Day Trip to Columbus, Georgia

It may be mid-September but we are still having peak summertime heat.  We have come to the realization that we are behaving the same as the people that are not coming to Chattahoochee Bend State Park.  There may be ample things to do and places to go in this part of Georgia but it is just too miserably hot to get out to do something.  We have just been going through the routine of camp host duties and trips to town for groceries, supplies, and the occasional ice cream.  Our favorite being a Blizzard from Dairy Queen.  Bad for the diet, good for the soul.

But cabin fever is setting in and we are determined to get out and do something, heat be damned.  Just by coincidence we were watching a local PBS station and they were doing the history of Columbus, Georgia with a focus on the development of the river that passes through the historic district.  It looked interesting and there was no rain forecast for the next day so we made plans to go.

The route we chose was all back-roads and took about an hour and a half.  This took us through some old towns that predated the Civil War such as Franklin (named after Benjamin Franklin, founded 1770) and LaGrange (incorporated in 1828).  Our destination, Columbus (named after Christopher Columbus), was also founded in 1828 and is Georgia's second largest city at a little over 200,000.

Columbus is situated at the beginning of the navigable portion of the Chattahoochee River and on the last stretch of the Federal Road before entering Alabama.  The plan for the city was drawn up by Dr. Edwin L. DeGraffenried, who placed the town on a bluff overlooking the river.  Across the river, where Phenix City, Alabama is now located, Creek Indians lived until their removal in 1836.

The river served as Columbus's connection to the world, particularly connecting plantations with the international cotton market via New Orleans and ultimately Liverpool, England.  The city's commercial importance increased in the 1850's with the arrival of the railroad.  In addition, textile mills began springing up along the river, bringing industry to an area reliant 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 textile mill town in Massachusetts which is also along a river.

When the Civil War broke out in 1861, the industries of Columbus expanded their production and Columbus became one of the most important centers of industry in the Confederacy.  During the war, Columbus ranked second to Richmond in the manufacture of supplies for the Confederate army.  In addition to textiles, the city had an iron works, a sword factory, and a shipyard for the Confederate Navy.

Columbus did not lie on Union General Sherman's march to the sea in which he burned and pillaged almost everything he came across, generally leaving only hospitals and churches standing.  Unaware of Lee's surrender to Grant and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Union and Confederates clashed in the Battle of Columbus, Georgia, on Easter Sunday, April 16, 1865, when a Union detachment attacked the city and burned many of the industrial buildings.  The inventor of Coca-Cola, Dr. John Stith Pemberton, was wounded in this battle.  A historic marker has been erected in Columbus marking the battle as the "Last Land Battle in the War from 1861 to 1865."

Reconstruction began almost immediately and prosperity followed.  Factories such as the Eagle and Phenix Mills were revived and the industrialization of the town led to rapid growth, so much so that it outgrew its original plan.  The Springer Opera House was built on 10th Street, attracting such notables as Oscar Wilde.  The Springer is now the official State Theater of Georgia.

By the time of the Spanish American War, the city saw much modernization.  Mayor Lucius Chappell also brought a training camp for soldiers to the area.  This training camp named Camp Benning would grow into present-day Fort Benning, named for General Henry L. Benning, a native of the city.

Like most textile operations in North America, there was a severe decline in the industry and so declined their facilities and the communities that relied on them.  But Columbus is having another revival of sorts.  In the 2000's expansion and historic preservation continued throughout the city.  Building on work done in the '90's such as the 1996 Olympic Softball complex, the South Commons area added Memorial Stadium, Golden Park, Columbus Civic Center and the recently added Hatcher Skateboard Park.  The old Eagle and Phenix Mill, abandoned and decaying, is under restoration and re-purposing into a high-end condominium complex.

This building is right downtown and perched on the edge of the river, adjacent to a class 4 rapid.  I think this is going to be a very sought after place to live.

Eagle Phenix Mills as seen from the Chattahoochee River

But what got our interest was the wold's longest urban whitewater rafting venue.  A dam that used to serve the purposes of the mill was dynamited and once again the Chattahoochee was free to flow as it did before the hand of man intervened.  But the city of Columbus did more than just remove the dam, they reconstructed the river bottom with an eye to creating a whitewater rafter's dream.  And by all measure they were successful.  Between the river and other attractions, Columbus drew 1.8 million visitors in 2015.

View of the river from the "back porch" of Eagle Phenix Mills.

Unrestricted flow of the "Hooch" through the heart of Columbus, GA.

As is our usual we searched for an adventure in dining.  Today's adventure found us at Country's BBQ on Broad.  A fifties style diner built in an old art deco era Greyhound bus station.  One of the dining areas is even a 1940's Flex bus.

Country's BBQ on Broad.  The bus is attached to the building and an overflow dining area.

The food was good, both of us got BBQ, the plate was served classic southern style with a square of cornbread on the side.  We'd go here again but Columbus has so many potential adventures it could take awhile to get back around to them.

The heat limited the time outside.  We walked along their river walk for just a short distance and ducked into their (really nice) visitor center a couple of times to cool off and use the "facilities".  It would be nice to come back and spend more time exploring when the weather is milder.