The Spanish expedition was the first recorded civilized development in 1540, but until 1786, the South Carolina general assembly declared Columbia as South Carolina's state capital. The announcement was made in tandem with the construction of the Santee canal connecting Columbia to Charleston, one of its neighboring cities.

Despite having rapid economic and social development that followed the building of the canal, Columbia was only officially incorporated into a city in 1854. Although Columbia is a historic City, about two-thirds of it burnt down during the Civil War. However, the 20th century brought about a flourishing time when textile mills sprang up, and the city became a hub for trade by 1930.

The South Carolina State Museum once housed the first textile mill in the US to run 100% on electricity. In the 1940s, Fort Jackson was built as a permanent army base, bringing with it the economic activity that has contributed to Columbia's flourishing city.

One of the fascinating things about Columbia is that it was the first city named after Christopher Columbus. Christopher Columbus is widely credited as a pioneering force and played a huge role in discovering and exploring North America.

Many people don't know this, but Washington was also a strong contender for the name, but the city of Columbia came up as the winner and was named after the explorer.

The city is also affectionately known as the Soda City by the locals though not for the reasons you may think. There wasn't any soda invented or manufactured in the city or anything like that. You see, the abbreviation of Columbia was Cola, so many people started calling it the Soda or Cola city, hence, where the nickname came from.