Columbus

Columbus is a city in eastern Mississippi, near the border with Alabama.

In some ways, the history of Columbus parallels that of Jackson's, as both were established around 1820 after Mississippi was admitted to statehood and both served as logistics centers for the Confederacy during the Civil War. However, unlike Jackson, Columbus was largely spared destruction because General Nathan Bedford Forrest prevented Northern forces from accessing it. As a result, Columbus was briefly made Mississippi's capital following Jackson's plight at the hands of Sherman and is noted for its historic preservation.

Another unique detail about Columbus is that it features the oldest public school in Mississippi as well as the country's first public women's university, as noted below.

Get in

By car

• From points north and south, take US Route 45
• From Tuscaloosa, Alabama: take Hwy 82 W.

By plane

• 1 Golden Triangle Regional Airport (GTR  ^IATA), 2080 Airport Rd, ☏ +1 662-327-4422. The Golden Triangle Regional Airport is centrally located between Columbus, Starkville and West Point. The airport is about 15 minutes from the Mississippi University for Women and Old Waverly Golf Club. Commercial flights are provided by Delta Connection.  

By train

For passenger service, the nearest Amtrak stop is in Tuscaloosa, which is about a 60-minute drive to Columbus.

See

• Tennessee Williams Home, 300 Main St, ☏ +1-662-328-0222. M-Sa 8:30AM-5PM, Su noon-5PM. The first home of playwright Tennessee Williams serves as the official welcome center in town. It is designated a National Literary Landmark. 
• 1 Friendship Cemetery, Fourth Street South. Home to the first Memorial Day (then called Decoration Day) in 1866.  
• 2 Mississippi University for Women, 1100 College St, ☏ +1 662-329-4750, toll-free: +1-877-GO-2-THEW (46-2-8439). The oldest public college for women in America, founded in 1884. It has several buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. (updated Sep 2019)
• Waverley Mansion (in the community of Waverly, 10 miles east of West Point). Noted for its octagonal cupola.  

Do

• Columbus Spring Pilgrimage. Information available at the Visitor's Center, 300 Main Street +1-662-329-3533. In April several package tours are offered of local historic homes. Walking tours of neighborhoods, candlelight tours of homes and cemetery tours are also offered. Musical presentations and living history exhibits are also showcased throughout town for this yearly event. 
• Historic Homes Tours. Several area homes from the antebellum period are open year round. The Visitor's Center can arrange tours of these homes. Prices vary according to how many and which homes you want to view. 
• Ghost and Legends Tour. It is one of the most exciting evenings of the year. This October, embark on an escorted bus journey through Columbus' haunted past. 
• Tales From the Crypt. This graveyard tour promises to be a memorable experience for lovers of history and drama, for it is a combination of both. Tales from the Crypt recreates the lives of noted local personalities interred at the historic Friendship Cemetery, site of the Confederate Decoration Day that inspired the poem, "The Blue and the Gray." 
• River Walk Trail, trailhead at College St and 1st St S, below Island Road bridge, a 2.5 mile paved trailway along the Tennessee Tomigbee Waterway where you can get closely acquainted with this big muddy.

Buy

• Leigh Mall. 
• Magnolia Place. 
• Dick's Sporting Goods, 2041 U.S. 45, ☏ +1 662 570-1025. 

Eat

Chain restaurants operating in town include Chili's and Applebee's. Other options include:

• Cafe on Main. For traditional southern cuisine (now open for lunch and dinner). 
• Little Kitchen. Chinese and Southern cuisine. 
• J. Broussard's Restaurant of Columbus. New Orleans Cuisine. Good, but high price. 
• Harvey's. Decent but moderately to high priced. 
• Zachary's (Downtown). Smoker friendly, 21 and over. 

Drink

• Zachary's
• The Princess Theater, 215 5th Ave S. Used to offer up a pizza buffet in addition to being a karaoke bar in an old theater space, may be undergoing a transition.

Sleep

• Best Western Executive Suites, 303 Shoney Dr, ☏ +1 662-329-2255. A hotel with an indoor pool and grandiose complimentary breakfast. 
• La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham, 1200 Hwy 45 N, ☏ +1 662-240-2454. Just a typical hotel with an outdoor pool and breakfast. $76. 
• Shadowlawn Bed and Breakfast, 1024 College St, ☏ +1 662 327-3600. Check-in: 4PM, check-out: 10AM. Elegant accommodations including WiFi, king rooms, gourmet breakfast. Christian owned and operated. 

Go next

• Luxapalila Park: A nice place to fish and have outdoor fun.
• Columbus Lake: On the Tombigbee River good fishing and Marina.
• Columbus Spillway: fishing.

Routes through Columbus

Jackson, TN ← Tupelo ←	N  S	→ Meridian → Mobile
Greenwood ← Starkville ←	W  E	→ Tuscaloosa → Montgomery