50 Fun Facts About Columbus, Ohio

Columbus was founded in 1812 at the confluence of the Olentangy River and which other river?

The site was dense forest used only as a hunting ground; the state chose it for its central location after the capital had bounced between Chillicothe and Zanesville.

Lucas Sullivant's 1797 settlement, the first in what is now Columbus, was named after which American?

Franklinton sat on the west bank of the forks; Columbus annexed it in 1837 and it was devastated by the Great Flood of 1913.

In which year did Columbus officially become the capital of Ohio?

It was planned as the capital from the start; the city was not chartered until 1834, when it had about 3,500 people.

With a 2020 census population of 905,748, Columbus ranked where among US cities?

That also makes it the second-biggest city in the Midwest after Chicago and the third-largest state capital after Phoenix and Austin.

Which mayor's water-for-annexation tactic made Columbus the largest Ohio city by land area?

Rhodes later served four terms as governor; the strategy is why Columbus overtook Cleveland in population by the early 1990s.

Columbus earned the nickname 'The Arch City' from what?

The arches lit the street and powered the streetcars; torn down in 1914, they were rebuilt in metal in 2002.

The Great Flood of 1913, which killed more than 90 people in Columbus, devastated which neighbourhood?

The Army Corps of Engineers then widened the Scioto through downtown; a floodwall finished in 2004 finally let the neighbourhood redevelop.

Up to how many Confederate prisoners did Camp Chase in the Hilltop neighbourhood hold?

More than 2,000 Confederate soldiers remain buried there, one of the largest Confederate cemeteries in the North.

The Ohio Statehouse is famous for lacking what feature that visitors expect on a capitol building?

Its architects swapped the rounded top for a low conical roof on the cupola; the Greek Revival building took from 1839 to 1861 to finish.

The Ohio Statehouse opened to the public on 7 January of which year, after 18 years of construction?

Its 18-foot foundations were laid by prison labour gangs rumoured to be full of masons jailed for minor infractions.

Ohio State University was founded in 1870 under what original name?

Its full name was the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College, created under the Morrill Act on the former Neil estate over the objections of farming interests.

Ohio Stadium, 'The Horseshoe', opened in 1922 with a seating capacity of roughly how many?

Expansions took it past 100,000 by 2001; it is the third-largest on-campus football stadium in the country and is nicknamed 'The House That Harley Built' after Chic Harley.

Which Ohio State running back is the only player ever to win the Heisman Trophy twice?

Ohio State's seven Heisman winners rank second all-time; its first paid coach lost his opening game in 1892 to a team coached by John Heisman himself.

In the marching band's Script Ohio, which instrument's player traditionally dots the 'i'?

A fourth- or fifth-year player struts out with the drum major near the end of 'Le Régiment de Sambre et Meuse'; the first script Ohio on a field was actually made by Michigan's band.

The Columbus Blue Jackets' name and logos are inspired by Ohio's contribution to what?

They joined the NHL as an expansion team in 2000, and their first playoff series win came in 2019 with a sweep of the Presidents' Trophy-winning Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Columbus Crew won their first MLS Cup in which year?

They were one of the ten charter clubs of 1996 and added further titles in 2020 and 2023; their old stadium was the first built specifically for an MLS team.

Where did the Columbus Crew play home games from 1996 to 1998, before their own ground opened?

Their first game there in April 1996 drew 25,266; Brian McBride was the first overall pick in the first MLS draft.

The Columbus Clippers of the International League are the Triple-A affiliate of which MLB team?

They play at Huntington Park, opened in 2009; Columbus briefly had its own major league club, the Buckeyes, in 1883 and 1884.

Nicklaus's Memorial Tournament is held at Muirfield Village in which Columbus suburb?

Nicklaus grew up in the Columbus area and designed the course himself; it opened in 1974.

Which celebrity hosts the Columbus sports festival drawing some 22,000 athletes?

It has grown to eight Olympic sports and 80 events, making it one of the biggest multi-sport gatherings in the country.

Dave Thomas opened the first Wendy's in downtown Columbus on 15 November of which year?

He named it after his daughter Melinda Lou; the original store ran as a museum-restaurant until it closed in 2007, and the company moved its headquarters to Dublin, Ohio, in 2006.

Wendy's square patties were modelled on Kewpee Hamburgers in Dave Thomas's home town. Which town?

The corners sticking out of the round bun were meant to suggest plenty of meat.

In which city was White Castle, credited as the world's first fast-food hamburger chain, founded in 1921?

Its sliders sold for five cents; Time named the White Castle slider the most influential burger of all time in 2014.

Nationwide, one of the city's Fortune 500 companies, began in 1926 as an insurer for which group?

Farm Bureau Mutual was set up because farmers were paying city rates for car insurance despite having fewer accidents; it started with over 1,000 policyholders and a $10,000 loan.

Battelle Memorial Institute's development of Chester Carlson's dry-copying idea led to which company?

Battelle, founded in 1929, is the world's largest private R&D foundation and also worked on the Universal Product Code and the technology behind the compact disc.

Which Columbus retail magnate bought the five-store Victoria's Secret chain in 1982?

Roy Raymond had founded it in 1977 after an embarrassing department-store shopping trip; Wexner's L Brands was one of six Columbus Fortune 500 firms in 2019.

Because its demographic mix makes it a 'typical' American city, Columbus is widely used by chains as what?

Restaurant chains born here include Bob Evans, Donatos, Max & Erma's, Charleys Philly Steaks and Steak Escape.

In 2023, which chipmaker announced a $20 billion factory in the Columbus area?

Honda and LG Energy Solutions also announced a $4.4 billion battery plant, and defence firm Anduril chose the city for its 'Arsenal-1' factory.

Which Columbus museum, in the former Central High School since 1999, is among America's top science centres?

The name is short for Center of Science and Industry; the Wexner Center is Ohio State's contemporary art gallery.

Columbus's Topiary Park recreates which famous painting in clipped shrubbery?

It sits downtown on the grounds of the old Deaf School; the Franklin Park Conservatory, the city's botanical garden, dates from 1895.

Which Columbus-born New Yorker cartoonist and humorist has a museum in his family home there?

He worked as a Columbus Dispatch reporter in 1920, and My Life and Hard Times, about his Columbus childhood, is often called his best book.

Which World War I flying ace's original home stands in Columbus's Driving Park district?

He was born in the city in 1890; the Rickenbacker air base and airport south of Columbus carry his name.

Which director ran the Columbus Zoo from 1978 to 1993 and became a TV regular?

The zoo, actually located near Powell in Delaware County, was named the top zoo in the US by the USA Travel Guide in 2009.

Colo, who arrived at the Columbus Zoo in December 1956, was the first what?

Her name came from Columbus, Ohio, via a naming contest; she lived at the zoo her whole life and was the world's oldest known gorilla when she died in 2017.

What was Schmidt's Sausage Haus's 'Bahama Mama' sausage voted in a 2014 Columbus Dispatch contest?

The restaurant is also famous for its half-pound cream puffs; German immigrants built the neighbourhood's breweries and Capital University.

Which 555-foot Art Deco skyscraper was Columbus, Ohio's tallest building from 1927 to 1974?

It opened as the American Insurance Union Citadel; the AIU went bust in the Depression and the building was renamed in 1946.

Which downtown food hall near the Arena District and High Street's arches is one of the city's best-known places to eat?

It is the North Market. Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, founded by an Ohio State art student, first sold at a Columbus farmers' market before becoming a national brand.

As of 2018, Columbus had the world's largest expatriate population of which group?

It also had the second-largest Somali American population in the country as of 2004.

Columbus's airport, formerly Port Columbus, was renamed in 2016 after which Ohio astronaut and senator?

Renamed in 2016, it is home to NetJets, the world's largest fractional-ownership air carrier, and was once a hub for the short-lived discounter Skybus.

Who was elected in 1999 as Columbus's first African American mayor, going on to serve a record 16 years?

His administration saw Nationwide turn the old Ohio Penitentiary site into the Arena District.

ComFest takes over which Columbus green space on the last weekend of June?

The three-day festival mixes music stages, art vendors, body painting, beer and hundreds of local political groups.

Which Italian city, birthplace of Christopher Columbus, is a sister city of Columbus, Ohio?

The city seal and flag show the Santa María, and a replica of the ship sat on the downtown riverfront from 1991 to 2014.

The Town and Country Shopping Center, one of the first modern US malls, opened in 1948 in which Columbus suburb?

Downtown's later Columbus City Center mall lasted only from 1988 to 2009 and was demolished in 2011.

Which ship from Christopher Columbus's first voyage appears on the seal and flag of Columbus, Ohio?

A full-size replica stood downtown from 1991 to 2014, and the city spent $95 million on the 1992 quincentennial and AmeriFlora '92.

Columbus holds what unwanted distinction among US metro areas when it comes to trains?

Amtrak's National Limited last stopped at Union Station in 1977; the station was razed in 1979 and the convention centre now stands there.

The world's first 24-hour car race was held in 1905 at which Columbus venue?

Two years later, 14-year-old Cromwell Dixon flew his pedal-powered blimp, the SkyCycle, from the same park.

What speed did Ohio State's Buckeye Bullet 2 hit in 2010 to set an electric-vehicle record?

The fuel-cell car reached 303.025 mph, edging the previous FIA mark of 302.877 mph.

Which single-breed equine show draws about 500,000 visitors to the Ohio Expo Center each October?

It is the world's largest single-breed horse show; the city also hosts Westside Barbell, the famed powerlifting gym.

Which Steven Spielberg film of 2018 is set in Columbus, though it was not filmed there?

Films actually shot in the area include Air Force One, Traffic and Bones and All.

In 1910 Wright pilot Phillip Parmalee flew silk from Dayton to Columbus, an aviation milestone as what?

Two packages weighing 88 kilograms travelled 70 miles in a Wright Model B; later, six Columbus pilots led by Eddie Rickenbacker claimed 10% of US aerial victories in World War I.