Central Pennsylvania Personal Injury Lawyers

Columbia is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Originally, the area may have been called Conejohela Flats, for the many islands and islets in the nearby river. The settlement was founded in 1726 by Colonial English Quakers from Chester County led by John Wright who'd been visiting the region evangelizing among the natives since 1724. The settlement began with three family's grew slowly until Wright established the first ferry across the Susquehanna, "Wright's Ferry" in 1730 - enabled an increase in traffic to the west bank and giving a name to the community which then began to rapidly grow into a town.

Samuel Wright, son of James and Rhoda Wright, was born on May 12, 1754. He eventually became the town proprietor and created a public grounds company to administer the land. Columbia became an incorporated borough In 1814, formed out of Hempfield Township. The same year, the world's longest covered bridge was built and crossed the Susquehanna to Wrightsville, facilitating traffic flow across the river and reducing the need for the ferry.

By 1900, the town's population had grown to over 12,000, with a 50% increase from 1880 to 1900. By this time Wright's Ferry had ceased its operations, having been supplanted by rail and bridge traffic. The Great Depression accelerated Columbia's economic decline. The Pennsylvania Railroad's service to the north and the south was eliminated. WW II brought increased employment, but did not bring long-term prosperity to the borough.

The 1960 population had returned to the 1900 levels. The Wright's Ferry Bridge was opened in 1972, but only served to divert traffic around Columbia. The growth and prosperity experienced in many surrounding Lancaster County towns bypassed Columbia for the remainder of the 20th Century.