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In 1836 and 1837, the town of Columbia (now West Columbia) served as the capital of the Republic of Texas. Josiah Hughes Bell, a colonist with Stephen F. Austin’s Old Three Hundred, surveyed and platted Columbia in 1824 to serve as a center for shipping activities. In the mid-1830s, Columbia played an important part in the Texas War for Independence, as residents adopted resolutions for sovereignty. In July 1836, ad interim President of the Republic of Texas, David G. Burnet, named Columbia as the location for the country’s first capital. He selected the town because it had adequate housing for legislators and possessed a newspaper, the Telegraph and Texas Register. The first Congress of the Republic convened in Columbia, and Sam Houston, the first elected President, was inaugurated here on October 22, 1836. The new government addressed a number of important issues while in Columbia, including the reorganization of the Republic’s army and navy; the organization of a post office department and general land office; the establishment of a court system; and the approval of a national seal and national flags. The first Congress adjourned in December 1836, with plans to meet for a second session in the newly built city of Houston. Although Congress began to meet in Houston, the executive branch remained here, conducting official duties until April 1837, when President Houston moved his executive office to his namesake city. Although Columbia no longer served as capital, the legislation passed here in 1836 continued to play a vital role throughout the years of the Republic. Today, Columbia is revered as a historic community and first capital of the Republic of Texas. (2008) |
