Columbiana

History

Columbiana, originally called Columbia, was selected as the county seat of Shelby County in 1826 over rivals Calera and Montevallo. After the selection as the county seat, Columbiana celebrated by drilling holes in a large pine tree and packing it with gunpowder. The tree was blown up and the sound could be heard for miles. Later in 1826, the courthouse was moved to an old school building in Columbiana. An act of the Alabama Legislature officially changed the name of Shelby County's county seat to Columbiana on January 13, 1832. Columbiana was incorporated on December 5, 1837, with corporate limits one-quarter of a mile in each direction from the public square. In 1854, the decision was made to build a larger courthouse at the south end of “Silk Stocking Road”, now Main Street. From 1854 to 1908 several additions and changes were made to the courthouse. During the American Civil War, Columbiana was connected to the nearby town of Shelby by the Shelby Iron Company Railroad, which connected the Shelby Iron Works to the Alabama and Tennessee River Railroad. The Iron Works supplied iron to the C.B. Churchill and Company foundry, which moved to Columbiana in 1862 after the fall of Corinth, Mississippi. The Churchill foundry made eight and ten pound shot, eight and ten pound shells, and shells for Blakely rifles. The C.B. Churchill and Company foundry, Shelby Iron Works and the railroad were destroyed by Union forces on March 31, 1865, as part of Wilson's Raid. Moving the courthouse to Columbiana was not necessarily popular in 1826, and there have been numerous attempts to relocate the county seat over the years. In 1901, the Alabama Constitutional Convention addressed the issue by including Section 41 in the new state constitution. Section 41 prohibited a move of…

Geography

The city is located in the southeastern part of the county along Alabama State Route 25, which runs northeast to southwest to the west of the downtown area, leading northeast to Wilsonville and southwest to Calera.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,579
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,316
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  3,021
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  2,895
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,662
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,637
• Eastern Bluebird

  Sialia sialis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,520
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  2,411

Largest nearby schools

• Chelsea Middle School
  Middle · Chelsea · 951 students · 17.6:1 ratio
• Calera Elementary
  Elementary · Calera · 752 students · 17.1:1 ratio
• Forest Oaks Elementary School
  Elementary · Chelsea · 683 students · 18:1 ratio
• Shelby County High School
  High · Columbiana · 584 students · 14.6:1 ratio
• Elvin Hill Elementary School
  Elementary · Columbiana · 534 students · 17.8:1 ratio
• Columbiana Middle School
  Middle · Columbiana · 428 students · 15.9:1 ratio
• Wilsonville Elementary School
  Elementary · Wilsonville · 213 students · 15.2:1 ratio
• Shelby Elementary School
  Elementary · Shelby · 209 students · 16.1:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 3.1 — 2021-12-22
  10 km E of Maplesville, Alabama
• M 2.7 — 2017-02-17
  22 km S of Oakman, Alabama
• M 2.6 — 2017-02-17
  16 km S of Oakman, Alabama
• M 2.5 — 2016-08-23
  20 km S of Oakman, Alabama
• M 2.8 — 2016-05-16
  8 km W of North Johns, Alabama
• M 3 — 2016-04-29
  7 km W of North Johns, Alabama