Editing Columbia, Tennessee

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name                   = Columbia, Tennessee
| settlement_type                 = [[City]]
| nickname                        = Muletown
| motto                           = 
<!-- Images -->
Something good around every corner.
| image_skyline                   = Columbia Tennessee Square.jpg
| imagesize                       = 
| image_caption                   = Columbia, Tennessee courthouse square
| image_flag                      = Columbia TN Flag 3x5.jpg
| image_seal                      = 
| image_blank_emblem              = City of Columbia Logo.jpg
| blank_emblem_type               = Logo
| blank_emblem_size               = 

<!-- Maps -->
| image_map                       = Maury County Tennessee Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Columbia Highlighted 4716540.svg
| mapsize                         = 
| map_caption                     = Location of Columbia in Maury County, Tennessee.
| image_map1                      = 
| mapsize1                        = 
| map_caption1                    = <!-- Location -->
| subdivision_type                = Country
| subdivision_name                = United States
| subdivision_type1               = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1               = [[Tennessee]]
| subdivision_type2               = [[List of counties in Tennessee|County]]
| subdivision_name2               = [[Maury County, Tennessee|Maury]]

<!-- Government -->
| seat_type                       = 
| government_footnotes            = 
| government_type                 = 
| leader_title                    = Mayor
| leader_name                     = Chaz Molder
| leader_title1                   = 
| leader_name1                    = 
| established_title               = 
| established_date                = <!-- Area -->
| unit_pref                       = Imperial
| area_footnotes                  = <ref name="TigerWebMapServer">{{cite web|title=ArcGIS REST Services Directory|url=https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/5/query?where=STATE='47'&outFields=NAME,STATE,PLACE,AREALAND,AREAWATER,LSADC,CENTLAT,CENTLON&orderByFields=PLACE&returnGeometry=false&returnTrueCurves=false&f=json|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=October 15, 2022}}</ref>
| area_magnitude                  = 
| area_total_km2                  = 87.52
| area_land_km2                   = 87.45
| area_water_km2                  = 0.07
| area_total_sq_mi                = 33.79
| area_land_sq_mi                 = 33.77
| area_water_sq_mi                = 0.03

<!-- Population -->| population_as_of                = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
| population_footnotes            = <ref name="USCensusDecennial2020CenPopScriptOnly"/>
| population_total                = 41690
| population_density_km2          = 476.72
| population_density_sq_mi        = 1234.71

<!-- General information -->| timezone                        = [[North American Central Time Zone|Central (CST)]]
| utc_offset                      = -6
| timezone_DST                    = CDT
| utc_offset_DST                  = -5
| elevation_footnotes             = 
| elevation_m                     = 196
| elevation_ft                    = 643
| coordinates                     = {{coord|35|36|54|N|87|2|40|W|region:US-TN|display=inline}}
| postal_code_type                = [[ZIP Code]]s
| postal_code                     = 38401-38402
| area_code                       = [[Area code 931|931]]
| blank_name                      = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info                      = 47-16540<ref name="GR2">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website  }}</ref>
| blank1_name                     = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info                     = 1269483<ref name="GR3">{{cite web|url=http://geonames.usgs.gov|access-date=January 31, 2008|title=US Board on Geographic Names|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]|date=October 25, 2007}}</ref>
| website                         = {{URL|http://columbiatn.com}}
| footnotes                       = 
| pop_est_as_of                   = 
| pop_est_footnotes               = 
| population_est                  = 
}}
[[File:Maury County Courthouse.jpg|thumb]]
[[File:Mule day.jpg|thumb|Mule Day 2018]]
'''Columbia''' is a city in and the [[county seat]]<ref name="GR6">{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |access-date=June 7, 2011 |title=Find a County |publisher=National Association of Counties |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110531210815/http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |archive-date=May 31, 2011  }}</ref> of [[Maury County, Tennessee]]. The population was 41,690 as of the [[2020 United States census]].<ref name="USCensusEst2019">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/tables.2019.html|title=Population and Housing Unit Estimates|access-date=May 21, 2020}}</ref> Columbia is included in the [[Nashville metropolitan area]].

The self-proclaimed "[[mule]] capital of the world," Columbia celebrates the city-designated [[Mule Day]] each April. Columbia and Maury County are acknowledged as the "Antebellum Homes Capital of Tennessee"; the county has more [[Antebellum architecture|antebellum]] houses than any other county in the state. The city is home to one of the last two surviving residences of [[James K. Polk|James Knox Polk]], the 11th President of the United States; the other is the White House.

== History ==
[[Image:JamesKPolkHome.jpg|thumb|left|The [[James K. Polk Home]] in Columbia is the last of President Polk's private homes that is still standing]]
A year after the organization of [[Maury County, Tennessee|Maury County]] in 1807, Columbia was laid out in 1808 and lots were sold. The original town, on the south bank of the [[Duck River (Tennessee)|Duck River]], consisted of four blocks. The town was incorporated in 1817.

Columbia was the site of [[Jackson College (Tennessee)|Jackson College]] from 1837 until it was burned, along with most of Jackson, by [[Union Army|Union troops]] during the [[American Civil War]].

Columbia had five documented lynchings in the 20th century.<ref name="eji">[https://eji.org/sites/default/files/lynching-in-america-second-edition-supplement-by-county.pdf ''Lynching in America'', 2nd edition] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627005306/https://eji.org/sites/default/files/lynching-in-america-second-edition-supplement-by-county.pdf |date=June 27, 2018 }}, Supplement by County, p. 6</ref> In 1924 a black man was shot and killed in the courthouse after his sentence was commuted, by the brother of his victim. In 1927 and 1933, young black men were [[Lynching in the United States|lynched]] in Maury County for alleged assaults against white women; the first, [[Lynching of Henry Choate|Henry Choate]], was being held as a suspect when he was lynched,<ref name="beeler">{{cite journal |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/42626044 |first=Dorothy |last=Beeler |title=Race Riot in Columbia, Tennessee/ February 25-27, 1946 |journal=Tennessee Historical Quarterly |volume=39 |issue=1 |year=1980 |pages=49–61|jstor=42626044 }}</ref> and was hanged from the courthouse.<ref>{{cite thesis |type=PhD |title=A Study of Mob Action in the South |first=John R. |last=Steelman | authorlink=John R. Steelman |publisher=[[University of North Carolina]] |year=1928 |page=268 |url=https://archive.org/stream/studyofmobaction00stee/studyofmobaction00stee_djvu.txt}}</ref> In 1933 [[Cordie Cheek]], a black 17-year-old, was accused of raping a white girl. After a grand jury declined to indict him, he was abducted from Nashville by white men including law officials, and taken back to Columbia. There he was castrated and lynched by a white mob.<ref name="beeler"/><ref name="williams">{{cite book|last=O'Brien|first=Gail Williams|title=The Color of the Law: Race, Violence, and Justice in the Post-War II South|date=1999|publisher= University of North Carolina Press |location= Chapel Hill, NC |pages=78–88}}</ref>

During World War II [[Phosphate mining in the United States|phosphate mining]] and the chemical industry expanded in Columbia to support the war effort. By the 1940 census, the total city population was 10,579;<ref name="USDecennialCensus"/> more than 3,000 were African American.<ref name="beeler"/> After the war, chemical plants were a site of labor unrest between white and Black workers, both in terms of competition for work and efforts to unionize. Veterans sought to re-enter the economy, and Black veterans resisted being pushed back into second-class status after having fought in the war.<ref name="beeler"/> In the postwar period, Black veterans often became leaders in the growing campaign for civil rights during the 1950s and 1960s throughout the state.

Today, the county is a [[heritage tourism]] destination, because of its numerous historic sites. Attractions include the President [[James K. Polk Home]], the [[Athenaeum (Tennessee)|Columbia Athenaeum]], Mule Day, and nearby plantation homes.

[[File:Historic American Buildings Survey, W. Jeter Eason, Deputy District Officer, Photographer June 6, 1936 DETAIL OF WEST ELEVATION. - Clifton Place, State Highway 6, Columbia, HABS TENN,60-COLUM.V,1-1.tif|thumb|Historic American Buildings Survey, W. Jeter Eason, Deputy District Officer, Photographer June 6, 1936, DETAIL OF WEST ELEVATION. - Clifton Place, State Highway 6, Columbia, HABS TENN,60-COLUM.V,1-1]]
For instance, [[Clifton Place (Columbia, Tennessee)|Clifton Place]] is a historic plantation mansion located southwest of the city on Mt. Pleasant Pike (Columbia highway).<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fh11WlwYe9wC&q=Pillow+Place+mansion+of+Tennessee&pg=PA368 | title=Tennessee's Historic Landscapes: A Traveler's Guide | publisher=The University of Tennessee Press (Knoxville) | date=1995 | access-date=September 1, 2014 | author=West, Carol Van | pages=367–368| isbn=9780870498817 }}</ref> Master builder [[Nathan Vaught]] started construction in 1838, and the mansion and other buildings were completed in 1839, for [[Gideon Johnson Pillow]] (1806-1877) on land inherited from Gideon Pillow.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Randal Rust|title=Clifton Place|url=https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/clifton-place/|access-date=July 2, 2020|website=Tennessee Encyclopedia|language=en-US}}</ref>

Columbia is the location of Tennessee's first two-year college, [[Columbia State Community College]], established in 1966. President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] and his wife Lady Bird Johnson dedicated the new campus on March 15, 1967.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Our History|url=https://www.columbiastate.edu/about-us/our-history.html|access-date=July 2, 2020|website=www.columbiastate.edu}}</ref> On this visit, the President also visited the [[President James K. Polk Home & Museum|James K. Polk Home]] for a short time.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=March 15, 1967|title=President's Daily Diary, March 15, 1967|url=http://www.lbjlibrary.net/assets/lbj_tools/daily_diary/pdf/1967/19670315.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204172110/http://www.lbjlibrary.net/assets/lbj_tools/daily_diary/pdf/1967/19670315.pdf |archive-date=February 4, 2021 |access-date=|website=LBJ Library}}</ref>

On June 26, 1977, 42 people, including 34 inmates, died in a fire at the Maury County Jail. Rescue efforts were complicated by the fact that each cell required a separate key, and the dispatcher reportedly had difficulty locating the keys. The fire was reportedly [[arson|intentionally started]] by a juvenile inmate.<ref>{{cite news|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=Tennessee Jail Fire Kills 42, Including Locked-up Prisoners|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/06/27/archives/tennessee-jail-fire-kills-42-including-lockedup-prisoners-keys-are.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=June 27, 1977|access-date=April 18, 2020}}</ref>

===Columbia race riot of 1946===
{{main|Columbia race riot of 1946}}
On February 25, 1946, a civil disturbance, dubbed "the Columbia Race Riot," broke out in the county seat. It was covered by the national press as the first "major racial confrontation" following World War II.<ref>{{cite book|last=King|first=Gilbert|title=Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys and the Dawn of a New America|date=2013| pages=8}}</ref>

In a fight instigated by William "Billy" Fleming, a white repair apprentice,{{sfn|Cobb|2016|p=56}} James Stephenson, a black [[United States Navy|Navy]] veteran, fought back and wounded him. Stephenson had been on the boxing team and refused to accept being hit. Stephenson had accompanied his mother to the repair store, which had mistakenly sold a radio which she had left for repair<ref name="beeler"/> to John Calhoun Fleming, Billy's father.{{sfn|Cobb|2016|p=56}} A white mob gathered during the altercation. The senior Fleming convinced the sheriff to charge both Stephensons with attempted murder.<ref name="riot"/>

Rumors were rife that the Stephensons would be [[Lynching in the United States|lynched]]. As whites gathered in the square talking about the incident, blacks armed themselves and planned to defend their business district, which they referred to as "the Bottom".{{sfn|Cobb|2016|p=55}} It started about one block south of the square. Later that evening whites drove around the area, shooting randomly into it; they referred to the neighborhood as "Mink Slide." Armed black men turned out some street lights and shot out others, patrolling the area for defense. Four policemen who entered the area were wounded and retreated, increasing white rage.

Worried that the small police force could not control the mob, the mayor called in the State Guard and the sheriff called in the state Highway Patrol that night. The Guard resisted Patrol requests to arm the white mob. In an uncoordinated effort, the Highway Patrol entered the district early the next morning before a planned time; they provoked more violence and destroyed numerous businesses.<ref name="beeler"/> Eventually through the next day, they and the State Guard rounded up more than 100 blacks as suspects in the police shootings. No whites were charged at that point. Two black men were killed and a third wounded, in what the police said was an escape attempt while the Highway Patrol was trying to take them from the jail to the sheriff's office.<ref name="beeler"/><ref name="king">Gilbert King, ''Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America,'' HarperCollins, 2012, pp. 8 and 14</ref> The State Guard was withdrawn on March 3.

Twenty-five black men were eventually charged with attempted murder of the four policemen. Another six were charged with lesser crimes, as were four white men.<ref name="beeler"/> The main attorney defending Stephenson and other men in the case was [[Thurgood Marshall]] of the [[NAACP]]. He worked with [[Z. Alexander Looby]], who was based in [[Nashville]] but associated with the national legal team, and Maurice Weaver, a white civil rights lawyer from [[Chattanooga, Tennessee]].<ref name="riot"/>

Marshall asked for a change of venue, hoping to get the trial moved to Nashville or another major city. The judge agreed to move the trial only to nearby [[Lawrenceburg, Tennessee]]. Local residents there were unhappy to be involved in the controversial case. Marshall and his team achieved acquittal from an [[all-white jury]] for all but two men. The prosecution dropped their charges against these men, as they believed the convictions would be overturned on appeal. The Stephensons were never tried, nor were four Whites charged with murder, nor were several blacks. Of two black men tried for murder, only Loyd Kennedy was convicted in his trial of 1947.<ref name="king"/>

The NAACP continued a publicity campaign about these events, which were also covered by national media.<ref name="beeler"/> The case gained much attention on the issue of civil rights for African Americans in the United States. The NAACP and other organizations put pressure on President [[Harry S. Truman]] to take action to improve the situation. He appointed a President's Committee on Civil Rights, which issued its report in October 1947.<ref name="beeler"/> In 1948 Truman directed integration of the Armed Services by Executive Order 9981, as a result of the report and his consultation with black leaders. Marshall was later appointed as the first black [[Supreme Court of the United States|United States Supreme Court]] justice.<ref name="riot">{{cite encyclopedia| url=http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=296| title=Columbia race riot, 1946| encyclopedia=Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture|author=Carroll Van West | access-date=July 4, 2008}}</ref>

==Geography==
[[File:TN-Columbia Old Dam P5080375.jpg|thumb|The Old Columbia Dam is a concrete gravity dam constructed during the 1930s, before TVA.]]
Columbia is located at {{coord|35|36|54|N|87|2|40|W|type:city}} (35.615022, −87.044464).<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=April 23, 2011|date=February 12, 2011|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref> It developed along the banks of the [[Duck River (Tennessee)|Duck River]] at the southern edge of the [[Nashville Basin]]; the higher elevated ridges of the [[Highland Rim]] are located to the south and west of the city. 

The Duck River is the longest river located entirely within the state of [[Tennessee]]. Free flowing for most of its length, the Duck River is home to over 50 species of freshwater mussels and 151 species of fish, making it the most biologically diverse river in North America. It enters the city of [[Manchester, Tennessee|Manchester]] and meets its confluence with a major tributary, The [[Little Duck River]], at [[Old Stone Fort (Tennessee)|Old Stone Fort State Park]]. The fort was named after an ancient Native American structure, between the two rivers, believed to be nearly 2,000 years old. The Duck River is sacred to most of the founding Native American tribes east of the [[Mississippi River]].

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|29.6|sqmi|km2}}, of which {{convert|29.6|sqmi|km2}} is land and 0.03% is water. Incorporated in 1817, the city is at an elevation of {{convert|637|ft|m}}.

===Climate===
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters.  According to the [[Köppen Climate Classification]] system, Columbia has a [[humid subtropical climate]].
<ref>[http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=759104&cityname=Columbia%2C+Tennessee%2C+United+States+of+America&units= Climate Summary for Columbia, Tennessee]</ref>

{{Weather box
|location = Columbia 3 WNW, Tennessee (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1948–present)
|single line = Y
|Jan record high F = 78
|Feb record high F = 82
|Mar record high F = 87
|Apr record high F = 90
|May record high F = 99
|Jun record high F = 109
|Jul record high F = 109
|Aug record high F = 105
|Sep record high F = 104
|Oct record high F = 96
|Nov record high F = 88
|Dec record high F = 78
|year record high F = 109

|Jan avg record high F = 66.8
|Feb avg record high F = 72.0
|Mar avg record high F = 78.9
|Apr avg record high F = 84.4
|May avg record high F = 88.5
|Jun avg record high F = 93.4
|Jul avg record high F = 95.5
|Aug avg record high F = 95.5
|Sep avg record high F = 92.4
|Oct avg record high F = 84.7
|Nov avg record high F = 76.7
|Dec avg record high F = 68.0
|year avg record high F = 97.0

|Jan high F = 47.9
|Feb high F = 52.4
|Mar high F = 61.5
|Apr high F = 71.3
|May high F = 78.8
|Jun high F = 85.8
|Jul high F = 88.8
|Aug high F = 88.4
|Sep high F = 83.3
|Oct high F = 72.1
|Nov high F = 60.3
|Dec high F = 51.1
|year high F = 70.1
|Jan mean F = 37.4
|Feb mean F = 40.7
|Mar mean F = 48.7
|Apr mean F = 57.7
|May mean F = 66.2
|Jun mean F = 74.1
|Jul mean F = 77.7
|Aug mean F = 76.7
|Sep mean F = 70.6
|Oct mean F = 58.7
|Nov mean F = 47.6
|Dec mean F = 40.3
|year mean F = 58.0
|Jan low F = 26.9
|Feb low F = 29.1
|Mar low F = 36.0
|Apr low F = 44.2
|May low F = 53.5
|Jun low F = 62.3
|Jul low F = 66.6
|Aug low F = 64.9
|Sep low F = 57.9
|Oct low F = 45.3
|Nov low F = 34.9
|Dec low F = 29.6
|year low F = 45.9

|Jan avg record low F = 9.5
|Feb avg record low F = 13.2
|Mar avg record low F = 20.6
|Apr avg record low F = 29.2
|May avg record low F = 39.6
|Jun avg record low F = 52.2
|Jul avg record low F = 58.3
|Aug avg record low F = 56.4
|Sep avg record low F = 43.7
|Oct avg record low F = 30.0
|Nov avg record low F = 20.2
|Dec avg record low F = 14.7
|year avg record low F = 7.1

|Jan record low F = -20
|Feb record low F = -12
|Mar record low F = 4
|Apr record low F = 20
|May record low F = 31
|Jun record low F = 39
|Jul record low F = 51
|Aug record low F = 48
|Sep record low F = 34
|Oct record low F = 21
|Nov record low F = -5
|Dec record low F = −10
|year record low F = -20
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation inch = 4.60
|Feb precipitation inch = 5.11
|Mar precipitation inch = 5.43
|Apr precipitation inch = 5.10
|May precipitation inch = 5.17
|Jun precipitation inch = 4.98
|Jul precipitation inch = 4.75
|Aug precipitation inch = 4.09
|Sep precipitation inch = 4.25
|Oct precipitation inch = 3.78
|Nov precipitation inch = 3.87
|Dec precipitation inch = 5.64
|year precipitation inch = 56.77
|Jan snow inch = 0.3
|Feb snow inch = 0.4
|Mar snow inch = 0.2
|Apr snow inch = 0.0
|May snow inch = 0.0
|Jun snow inch = 0.0
|Jul snow inch = 0.0
|Aug snow inch = 0.0
|Sep snow inch = 0.0
|Oct snow inch = 0.0
|Nov snow inch = 0.0
|Dec snow inch = 0.0
|year snow inch = 0.9
|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in
|Jan precipitation days = 11.3
|Feb precipitation days = 11.1
|Mar precipitation days = 12.6
|Apr precipitation days = 10.9
|May precipitation days = 11.6
|Jun precipitation days = 10.5
|Jul precipitation days = 10.4
|Aug precipitation days = 9.5
|Sep precipitation days = 8.1
|Oct precipitation days = 8.4
|Nov precipitation days = 9.5
|Dec precipitation days = 11.7
|year precipitation days = 125.6
|unit snow days = 0.1 in
|Jan snow days = 0.2
|Feb snow days = 0.6
|Mar snow days = 0.1
|Apr snow days = 0.0
|May snow days = 0.0
|Jun snow days = 0.0
|Jul snow days = 0.0
|Aug snow days = 0.0
|Sep snow days = 0.0
|Oct snow days = 0.0
|Nov snow days = 0.0
|Dec snow days = 0.0
|year snow days = 0.9
|source 1 = [[NOAA]]<ref name= NOAA>
{{cite web
| url = https://www.weather.gov/wrh/Climate?wfo=ohx
| title = NowData - NOAA Online Weather Data
| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
| access-date = October 2, 2021}}</ref><ref name=NCEI>
{{cite web
| url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USC00401957&format=pdf
| title = Station: Columbia 3 WNW, TN
| work = U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991-2020)
| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
| access-date = October 2, 2021}}</ref>
}}

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1850= 2977
|1860= 4069
|1870= 2550
|1880= 3400
|1890= 5370
|1900= 6052
|1910= 5754
|1920= 5526
|1930= 7882
|1940= 10579
|1950= 10911
|1960= 17624
|1970= 21471
|1980= 26571
|1990= 28583
|2000= 33055
|2010= 34681
|2020= 41690
| estyear = 2023
| estimate = 47448
| estref = <ref name="USCensusEst2023">{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/tables/2020-2023/cities/totals/SUB-IP-EST2023-POP-45.xlsx |date=May 16, 2024|title=City and Town Population Totals: 2020-2023|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=May 16, 2024}}</ref>
|footnote=Sources:<ref name="GR2" /><ref name="USDecennialCensus">{{cite web|title=Census of Population and Housing|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=December 11, 2013}}</ref><ref name=CensusPopEst>{{cite web|title=Incorporated Places and Minor Civil Divisions Datasets: Subcounty Resident Population Estimates: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012|url=https://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2012/SUB-EST2012.html|work=Population Estimates|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=December 11, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130611010502/http://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2012/SUB-EST2012.html|archive-date=June 11, 2013}}</ref><ref name="USCensusDecennial2020CenPopScriptOnly">{{cite web|url=https://api.census.gov/data/2020/dec/pl?get=P1_001N,NAME&for=place:*&in=state:47&key=5ccd0821c15d9f4520e2dcc0f8d92b2ec9336108|title=Census Population API|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=October 15, 2022}}</ref>
}}

===2020 census===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"
|+Columbia racial composition<ref>{{Cite web|title=Explore Census Data|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=1600000US4716540&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|access-date=December 26, 2021|website=data.census.gov}}</ref>
!scope="col"| Race
!scope="col"| Number
!scope="col"| Percentage
|-
!scope="row"| [[White (U.S. Census)|White]] (non-Hispanic)
| 26,962
| 64.67%
|-
!scope="row"| [[African American (U.S. Census)|Black or African American]] (non-Hispanic)
| 7,659
| 18.37%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]]
| 108
| 0.26%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]]
| 430
| 1.03%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]]
| 19
| 0.05%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Race (United States Census)|Other/Mixed]]
| 2,065
| 4.95%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]]
| 4,447
| 10.67%
|}
As of the [[2020 United States census]], there were 41,690 people, 15,070 households, and 9,855 families residing in the city.

===2000 census===
As of the census<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 33,055 people, 13,059 households, and 8,801 families residing in the city. The population density was {{convert|1,116.8|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 14,322 housing units at an average density of {{convert|483.9|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the city was 64.63% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 30.13% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.28% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.41% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.03% [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], 2.06% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 1.46% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 4.70% of the population.

There were 13,059 households, out of which 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.8% were married couples living together, 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.6% were non-families. 27.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.8% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $35,879, and the median income for a family was $42,822. Males had a median income of $34,898 versus $22,093 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,004. About 10.9% of families and 13.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.7% of those under age 18 and 13.2% of those age 65 or over.

==Government==
{{see also|List of mayors of Columbia, Tennessee}}

==Education==
The city is served by [[Maury County Public Schools]]. Private schools include Agathos Classical School, Zion Christian Academy and [[Columbia Academy (Tennessee)|Columbia Academy]]. The city is home to the main campus of [[Columbia State Community College]], a community college serving nine counties in southern Middle Tennessee.

==Notable people==
<!--keep in alphabetical order by surname-->{{Section citations needed|date=July 2020}}
* [[James Edwin Ruthven Carpenter, Jr.]], architect
* [[Lynnette Cole]], [[Miss Tennessee USA]] 2000, [[Miss USA 2000]]
* [[Andrew Frierson]], opera singer
* [[Cecil Gant]], blues musician
* [[Lyman T. Johnson]], civil rights movement
* [[Jim Kelly (tight end, born 1951)|Jim Kelly]], professional football player
* [[Red Lucas]], professional baseball player
*[[Coo Coo Marlin]], auto racer, father of Sterling Marlin
*[[Steadman Marlin]], auto racer
* [[Sterling Marlin]], auto racer, back-to-back Daytona 500 winner in 1994 and 1995<ref>{{cite web|last=Sterling |first=Marlin |title=Driver |url=http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com/News/DAYTONA-500-History/DAYTONA-500-Winners/Sterling-Marlin.aspx |publisher=Daytona 500 website |access-date=April 26, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101228090219/http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com/News/DAYTONA-500-History/DAYTONA-500-Winners/Sterling-Marlin.aspx |archive-date=December 28, 2010  }}</ref>
*[[Shaq Mason]], NFL offensive guard and Super Bowl LI and LIII champion with the New England Patriots
* [[Fran McKee]], first female line officer to hold the rank of rear admiral in the U.S. Navy
* [[Irvin C. Miller]], pioneering Black actor
* [[Lindsey Nelson]], radio and television sportscaster
* [[David Phelps (musician)|David Phelps]], Christian vocalist
* [[James K. Polk]], Governor, Congressman, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and [[11th President of the United States]]
* [[Shane Profitt]], country music singer
* [[Sandra Seaton]], playwright and librettist
* [[Natalie Stovall and the Drive|Natalie Stovall]], country music singer
* [[Cowboy Troy]], country music singer
* [[Dan Uggla]], professional baseball player
* [[William Van Landingham]], former MLB pitcher for the [[San Francisco Giants]].
* [[Mary Jane Watkins (dentist)|Mary Jane Watkins]], dentist and actress
* [[Raphael Benjamin West|Ben West]], former Nashville mayor and supporter of [[civil rights movement]], architect
* [[John Harlan Willis]], [[United States Navy]] sailor, recipient of [[Medal of Honor]] for actions during [[Battle of Iwo Jima]] in World War II
* [[Merrill Moore]], American poet
* [[Samuel R. Watkins]], Confederate Civil war soldier and author

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
*{{Cite book|title=This Nonviolent Stuff'll Get You Killed: How guns made the Civil Rights Movement Possible| last=Cobb | first=Charles E. Jr. |publisher=Duke University Press|year=2016|isbn=978-0-8223-6123-7|location=Durham and London|pages=56}}
*Robert W. Ikard, ''No More Social Lynchings,'' Hillsboro Press, 1997 
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20150402163349/http://www.neh.gov/news/humanities/2004-03/tennessee.htm Janis Johnson. "A Tense Time in Tennessee"], ''Humanities,'' March/ April 2004. Volume 2, Number 2. February 20, 2012.
*Gilbert King, ''Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America,'' New York: HarperCollins, 2012
*Gail W. O'Brien, ''The Color of the Law: Race, Violence, and Justice in the Post-World War II South,'' Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1999.
*[[Sandra Seaton]], ''The Bridge Party'', East End Press, 2016.

==External links==
{{commons category}}
*[http://www.columbiatn.com/ City of Columbia]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160102223255/http://www.mtas.tennessee.edu/public/CHARTERS.nsf/0/B5385CD5A5A7F101852568CC0061DA9A/$File/Columbia.cht.pdf?OpenElement City charter]
*[http://www.columbiadailyherald.com ''Columbia Daily Herald'']
*{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Columbia (Tennessee)|display=Columbia, a city and the county-seat of Maury county, Tennessee, U.S.A.|short=x}}
*{{Cite NIE|wstitle=Columbia (Tennessee)|display=Columbia. A city and county-seat of Maury County, Tenn.|short=x}}

{{Coord|display=title|35.615022|-87.044464}}

{{Maury County, Tennessee}}
{{Tennessee county seats}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Columbia, Tennessee| ]]
[[Category:Cities in Tennessee]]
[[Category:Cities in Maury County, Tennessee]]
[[Category:County seats in Tennessee]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1808]]
[[Category:1808 establishments in Tennessee]]
[[Category:Cities in Nashville metropolitan area]]
[[Category:White American riots in the United States]]
[[Category:African-American history of Tennessee]]
[[Category:Populated places in Tennessee established by African Americans]]