Columbia Station, Ohio
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Columbia Station, also known as Columbia Township or just Columbia, is the easternmost township in Lorain County, Ohio. Columbia Township is the official government name, while Columbia Station is the post office name. The post office name was chosen to differentiate the township from other Columbia townships in Ohio.
As of the 2000 census, the township had a total population of 6912 in 2452 residences.
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[edit] Geography
Columbia Station is located at 41°19'16" North, 81°55'6" West (41.321057, -81.918389)GR1. According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 66.5 km² (25.7 mi²). 65.6 km² (25.3 mi²) of it is land and 1.34% is water. The west branch of the Rocky River and Plum Creek flow through Columbia from south to north.
Columbia Station is part of Greater Cleveland.
[edit] History
Columbia Station is part of the Connecticut Western Reserve, lands ceded in 1786 by Connecticut after the American Revolution. In 1805, two years after Ohio became a U.S. state, the federal government finalized treaties with local American Indians. The reserve was surveyed and parcelled into rough 5-mile-square blocks (smaller than the typical 6-mile-square townships in the U.S.). The Bronson and Hoadley families of Waterbury, Connecticut pooled together $20,087 to purchase a township. On April 4, 1807, they drew Township 5 N, Range 15 W from a random selection of townships in the reserve, purchasing the land site-unseen.
Columbia Station has been continuously inhabited since 1807, the longest settlement in the Western Reserve west of the Cuyahoga River. Columbia has other firsts in the Western Reserve west of the Cuyahoga: the first classroom (Bronson cabin, summer of 1808), first teacher (Sally Bronson, 1808), first white child born (Sally Hoadley), first gristmill (summer of 1809), first cemetery (1811), first doctor (Zephaniah Potter, 1809), and first organized church society (Episcopalian, 1809).
Further detail on the history can be found at the Columbia Historical Society.
The Bronson House Museum (built c.1850, 13646 W River Rd) is the last home of Sally Bronson. Other Columbia buildings in the National Register of Historic Places include the Columbia Town Hall (added 1976, #76001468, 25496 Royalton Rd) and the Columbia Baptist Church (added 1976, #76001466, 25514 Royalton Rd).
Columbia will be celebrating its bicentennial in 2007.
[edit] Parks
The Lorain County Metroparks opened the Columbia Reservation in 2003, a 409 acre park with 285 acres of high-quality wetlands in the floodplain of the west branch of the Rocky River. The park has three mile-long trails between ponds, marshes, wet meadows and swamps. The park is popular with bird watchers, as 50+ species of birds can be seen including the Great Blue Heron. An additional 80 acres are planned to be added to the park.
Columbia Township Park is also located in the Columbia Station. It is home to ten ball fields, tennis courts, a basketball court, a children's playground and a walking path on 27.1 acres. The park also hosts various festivals year-round.
[edit] External links
- Columbia Station Chamber of Commerce
- Columbia Historical Society
- Columbia Local Schools
- Columbia Reservation
- Columbia Airport AirNav Airport-Data
- Plum Creek (Rocky River) Watershed
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
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Lorain County, Ohio Elyria, county seat |
|---|---|
| Municipalities |
Amherst | Avon | Avon Lake | Elyria | Grafton | Kipton | LaGrange | Lorain | North Ridgeville | Oberlin | Rochester | Sheffield | Sheffield Lake | South Amherst | Vermilion | Wellington |
| Townships |
Amherst | Brighton | Brownhelm | Camden | Carlisle | Columbia | Eaton | Elyria | Grafton | Henrietta | Huntington | LaGrange | New Russia | Penfield | Pittsfield | Rochester | Sheffield | Wellington |
| Census-designated place |
