Everything about Columbus Nebraska totally explained
Columbus is a city in
Platte County,
Nebraska,
United States, 80 miles (148 km) west by north of
Omaha on the
Loup River, a short distance above the confluence with the
Platte. In
1900, 3,522 people lived in Columbus, Nebraska; in
1910, 5,014; and in
1940, 7,632. The population was 20,971 at the
2000 census. It is the
county seat of
Platte County. Eccentric
Union Pacific promoter
George Francis Train once referred to the city as, "Columbus, the new center of the Union and quite probably the future capital of the U.S.A."
History
Columbus is home to the oldest tavern in the west, called Glur's Tavern.
Buffalo Bill Cody would often come here when he was in the area. Columbus is the birthplace of
Andrew Jackson Higgins, creator/designer of the Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel (LCVP), or
Higgins boat used during World War II. There is a memorial in his honor at Pawnee Park. Famous one-time residents of Columbus include U. S. Senator
Chuck Hagel,
Johnny Carson's parents, actor
Brad William Henke, former pro baseball player
Saul Soltero, former pro boxer
Leon Spinks, and NFL football players
Cory Schlesinger and
Chad Mustard.
Buffalo Bill frequently visited the city and it was the site for the first full dress rehearsal of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show which formally opened a couple days later in Omaha.
George Francis Train's
Credit Foncier of America once built a hotel in the city, along with Train's in the city. Called the "Credit Foncier," the hotel was moved to Columbus from the town of
Cleveland, Nebraska in 1868. With so much land in the city, Train freely predicted a great future for Columbus. He is credited with writing newspaper articles and delivering speeches in the
Eastern United States in which he promoted the town, calling it, "Columbus, the new center of the Union and quite probably the future capital of the U.S.A."
Geography
Columbus is located at (41.432785, -97.358530). According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.2 square miles (23.8 km²), of which, 9.0 square miles (23.2 km²) of it's land and 0.2 square miles (0.5 km²) of it (2.07%) is water.
The major bodies of water in Columbus include the
Platte River,
Loup River, Lake North, Lake Babcock and Loup Power Canal. Several historic trails traversed the city, including the
Great Platte River Road, and today
I-80 goes by Columbus. It is located from
Grand Island, from
Norfolk and
Fremont, from
Omaha, and from
Lincoln. The city is served by the
Columbus Municipal Airport, which has two paved runways.
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 20,971 people, 8,302 households, and 5,562 families residing in the city. The
population density was 2,337.3 people per square mile (902.7/km²). There were 8,818 housing units at an average density of 982.8/sq mi (379.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 87.19%
White, 1.45%
African American, 0.35%
Native American, 0.48%
Asian, 0.04%
Pacific Islander, 3.49% from
other races, and 1.00% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 12.65% of the population. Its Hispanic population has grown rapidly the last 10 years.
There were 8,302 households out of which 34.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.7% were
married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.0% were non-families. 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.09.
In the city the population was spread out with 28.2% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $38,874, and the median income for a family was $48,669. Males had a median income of $30,980 versus $22,063 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $18,345. About 4.5% of families and 6.9% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 7.7% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
Columbus bills itself as a "City of Power and Progress" and features an economy based on agriculture and manufacturing, with many industrial companies attracted by cheap, plentiful hydroelectric power. Among the major employers are
Archer Daniels Midland, which runs a corn milling plant;
Appleton Electric
;
Central Confinement Service;
Vishay (formerly Dale Electronics);
Becton Dickinson, a medical equipment company;
Behlen Manufacturing, a maker of steel buildings, grain bins, and the Behlen Country line of agricultural equipment (whose Chairman, Tony Raimondo, was a 2003 candidate for the then new federal post of assistant secretary for manufacturing in the
Commerce Department before his nomination was withdrawn); and the
Nebraska Public Power District, which is headquartered in Columbus.
Education
Columbus has three high schools, including
Columbus High School, which is the largest with 1,100 students. Their mascot is the Discoverers.
Lakeview High School is the high school for the rural community. Its location is in front of Loup Power District's Lake Babcock, and it's mascot is the Vikings.
Scotus Central Catholic Junior-Senior High School is a Catholic school named after
John Duns Scotus, and serves grades 7 through 12. Their mascot is the Shamrocks.
The
Central Community College at Columbus is located four miles (6 km) northwest of the city. Their mascot is the Raiders.
Attractions
Agricultural Park is home to the Columbus Races every year from the end of July to early September. Post times are 6:30 PM on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays and 2:00 PM on Sundays and Labor Day. Live racing in 2008 on the 5/8 mile dirt track is from July 24th to September 1st. Admission is free. Horse racing fans can also enjoy year round simulcasting from numerous tracks across the country from Thursday to Sunday in the air-conditioned clubroom. The Columbus Races are simulcast at Horsemen's Park in Omaha, State Fair Park in Lincoln, Fonner Park in Grand Island, Atokad Downs in South Sioux City, Prairie Meadows in Altoona, Iowa, as well as Canterbury Park in Minnesota, and The Woodlands in Kansas.
Visit
Agricultural Park for a complete simulcasting schedule.
The Andrew Jackson Higgins National Memorial features a life-sized replica of a Higgins Boat with bronze statues of soldiers exiting into the sand. The memorial features sand samples from 58 D-Day beaches of World War II, Korea and Vietnam. It is also home to the Freedom Memorial which features steel from the remains of the World Trade Center that was destroyed on September 11, 2001. The remains are the only left from the World Trade Center.
There are 2 stock car race tracks in the area, including the
Rising City Motorplex and the
U.S 30 Speedway.
Local Media
Columbus has 6 radio stations, including
KTLX at FM 91.9, which is a religious station;
KKOT at FM 93.5, which plays
classic hits;
KZEN at FM 100.3, which is a
country; their studios are in Columbus, with a station licensed in
Central City.
KLIR at FM 101.1 plays
adult contemporary music, and
KJSK at AM 900 is a
news talk station, along with
KTTT at AM 1510, which is a
talk radio station.
Columbus has one low power TV station,
KCAZ at LP 57, which is a Spanish language station that's available over the air and not on cable. The city also has one newspaper, called the
Columbus Telegram.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Columbus Nebraska'.
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