31/save-columbia-virginia</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://fluvannareview.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5749:mayor-town-council-seek-to-dissolve-town-of-columbia&catid=34:headlines&Itemid=152| title=Fluvanna Review – Mayor, town council seek to dissolve town of Columbia| author=Lynn Stayton-Eurell| work=fluvannareview.com| access-date=September 13, 2015}}</ref> Despite efforts by [[historic preservation]]ists to raise money for the town's continued existence as an independent entity, residents voted to disincorporate in a [[referendum]] held on March 17, 2015. The [[Virginia General Assembly]] revoked Columbia's town charter on March 3, 2016, via HB14 during the 2016 session.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?161%20sum%20HB14| title=Legislative Information System| access-date=July 3, 2016}}</ref> The disincorporation took effect on July 1, 2016.

===Shrine of St. Katharine Drexel===

Columbia is home to St. Joseph's Church and Shrine of St. Katharine Drexel, a parish within the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.richmonddiocese.org/parish/saint-josephs-shrine-st-katharine-drexel| title=Saint Joseph's Shrine of St. Katharine Drexel – Catholic Diocese of Richmond| work=richmonddiocese.org| access-date=September 13, 2015| archive-url=https://archive.today/20140711085655/http://www.richmonddiocese.org/parish/saint-josephs-shrine-st-katharine-drexel| archive-date=July 11, 2014| url-status=dead}}</ref> The church was built by William and Catherine Wakeham, English Catholic [[abolitionist]]s who moved to Columbia in 1833. Because they were abolitionists, the hill on which their house was built came to be called Free Hill. After Catherine Wakeham's death in 1891, her sons Alfred and Richard, both [[Society of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart|Josephites]], were called away from Columbia for clerical duties. An elderly [[African-American]] man, Zack Kimbro, continued to maintain the chapel and place fresh flowers and clean linen on its altar.

[[St. Katharine Drexel]], S.B.S. (1858–1955), the founder of the [[Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament]], visited the church while passing through Columbia in 1901 and noticed the reflection of sunlight on the chapel's cross. St. Katherine was eventually introduced to Kimbro, who told her he had prayed daily for over a decade that Mass would once more be celebrated in the chapel. St. Katharine contacted the Josephite Fathers and arranged for Mass to be celebrated in the church's [[chapel]] regularly. She also founded a small school adjacent to the chapel, which was one of Fluvanna County's only educational institutions available for black children. St. Joseph's and its school became the center of one of Virginia's only historically African-American Catholic communities.

Because of its location on high ground, St. Joseph's was spared during the 20th Century floods that mostly destroyed Columbia's other buildings. The church is still an active parish, sharing a pastor with Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in [[Palmyra, Virginia|Palmyra]]. St. Joseph's also serves Catholic students at the nearby [[Fork Union Military Academy]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.fluvannareview.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1895%3Ast-katharine&catid=81&Itemid=53| title=Fluvanna Review – Saved by a saint and steeped in history, a Columbia church thrives| author=Carlos M. Santos| work=fluvannareview.com| access-date=September 13, 2015}}</ref>