Evidence of ancient mound-building societies abounds in the region near the confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers. Mound Street, located in downtown Columbus, was so named because of its proximity to a large Native American burial mound. Those ancient civilizations had long since faded into history when European explorers began moving into the region south of Lake Erie. Rather than an empty frontier, however, they encountered people of the Miami, Delaware, Wyandot, Shawnee, and Mingo nations. These tribes resisted expansion by the fledgling United States, resulting in years of bitter conflict.

After achieving statehood in 1803, political infighting among Ohio’s more prominent leaders and a series of fires resulted in the state capital moving from Chillicothe to Zanesville and back again. The state legislature eventually decided that a new capital city, located in the center of the state, was a necessary compromise. Several of Ohio\’s small towns and villages petitioned the legislature for the honor of becoming the state capital, but ultimately a coalition of land speculators, with Sullivant\’s support, made the most attractive offer to the Ohio General Assembly. Named in honor of Christopher Columbus, the capital city was founded in February, 1812, on the “High Banks opposite Franklinton at the Forks of the Scioto known as Wolf\’s Ridge.”

The National Road reached Columbus from Baltimore in 1831, which complemented the city\’s new link to the Ohio and Erie Canal and facilitated a population boom. A wave of immigrants from Europe resulted in the establishment of two ethnic enclaves on the outskirts of the city. A significant Irish population settled in the north along Naghten Street (presently Nationwide Boulevard), while the Germans took advantage of the cheap land to the south, creating a community that came to be known as Die Alte Sud Ende (The Old South End). Columbus’ German population is responsible for constructing numerous breweries, the Lutheran Theological Seminary, Capital University, and for instituting the first kindergarten in the United States. By the end of the 19th century, Columbus saw the rise of several major manufacturing businesses. The city became known as the “Buggy Capital of the World,” thanks to the presence of some two dozen buggy factories, notably the Columbus Buggy Company, which was founded in 1875 by Harvey Firestone.

The effects of the Great Depression were somewhat less severe in Columbus, as the city\’s diversified economy helped it fare marginally better than its Rust Belt neighbors. World War II brought a tremendous number of new jobs to the city and, with it another population surge. This time, the majority of new arrivals were migrants from the extremely depressed rural parts of Appalachia, who would soon account for more than a third of Columbus\’ rising population. In 1948, the Town and Country Shopping Center opened in suburban Whitehall, and it is now regarded as one of the first modern shopping centers in the United States. Along with the construction of the interstate highway, it signaled the arrival of rapid suburban development in central Ohio. In order to protect the city\’s tax base from this suburbanization, Columbus adopted a policy of linking sewer and water hookups to annexation to the city. By the early 1990s, Columbus had grown to become Ohio\’s largest city in both land area and in population, though not in density due to the aforementioned annexation policy.

Efforts to revitalize downtown Columbus have met with mixed results in recent decades. In the 1970\’s old landmarks such as Union Station and the Neil House Hotel were razed to construct high-rise office and retail spaces, notably Columbus City Center and the Greater Columbus Convention Center. However, newer suburban developments at Tuttle Crossing, Easton, and Polaris have inhibited much of the anticipated downtown growth. Still, with the addition of the Nationwide Arena District as well as hundreds of downtown residential units, significant revitalization efforts are sure to continue in the downtown area.

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