We had no plans of stopping in Columbus, Wisconsin. It was just another dot on the map that we would pass through on that day’s journey as we were driving from Minneapolis to Milwaukee. But when we saw Columbus’ great City Hall and looked at the historic buildings lining the street, I knew we had to stop and explore it on foot.
Columbus, Wisconsin, is a small city with a population of about 5500 people, which is situated about 30 miles northeast of Madison. It adjoins the Crawfish River, a natural area which provides summer recreational opportunities like fishing and boating.
Columbus’ origins go back to the mid-19th century. While there were a few existing scattered homes back then, the town took off when H. A. Whitney, “a Yankee from Vermont”, moved to Columbus and constructed a wood frame store. This building burned down a few years later, and was replaced by the Whitney Hotel, which stands to this day, and which became a cornerstone building in the community.
The two main buildings of the Columbus’ historic district are:
1) City Hall – opened in 1892. Besides city offices, it originally was home to the city’s fire and police departments, a jail, and a library. There’s an auditorium in the building which served multiple functions (e.g. graduation, theater performances) until a separate theater opened in 1917. City Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
2) Farmers and Merchants Union Bank was built in 1919 and designed by noted architect Louis Sullivan, who considered the bank to be one of his ‘jewel box’ designs. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, The photo below was used as last weekend’s One Clue Mystery, and was recognized by George G.– congratulations as always, George!
Downtown Columbus was used to film several scenes for the 2009 Johnny Depp movie Public Enemies.
Columbus has a large antique mall and a Christopher Columbus museum, neither of which we visited. The city also has a Redbud Festival each May, which is a popular local event around Mother’s Day.
I found it to be a charming place — a piece of Americana like so many small towns and cities.
A few more scenes from Columbus follow:
