In commemoration of the patriotic
spirit, valor and heroism of the
men and women of this community
who served their country in war
1776 1918 — — Map (db m136299) WM
Originally Wright's Ferry, founded by John Wright in 1726. An early center for turnpike, canal, and railroad activity, at an important Susquehanna River crossing. First bridge built in 1812. — — Map (db m5083) HM
In 1726 Quaker John Wright built a log house in an area first granted to George Beale by William Penn 25 years earlier. Wright established a ferry at this natural crossing point on the Susquehanna in 1730. Originally known as Wright's Ferry, the . . . — — Map (db m167922) HM
The Pennsylvania Railroad was the dominant railroad with predecessor railroads converging on Columbia from four directions.
East—Philadelphia and Columbia reached Columbia in 1834.
West—Wrightsvile, York and Gettysburg crossed the . . . — — Map (db m136294) HM
World War I
1917-1919
Total U.S. Casualties - 320,710
World War II
1941-1945
Total U.S. Casualties - 1,070,162
Korean War
1950-1953
Total U.S. Casualties - . . . — — Map (db m136302) WM
During the mid-nineteenth century, Columbia was a bustling transportation hub. Turnpikes, ferries, bridges, canals, wharves, and railroads made Columbia a major transshipment point in the movement of lumber, coal, grains, pig iron, and people. . . . — — Map (db m161072) HM
The Columbia Bridge Company was formed in 1811 and began to raise money for a bridge between Columbia and Wrightsville. This business served as the first bank in the community, and by 1814 had used its profits to build the first . . . — — Map (db m122597) HM
The country's first coast-to-coast highway was established in 1913 by the Lincoln Highway Association, largely by improving and linking existing roads between New York and San Francisco. The highway changed the way people traveled and the landscape . . . — — Map (db m5761) HM
(side 1)
Prelude to Gettysburg
One of the great debates of our Country's history and legacy is what scholars call "the two Civil Wars": the first a matter of campaigns, generals, and troop movements and the second focusing on the . . . — — Map (db m122592) HM
Columbia's strategic position would have made it a fine prize for an invading Southern army bent on disrupting vital communications and supply lines in the North. Railroads connected Columbia with Philadelphia, York, and Harrisburg, and canal . . . — — Map (db m167923) HM
Samuel Wright, Son of James and Rhoda Wright, was the original proprietor of Old Columbia. He named and laid out the bounds of the early town in what was then Wright's Ferry.
His generosity to his fellow townsmen was manifested in a grant of . . . — — Map (db m174349) HM
Susquehannock — One of the two Native American Tribes (Shawnee) that originally populated the area around Columbia, PA. During the 1700', their estimated combined numbers were 2,000 (7,000 by modern estimates).
Migrated to the area . . . — — Map (db m136298) HM
The Old Columbia Public Grounds Company had its inception in the desire of Samuel Wright, the founder of Columbia, to do something of lasting benefit for the citizens of the town. As he saw it, the ground along the river shore was the most . . . — — Map (db m161079) HM
Dedicated to all submariners
of World War II
wherein 3,617 men
and 52 submarines were lost
We honor those men and all who served with them
— — Map (db m170545) WM
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