Changes in travel modes, the location of natural resources, and a variety of other events have shifted the population centers of Suwannee County over the years. As a result, many once-thriving communities no longer exist or are a shadow of their former selves. Such is the case with the once-flourishing town of Columbus, now the location of the Suwannee River State Park, in the northwestern portion of Suwannee County.
Columbus was one of the earliest chartered American communities in what is now Suwannee County; in 1833, the Florida Legislature authorized Paul “M’Cormic” (McCormick) to establish a ferry at the confluence of the Suwannee and Withlacoochee Rivers for five years. Six years later, on Feb. 8, 1839, David Platt was authorized to build a ferry or toll bridge at the same location; his license was extended in 1843 for another 10 years. The population quickly mushroomed, as there were enough people in the locale for a post office, named Columbus, to be established there on Feb. 17, 1842.