Columbus, Ohio

City: Columbus

County: Franklin

State: Ohio

Lat/Long: 39.9500, -82.9833

Columbus, Ohio is the capital of Ohio and county seat of Franklin County, Ohio. Located on the Scioto River, ninety-seven miles northeast of Cincinnati, Columbus had its origins in 1797 with the settlement of Franklinton on the west bank of the Scioto. In February 1812, the Ohio General Assembly enacted legislation to lay out a town on the east bank of the Scioto to become the permanent seat of government. Legislators named the new town Columbus. The General Assembly incorporated Columbus as a borough in 1816 and as a city in 1834. The construction of roads and turnpikes helped spur population growth, which increased from 1,450 in 1820 to 27,500 in 1860. As transportation facilities increased, Columbus became an important manufacturing city.

Webster's New Geographical Dictionary (Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, 1988), 282; Courtlandt Canby, The Encyclopedia of Historic Places (New York: Facts on File, 1984), 1:197; William Alexander Taylor, Centennial History of Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio (Chicago and Columbus: S. J. Clarke, 1909), 1:12-13, 15, 103, 111, 137.