Forgive us for missing the actual date, but in fairness it seems to have slipped up on everyone. And as we advance in years, we’re less likely to want to remember how many we’ve tallied. Yet, still, it’s a happy occasion when anything has lasted and thrived for 200 years, and that’s the case for Columbia. On Jan. 18 the city celebrated the 200th anniversary of it being the county seat of Marion County.
A 1963 article in this newspaper shared some of the history, which included a meeting place of the Mississippi Legislature in 1821 and 1822 near Mineral Springs north of town when Columbia was the temporary state capital.
“Some of the important historical events which happened here at that time were the adoption of Governor Poindexter’s code, the inauguration of General Walter Leake as governor and the selection of Jackson as the permanent state capital,” that story said. “Columbia was the fourth municipality to be charted in the state, having been preceded by Natchez, Monticello and Liberty. It became the county seat of Marion County by an act of the General Assembly of the State of Mississippi on Jan. 18, 1818.”
That was just over a month after Mississippi achieved statehood on Dec. 10, 1817. So Columbia’s history stretches back as far as this state’s does.
That’s something to honor and recognize. From our observation, much of the success of any area comes not from its natural or economic resources — inherent properties that it cannot control — but rather from the amount of pride that its citizens take in being from that particular place. Dog your hometown, and it will surely decline; take pride in it, and it will just as surely prosper.
Columbia has many people who appreciate its legacy and place in this state’s history. That goes a long way toward having the next two centuries be another success.
— Charlie Smith
