Columbus, Texas is located on the Colorado River in Colorado County. It was originally a Native American village, noted as Montezuma on Spanish maps. In December 1821, the first white settlers arrived in the area; they were Robert Kuykendall, Joseph Kuykendall and Daniel Gilleland. This land was also among the land granted to Moses and Stephen Austin by the government of Mexico. In 1823, Austin had 170 acres surveyed with plans to plat the city that was to be the capital of the Austin Colony.

Due to the Indian attacks in the area, Austin changed locations and decided to not pursue this area. However, the citizens that already lived there, chose to stay. The settlement was named after one of its early citizens and was known as Beason’s Ferry. Due to misunderstandings in the contract between Austin and the Mexican government, some settlers were paying nothing for their land while others were paying. Each had been granted a square league of land (4,428 acres), but the stipulations involved in keeping it were quite strict. Among many other lesser things, each land owner was to farm his land and construct a permanent home within two years.

Austin spent a great deal of his time collecting fees from the colonists, plus trying to handle dealings with the constantly changing Mexican government. Over a course of time, Austin spent two years in a Mexican jail while attitudes between the colonists and the Mexican government deteriorated.

By 1835, Texas was on the brink of rebellion against the government of Mexico. The settlement sent a contingent southwest to Gonzales to participate in the Battle of Gonzalez. Following the battle, General Houston led his little army to Columbus and they bivouacked on the east bank of the Colorado. By March 6, 1836, the day the Alamo fell, Houston’s army was training. By March 24, 1836 the Mexican army set up camp across the river from them. With the arrival of General Santa Anna and his troops, Houston decided to retreat eastward. He was vastly outnumbered and his troops had very little training. However, most of the Texans wanted to stay and fight! General Houston’s departure did little to help the city. Houston ordered every building burned so the enemy couldn’t use it.

In less than one month, as Houston’s troops grew more and more tired of retreat, Houston decided to retreat no more. He had Santa Anna in the kind of scenario he had been hoping for. On April 21, 1836 General Houston led his always-outnumbered little army to a final, most decisive victory at the San Jacinto River.

Colorado County was established in 1837 and Judge Robert “Three-Legged Willie” Williamson presided over court beneath a huge oak tree in town. There were no buildings left in Columbus at that time. The tree stump remains there to this day and carries a Texas historical marker.

Over a period of time, the town grew as a river port shipping crops raised by the inland farmers, including cotton, which relied heavily on the slave population. It also served as a supply point for settlers traveling west.

As Columbus began to prosper, one of its more colorful residents, Mr. Robert Robson, originally of Scotland, built a castle, complete with a moat and drawbridges. It was on the south side of the Colorado River, where Austin had originally planned to built his headquarters. The castle was the first building in Texas to have running water. The castle was extensively damaged by flood waters in 1869 and abandoned. It was eventually destroyed in 1883 to make room for a business.

In late summer of 1856, plans for a slave rebellion were discovered. Armed with guns and knives, the slaves planned to kill every white person in Colorado County, including women and children. There were no indications of what their plans were beyond that. Three of the leading slaves involved were publicly hanged and two were beaten to death, stopping the rebellion.