THE VIEW FROM PHENIX CITY, ALABAMA POSTCARD
Founded in 1828 by an act of the Georgia Legislature, Columbus was situated at the beginning of the navigable serving of the Chattahoochee River and on the last stretch of the Federal Road before entering Alabama. The city was named for Christopher Columbus, its founders likely influence by the writings of Washington Irving. The plan for the city was drawn up by Dr. Edwin L. DeGraffenried who placed the town on a bluff the river. Across the river, where henix City, Alabama is now located, Creek Indians lived their removal in 1836. The river served as Columbus' connection to the world, particularly connecting the plantations in the region with the international cotton market via New Orleans and Liverpool, England. The city's commercial increase in the 1850s with the introduction of the railroad. In addition, textile mills began springing up along the river, industry to an area connecting upon agriculture. By 1860, the city was one of the more important industrial centers of the South, earning it the nickname "the Lowell of the South," in deference to the industrial town in Massachusetts.
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