BlockBefore

Columbus, Texas

10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the Columbus census division. It lies in ZIP code area 78934. It stands on Ratliff Creek. The Survey maps it on the Columbus quadrangle. 3,699 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 203 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Columbus within Colorado County

On record in Columbus

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 5 records

Population over time

2 figures

Columbus grew from 3,655 to 3,699 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20103,655
20203,699+44 (+1%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 10 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

What the histories say of this town

949 words

1 chapter about Columbus from the published histories of the county, public domain and reproduced complete.

ChapterFrom Length
Colorado County, Texas: Its Health, Climate, Soil, Advantages and ResoColorado County, Texas: Its Health, Climate, Soil, Advantages and Resources (1877)949 words

Fires near this place

2 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 2 fires within 5 miles of Columbus between 1999 and 2009, burning about 2,052 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined1
Fireworks1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
4 July 2009Fireworks1,804 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceREESE LANE
18 October 1999Missing data/not specified/undetermined248 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Colorado County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 30 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 30 workings within 5 miles of Columbus: 20 past producers, 10 producers. 10 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Alleyton PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducerGravel, Sand
B. B. Pit No. 4Sand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Columbus Const Alleyton PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Helms PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducerGravel, Sand
Helms Sand & Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Horton and Horton MineSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerFlint, Gravel
Sprint Pit & PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Superior No. 4 PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducerGravel, Sand
Superior Sand and Gravel Plant 4Sand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Colorado County

Storms near this place

41 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Columbus in 41 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 20 hail, 18 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning, 1 funnel cloud. The reports record 4 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
July 1998Thunderstorm WindColumbus4 hurt, $100,000Walmart sign blown down on several cars. Three 18-wheelers blown over on several parked cars on I-10. While DPS investigated the accident, 90 mph winds blew a 9000 lb/27 foot long culvert 1/2 mile across I-10.
July 1998LightningColumbus$75,000Lightning induced fire destroyed Po' Boy's restaurant.
April 2002HailColumbus$75,000no account filed
May 1999Thunderstorm WindColumbus$50,000Barn destroyed along I-10 near Columbus
May 1999HailColumbus$40,000Golfball-sized hail in Shaws Bend.
February 1998Thunderstorm WindColumbus$21,500Numerous roofs damaged. Car blown off a road.
April 2004HailColumbus$20,000Golfball-size hail in Columbus.
April 2004HailColumbus$20,000Golfball-size hail between Columbus and Weimar.
August 2002Thunderstorm WindColumbus$20,000Billboard sign blown down.
July 2000Thunderstorm WindColumbus$15,000Power lines down.
July 1999Thunderstorm WindColumbus$15,000Trees and power lines down.
May 2005HailColumbus$15,000no account filed
August 2003Thunderstorm WindColumbus$10,000Power lines and trees down.
December 2002Thunderstorm WindColumbus$10,000Wind damage on FM 806.
July 1998Thunderstorm WindColumbus$10,000Numerous trees blown down.
May 1995Thunderstorm WindColumbus$10,000Power lines down throughout the city of Columbus.
April 2003HailColumbus$10,000no account filed
February 1999HailColumbus$10,000no account filed
April 1996HailColumbus$10,000no account filed
December 1995HailColumbus$10,000no account filed
April 2003HailColumbus$8,000no account filed
April 2006Thunderstorm WindColumbus$7,000Downed power lines in town of Columbus.
December 2002HailColumbus$7,0000.75 inch hail.
May 2005HailColumbus$7,000no account filed
August 2010Thunderstorm WindColumbus$6,000There were numerous reports of downed trees and power lines.
June 2012Thunderstorm WindColumbus$5,000Trees and power lines were reported down in the city of Columbus.
May 2001Thunderstorm WindColumbus$5,000Reports of trees and power lines down.
June 1997Thunderstorm WindColumbus$5,000Large limbs blown down.
March 2002HailColumbus$5,000no account filed
March 2005HailColumbus$4,000no account filed
December 2006HailColumbus$3,000Penny size hail.
June 1998HailColumbus$3,000no account filed
May 2025HailColumbus-A trained storm spotter reported 1 inch hail in Columbus.
June 2019Thunderstorm WindColumbus-Trees were downed near the Walnut Street and Travis Street intersection.
May 2015Flash FloodColumbus-Street flooding was reported in and around Columbus, including Fannin Street that was closed due to high water.
April 2015HailColumbus-Quarter sized hail was reported in Columbus.
April 2015HailColumbus-Dime sized hail reported in downtown Columbus.
May 2011Thunderstorm WindColumbus-Strong thunderstorm winds downed trees in the Columbus area.
May 2011HailColumbus-Quarter size hail occurred in the Columbus area.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindColumbus-Power lines and large tree limbs down across town.
November 2000Funnel CloudColumbus-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Colorado County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Glidden2.5 miles10
Alleyton2.8 miles11
Laban4.0 miles11
Helms4.3 miles10
Hillcrest4.4 miles10
Atascosito Crossing (historical)5.6 miles11
Shaws Bend5.7 miles11
Mentz6.2 miles10

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on ColumbusAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q975782The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1333156. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.